Unit's start is fertile ground for historians

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Matt Proietti
  • 452nd AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  The 452nd Bombardment Group's World War II actions have intrigued a Texas professor and provided fodder for an amateur historian who wrote a book about one of its B-17 Flying Fortress aircrews. 

"(It) was a typical B-17 unit in just about every way you would want to measure it," said Dr. Vernon Williams of Abilene Christian University's Department of History. "They weren't there the earliest, they weren't there the longest. They got there early enough where (lack of fighter escorts was) still a serious problem. They suffered a great deal." 

Dr. Williams is head of the East Anglia War Project, a historical study of 8th Air Force bomb units such as the 452nd that flew from airfields which dotted the countryside northeast of London. In the past six years, he and his students have interviewed about 500 people, including more than 30 residents of England. 

"World War II is an interesting war in the sense of what was saved. The bomb group (kept) almost every scrap of paper. You can order rolls of film and see tens of thousands of photographs and combat footage that was taken," he said. "It's an extraordinary database." 

Jerry Penry, a professional land surveyor in Milford, Neb., self-published a book about the crew of the B-17 Sunrise Serenade that flew from Deopham Green airfield, the Unit's start is fertile ground for historians 452nd's home as it completed 250 missions to occupied Europe in 1944 and 1945. He was inspired to write the book after developing a friendship in his hometown of Atkinson, Neb., with Army veteran Vince Smedley, brother of the aircraft's pilot, 1st Lt. Francis Smedley, who was the only crew member killed in a crash of the plane. 

"He was like a second father (to me). He liked to talk about the war in general. In his house, he had different things that were war-related plus this big picture of a B-17 with the Sunrise Serenade crew standing in front of it. That piqued my interest," said Mr. Penry. "All he knew was the bare minimum: that it crashed and his brother was killed." 

After Mr. Smedley died in 1997, his widow gave the photo and military documents to Mr. Penry, who decided to try to find out what happened aboard the airplane. He spoke to at least five surviving members of the aircrew and worked on the project almost daily for two years. 

"I hit (it) pretty hard. I interviewed a lot of 452nd guys. I don't think you could do this again," he said. "It's only been seven years, and I can't begin to tell you how many guys I talked to are now gone." 

Mr. Penry said he originally planned to write something for himself and aircrew family members, but had so much information he decided to tell the story as a book. He published 1,700 copies of Sunrise Serenade: A World War II Bomber Crew Story in 2000 at a cost to himself of about $15,000. 

Mr. Penry's book tells of the dangers faced by B-17 crew members, which he believes wasn't fully explained in Memphis Belle, a 1990 movie about the first Flying Fortress crew to successfully reach the mark of 25 missions at which they were released from duty. Officials increased that to 30 and, finally, 35 later in the war. 

"(The movie) didn't tell the real story. It was kind of 'happy ever after, everything turned out OK' and I don't think that really portrays what happened," he said. "These (Sunset Serenade) guys went on 20 missions, and that was well past average, and it wasn't a happy ending: they went to POW camps, one died, one was severely burned. The book tells a lot about complete crews that were killed." 

Dr. Williams' original goal was simply to find out what happened to his uncle, who died in an England-based bomber that caught fire. After his mother's funeral, her two sisters prodded him into researching what had happened to their only brother. 

"They got a little fussy with me," he said. "There were three little girls and an older brother who went off to war and didn't come home. They said, 'You've been a historian all of these years and we want to know what happened to our brother.'  The government never really told them anything. I promised I would find out what happened." 

He learned that his uncle had been assigned to the 381st Bomb Group east of Cambridge, England, and visited the area in 2001, returning with students the next year to continue the research. The kind treatment they received from local residents prompted him to expand his goal to explore the relationship between those who live near former 8th Air Force bases and the American GIs who served there. 

"When I looked at the U.S./British relationship in the community, it was extraordinary and it still is today. It seems to have survived all of these years and I (realized) I needed to do something." 

His work soon grew in scope to become the East Anglia War Project. Dr. Williams' school granted him a sabbatical in the summer and fall 2003, during which he visited England and interviewed residents of the Deopham Green area. 

"I pledged to interview and to do the research for a number of years so that I could at least collect enough material before it was all gone and then -- and only then -- stop and write the books. I'm at the point now where I'm going to interview through the end of 2008 and that's when we're going to stop. It's hard to even say that." 

Dr. Williams said he is thankful for the early support of Staff Sgt. Hank North, 84, of Columbus, Ohio, longtime secretary of the 452nd Bomb Group Association, a fraternal organization made up largely of World War II veterans and their families. 

"(He) was the cornerstone of this whole thing. Some people who ran other bomb group associations didn't give me the time of day and didn't (get the) importance of what was being done," he said. "Then there were others who just opened everything up, and Hank was one of them." 

Mr. Penry said he also is indebted to Sergeant North for his help and is impressed by the connection between 452nd men. 

"They seem like a family. I don't know if other bomb groups are like that. That bond never ended," he said. "For many, it was the most defining moment of their lives and they can never forget that." 

Dr. Williams produced a 60-minute documentary, Deopham Green, and supervised students who made six short documentaries about various aspects of wartime England. Video and computer technology has changed things for historians and, consequently, for everyone, he said. 

"The way we view history, the way we learn it, the way students look at it (is different). The people I've interviewed ... will be on TV screens talking to students that aren't even born yet. In that sense, they will be around forever." 

Dr. Williams has developed friendships with some of the English citizens he's met through his research and that closeness has challenged his objectivity as a researcher. 

"I think a great deal of them. I really respect their lives and how they lived them and their sharing of it with us, but I also have to take material they've given me and really test it in the cold light of day under the microscope of history. (It is) much more difficult than the other things I've done where I didn't have the human relationship. When you listen to these people, you have to have corroborating evidence. You cannot ignore the traditional historical research in writing any book." 

He admits to being in awe of the bravery exhibited by 8th Air Force men, who willingly took to the air knowing they could be attacked by German fighter pilots or be hit by artillery bursts as they flew to their targets. 

"We find (courage) in every generation and in World War II we found it in spades in a place called East Anglia," he said. "It's something I measure. I look at what was at stake for these individuals and what they did and how it happened and what impact it had." 

Mr. Penry, the Sunrise Serenade author, said the commitment made by bomb crews was extraordinary. 

"I don't know where they got that bravery. They probably didn't want to get into that plane each time and were most likely all scared. I am sure that they didn't want to let each other down despite their individual fears. Most do not want to be called heroes...because they always remember their friends who had it worse or were killed." 

Dr. Williams said many of the men who served in the 452nd in World War II were 18 to 22 years old, the same age as most of his students, to whom he said he wouldn't trust his life. 

"They're really more concerned about whether they have a date on Friday night and whether they're going to get mag wheels for their car. Those are the significant, serious questions of their lives. (Bomber crews were) confronted with life and death every day and when you got a pass to go to London, you couldn't leave (behind the experience of war). It was sort of haunting you. They became professionals. They were good at what they did." 

He said veterans have been forthcoming with information on their actions because they understand the importance of getting the accurate story told, not to bring credit upon themselves. 

"As they enter the twilight of their lives, they are desperate to make sure their children and their grandchildren know what they did." 

Mr. Penry said he's come to realize that researching and writing his book was therapeutic for him in dealing with the loss of his friend, the Sunrise Serenade pilot's brother. 

"I dedicated it to his memory and I was just kind of driven, I guess, to do that. I think that's true with a lot of family members: they're researching this (history) as a memorial type of thing."