Mojmir Baca, of the Czech Republic,  on the right is Bob

 Amos  the former President of the Second  Bombardment

 Association.

   The President's corner of the January 1999 Newsletter

 Bob Amos has written his account of a visit made to Austria

 and the Czech Republic in August and September of 1998.

 This is  MUST reading for any member of the 2nd Bomb

 Group and any other United States Citizen who should ever

 have access to it. The account of the missions listed in this

 statement in our  Second  Bomb Group Book

"Defenders of Liberty" and the treatment of our  downed

 airmen by the Germans is almost unbelievable.

    On behalf of all veteran friends, we want to commemorate

 Bob Amos and his group of historians for the wonderful job

 they did in putting this book together.  Thanks! for a job well

 done.

 and his wife Maria, and by Fritz Fellner, the local historian of Friestadt, Austria.

 (Mojmir Baca's  family were Hosts to the visitors to the Czech Republic

 15th Air Force sent 131 B-17's and 38 B-24's on this mission. The 2nd Bomb Group crews

 estimated their attackers between 60 and 80 fighters. Five B-17's and Five B-24's destroyed.

 Two crews from the 429th Squadron of the 2nd Bomb Group were lost, "Lady Be Good"

 and "Raggety Ann". The story of one of these crews is told under the picture below. As a

 result of this mission the 15th Air Force considered this to be the "Outstanding Event of

 its First Four Months of Operations"

 B; 2nd Lt. Peter H. Diglio, N; S/Sgt Anthony J. Delatte, LWG and S/Sgt. Howard L. Reese,

 TG.

   On July 29th, 1999, I received an Email from John Fink in Jefferson, ML asking about

 information on "Lady Be Good" a plane on which his father had flown as bombardier. I

 checked in "Defenders of Liberty" and there was account of the whole mission. I sent this

 information to  John Fink and received a letter back stating he would send a picture of his

 father taken in the POW camp in Stalag Lufti Barth, Germany. His father had been

 interned there from the time of the mission in November, 1943 until April 25,1945. The

 other men in the picture were, he thought, might be the other members of his crew.

 Lt. Fink is pictured on the left in the picture.

    Darrell L. Jones, aerial engineer with the 429th Bomb

 Squadron  completed 50 missions in October 1943 and

 returned to the U.S.

    He was married in December 1943 and was appointed to

 combat crew training at Avon Park, Florida. He did not like

 training and much to the dismay of his wife, he volunteered

 to fly another combat tour. He was allowed to select the crew

 of his choice. He picked  1st Lt. Victor Mack and in September

 1944 joined the 370th Squadron of the 452 Bomb Group in

 England. Jones flew 26 missions with  this group until he was

 injured in dislodging a live bomb hung up in the bomb bay.

 He was awarded the DFC on  March 11, 1945 for dislodging 

 this bomb on a trip back from a mission to Germany, thus

 saving the entire crew.

Captain Jerry Hofmann receiving DFC Award from General Born, Operations Officer of the 15th AF in Bari, under Gen. Twining.

THE LAST CASUALTY (From "Defenders of Liberty" page

 307) Captain John G."Jerry" Hofmann, bombardier, 429th

 Squadron,  was on the original crew of Captain Charles E.

 Crafton when they left to join the 2nd Bomb Group in Foggia,

 Italy in April 1944. Jerry flew in excess  of the required 50

 missions, had been  awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

 with one oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal

 with three oak leaf clusters. He had served his nation with

 great  distinction. Jerry could  have gone home at this time but

 he choose to  join in an  exchange program with the Army.

 Officers from the Air Force and the Army would exchange

 officers as a means of improving understanding and cooperation

 between the two branches of service.  It was a volunteer

 program. In Captain William Morton's letter to Jerry's father

 he stated that  Jerry was fatally wounded by point-blank fire

 of a German tank while he was a member of an advance

 scouting party.

  (Anyone can reach Robert Hofmann, Jerry's Nephew

     by Email at           robertdhofmann@yahoo.com

Major Henry A. Heim

 

                    Flight Officer Heim was an enlisted aerial gunner/observer in B/18's in Hawaii

                        on December 7, 1941.  He flew 16 antisubmarine and shipping-patrol before

                   .rotating to the U. S. with an aviation cadet appointment.  He completed his  

                       pilot training in class 42-K and was among the first to receive Flight Officer

                       appointment.  Heim had only a high school education which didn't qualify for

                       a commission.  He joined the Group as a copilot in August, 1943. Because of

                       rotation and combat losses Heim became one of the most experienced survivors

                       in the 20th Squadron. He was promoted to Flight Commander February 1, 1944

                       and was assigned to mission leads positions in the Squadron and later as deputy

                       Group Lead and Group lead.  On April 1, 1944 he was commissioned as a

                       2nd Lieutenant.  In late April, upon completion of 50 missions combat tour.

                       Heim was placed on detached service to the U.S. for thirty days rest and

                       rehabilitation due to " prolonged combat fatigue." He returned to  the Group at

                       the end of that period, and resumed flying combat missions.  Heim was

                       quickly promoted to 1st Lieutenant and within months was promoted to Captain.

                             While flying deputy Group lead on September 22, 1944 on a mission to

                       to Munich, Germany, Captain Heim's aircraft received severe flak damage

                       but did return safely.  It was on that mission that he and his crew saw their

                       German jet fighter.  It was on that day that he told 20th Squadron First Sergeant

                       Clyde "Tiny" Atkerson to "put in his papers. "Tiny", who had been begging

                       him to quite flying combat, was only too glad to comply.  Heim flew his last, and

                       seventieth mission against Komarom, Hungary marshalling yards on October

                       14, 1944.  He was awarded the DFC by the Fifteenth Air Force Headquarters

                       dated September 29th 1944. Later he became a B-29 air crew commander

                       and flew fifty one missions in the Korean War.

                             Major Henry A Heim after completing his first 50 Missions with

                       the 20th Squadron 2nd Bomb Group.  Later he flew 20 more missions

                       with the 20th and then 50 missions over Korea in B29's.

                        (Picture courtesy "Defenders of Liberty" 2nd Bomb Group)

                        (Picture on the right is First Sergeant "Tiny" Atkerson.)                                            

Heim in being awarded the DFC by Brig. General Charles W. Lawrence Sept 29, 1944

(Right- Heim in pilot seat B17 in 1997)

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