U.S. Army Air Force
World War II

 

When the first numbered Air Forces (the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th) were established in April 1941, the U.S. Army Air Force numbered fewer than a quarter million officers and enlisted men, including reservists. These initial four numbered U.S. Army Air Forces remained based in the United States throughout the war for the purposes of training, logistics and support, and homeland defense. Following the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and subsequent declarations of war against Japan in the Pacific and Germany and Italy in Europe, additional COMBAT Air Forces were quickly established to implement a war plan (A.W.P.D. 1) that had been written earlier in the year.

The first of the numbered U.S. COMBAT Air Forces was the Mighty Eighth, created as VIII Bomber Command on January 28, 1942, and deployed to England to begin combat operations in July. (Not until February 22, 1944, was it actually designated the Eighth Air Force.) On February 4, 1942, the 10th Air Force was established to begin combat operations in the India-Burma theater. The following day the Far East Air Force in the South Pacific, the Hawaiian Air Force at Oahu, and the Alaskan Air Force became the 5th Air Force, 7th Air Force, and 11th Air Force respectively. In the Panama Canal Zone the Caribbean Air Force became the 6th Air Force, tasked with protection of that vital waterway as well as to patrol the Gulf.

With British and Australian forces fighting desperately in North Africa to defend the Suez Canal, the 9th Air Force was established in April and based out of Egypt to support Allied Forces in that region. When an immediate cross-(English)-channel crossing was scrapped early in 1942 in favor of a November invasion of North Africa, the Twelfth Air Force was established under General Jimmy Doolittle in August. The Twelfth Air Force deployed to England for training and then flew to Algeria to join the Ninth Air Force in support of Operation Torch. (In September 1942 the numerical titles [5th, 7th, 9th, etc.] became alpha-numeric: Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, etc.) In December 1942 the Thirteenth Air Force joined the General George Kenney's Fifth Air Force in the South Pacific. Within a year of the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States had fielded more than a million and a half airmen, distributed among four logistic and nine Combat Air Forces, to conduct combat operations over five continents. Early the following year the Fourteenth Air Force was established under the command of Major General Claire Chennault and, bearing the insignia of the Chennault's earlier A.V.G. (Flying Tigers), returned to the skies over China.

By the summer of 1943 the geographical lines of the competing forces in Europe had changed dramatically. Although no Allied ground force had yet made the anticipated cross-channel attack to invade Hitler's Fortress Europe, from its bases in England the Mighty Eighth Air Force was joining the R.A.F. in the fight for aerial supremacy that would make that invasion possible. On the Eastern Front, Russian forces held out at Stalingrad and then turned what had appeared to be imminent defeat in 1942 into a stunning victory. During the battle of Kursk in July 1943, Russian forces turned the tables on Hitler's forces. From that point on in the Eastern Front the Nazi's were in full retreat, and by the end of the year the Russians had recovered nearly all of their previously captured territory.

By the summer of 1943 North Africa had been liberated from all Axis threat and Allied forces crossed the Mediterranean to attack and capture Sicily. German forces abandoned Sicily in mid-August and by September Allied soldiers landed in Italy. There they began slugging their way north in the Naples-Foggia Campaign. Though the Italian government surrendered on September 8, nearly two years of bitter fighting were necessary to defeat the Nazi forces that defended positions in Rome and northward into the Po Valley, an area well-protected by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's formidable Gustav Line..

In the summer and fall of 1943 the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces flew in support of ground operations in southern Italy. The changing dynamics of the Allied Offensives in both the Mediterranean and (Russian) Eastern Fronts, coupled with preparations for the cross-channel invasion (Overlord) firmly planned for the following May, forced a major shuffling of air assets in the Fall of 1943. In October the Ninth Air Force was transferred to England to support the Mighty Eighth and to subsequently play a major role in the ground campaign for Northern France in the anticipated D-Day invasion. Their departure spurred the birth of the Fifteenth Air Force.

 

Fifteenth Air Force

The Fifteenth Air Force was a relative late-comer as a numbered Air Force in World War II. (Only the 20th Air Force, activated April 4, 1944, and assigned to duty in the Pacific to execute bombardment of the Japanese home islands, followed formation of the Fifteenth.) This new command, approved on October 22, 1943, was established to meet a growing strategic demand in an expanding air force that had burgeoned in the first two years of the war from 21,125 officers and enlisted men in December 1938 to 2,373,882 officers and men in December 1943.

In fact, the birth of the Fifteenth Air Force was more of a fission, something akin the amoeba dividing to create a replica of itself. Six veteran, heavy bomber groups of the Twelfth Air Force, based at Tunis, Tunisia, became the nucleus of the Army's newest combat air force. What remained of the Twelfth Air Force was to serve as a TACTICAL air force in support of the northward ground advances in Italy and later to support the planned invasion of Southern France. The Fifteenth, was to be a STRATEGIC air force, projected to grow to 21 heavy bombardment groups and 7 fighter groups within six months. Their mission was to begin immediate bombing raids against targets in southern Germany that were beyond the range of Allied bombers based in England.

The four B-17 groups that formed the nucleus of the Fifteenth Air Force were all combat tested. The 2d Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols on the home front before deploying to the Twelfth Air Force in April 1943. The 97th Bombardment Group was arguably the most combat-seasoned group in Europe. Deployed to the Mighty Eighth based in England in May 1942, on August 17, 1942, Colonel Frank K. Armstrong led a dozen Flying Fortresses of the 97th Bomb Group to strike enemy targets from 23,000 feet over Rouen, in occupied France. It was, save for a little-known air mission over Ploesti, Rumania, the first American bombing attack in the European theater. The 97th BG transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in November 1942 to support the Torch invasion and continued service in North Africa, Sicily and Italy until their transfer to the new Fifteenth Air Force. The 99th Bombardment Group arrived in North Africa to serve with the Twelfth Air Force in February 1943, remaining in action until its transfer to the Fifteenth in November. The 301st Bombardment Group, like the 97th, had served first with the Mighty Eighth, and then the Twelfth Air Force, until it was absorbed by the Fifteenth in November 1943.

Two B-24 Liberator groups joined these Flying Fortresses when the Fifteenth Air Force was established on November 1. As part of the 9th Air Force, both groups had participated in the infamous August 1, 1943, low-level raid over Ploesti, Rumania. The 98th Bombardment Group, which called itself the Pyramidiers, fielded 47 bombers for that mission. Only eighteen returned. The group commander Colonel John Kane was awarded the Medal of Honor for that mission. The 376th Bombardment Group, which called itself Liberandos, was descendant of the First Provisional Bombardment Group, the first heavy bombardment group to operate in the Middle East Theater. Their roots were in the early Halpro Group which had bombed Ploesti from high-altitude on July 11, 1942, the little-known mission that was in fact, the first American bombing mission in Europe. In the low-level return to Ploesti the following year, the Liberandos had suffered the fewest losses of the five participating B-25 Bomb Groups. Two of the Liberandos' 25 bombers failed to return.

Command of the new but veteran Fifteenth Air Force was given to Major General Jimmy Doolittle, who departed the Twelfth Air Force he had built a year earlier for the Torch invasion, and which he had led through bombing missions in North Africa, then to Sicily, and at last over Italy. He recalled, "My assignment as commander of the Fifteenth was spelled out as having four main objectives:

1. To destroy the German air force in the air and on the ground, wherever it might be located within range of our aircraft.

2. To participate in Operation Pointblank, the combined bomber offensive against aircraft plants, ball-bearing manufacturing sites, oil refineries, munitions factories, submarine pens, and airports.

3. To support the ground battle and attack communications facilities on the Italian mainland, along the route through the Brenner Pass, and in Austria.

4. To weaken the German position in the Balkans.

"In addition to these goals, we were to choose targets that would pave the way for the invasion of southern France."

The Fifteenth Air Force was established on November 1, 1943, and began flying combat that very day while still based in Tunisia. But Doolittle's orders were to move his air force to Foggia, Italy, on December 1, where the overlapping range of the England-based Eighth and the Italy-based Fifteenth would squeeze Germany and Axis-controlled countries from all sides.

The day-old Fifteenth Air Force continued combat operations on November 2 in a combined B-17/B24 raid on the Messerschmitt factory at Wiener-Neustadt in Northern Austria. From Tunis it was a 1,600-mile mission against a facility that had been turning out more than 200 enemy fighters every month. Doolittle's heavy bombers flew through 150 enemy fighters that attacked them amid, and in spite of, their own heavy flak. Six Flying Fortresses and five Liberators went down, but Doolittle's gunners and fighters claimed 56 enemy fighters destroyed, 27 probably destroyed, and 8 damaged. The accuracy of the American bombardment, despite flak and fighters, exacted a heavy toll on German aircraft production. Production dropped from 218 fighters manufactured in October to 80 in November and to 30 in December.

The Fifteenth Air Force flew missions on 23 days during the month of November, attacking rail lines, submarine pens, bridges, and other targets in Italy, Austria, and Yugoslavia. On December 1 General Doolittle and his staff moved to Foggia, Italy, and by mid-month his fighter and bomber groups moved from Tunisia to airfields nearby. Hastily constructed runways of PSP (perforated metal sheets) sprang up around Foggia at Amendola, Tortorella, Regina, Cerignola, Toretta, and elsewhere. Laid together in an interlocking pattern over the ground, the PSP provided a rudimentary runway that was prone to become a mud-hole in the slightest rain storm. For the most part, however, the weather was at least livable in November.

Worsening weather plagued the Fifteenth Air Force in December. Only 18 missions were mounted, many of them by B-26s in support of the ground war in Italy. Repeatedly the entire Fifteenth was grounded because of the weather, and on marginal days dispatched bombers found targets obscured by overcast and returned home after salvoing their bombs in the sea. It was a frustrating month, not only for General Doolittle, but also for the CBO. At the time the Fifteenth was authorized in October, Hap Arnold and his war planners assumed that weather in the Mediterranean would be more suitable to sustaining air attacks on the Axis by bombers based in Italy than those based in England. In the winter of 1943-1944 the reverse was true. Though England and northern Europe experienced days of impossible weather, the Mighty Eighth managed to mount a far more effective air campaign than the Fifteenth.

Tehran Conference

On the day Jimmy Doolittle moved his Fifteenth Air Force Headquarters to Italy, a conference concluded in Teheran that would once again shuffle American air assets. One week earlier, from November 22 to 26, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met with Generalissimo Chaing Kai-Shek in Cairo to plan the final strategy for defeat of Japan in China the Pacific. Two days later on November 28 Roosevelt and Churchill opened a three-day conference in Tehran with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to plan the final strategy for defeat of the Axis in Europe. (It was the first time in the war that the Soviet leader had met personally with his Allied counterparts.)

Roosevelt renewed his 1942 promise to Stalin to open a Western Front in order to divide Hitler's ground forces and take pressure off the embattled Russian front. War planners from the three nations discussed how best to launch a May 1st invasion across the English Channel (Operation Overlord), as well as invading Southern France (Operation Dragoon). (Originally the two operations had been code-named Hammer and Anvil, descriptively noting the pressure to be applied from the North and South in occupied France.) Out of those discussions developed a leadership plan including the naming of General Dwight D. Eisenhower to be Supreme Allied Commander for the D-Day Invasion. In a concession to the British, a unified Allied Mediterranean Command was established under General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. 

These moves coincided with a major shuffling of leadership in the American Air Forces as well; the realignment directed to commence immediately after Eisenhower assumed his new position on January 1, 1944. General Ira Eaker, the popular commander who had built the Mighty Eighth Air Force and lead it through nearly two years of combat, was to be sent south to become Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. Though presented as something of a promotion, Eaker was reluctant to leave the Air Force he had built from scratch, and subsequently led in becoming perhaps the most famous Air Force of the war. General Arnold however, was looking at the much larger picture of establishing a unified STRATEGIC air force in Europe. General Tooey Spaatz was named commander of this unified command which consisted of the Eighth Air Force in England and the Fifteenth in Italy. On January 3, 1944, General Doolittle flew to England to become Commander of the Mighty Eighth, and General Nathan F. Twining assumed command of the Fifteenth. 

Though the plan had been for these two strategic Air Forces to simultaneously strike Germany with heavy bombers from two directions, two factors arose in the new year that greatly hampered Fifteenth Air Force operations in fulfillment of the Pointblank Directive. First, poor weather continued to restrict air operations out of Italy, and on days when bombers could take to the air, it was usually to find targets too overcast to bomb. Secondly, on January 22 American forces landed virtually unopposed at Anzio, Italy. While the Germans were unprepared for the Anzio landing, on February 4 Field Marshal Kesselring launched a massive assault along the Gustav Line that halted virtually all Allied offensives, and left the American forces at Anzio essentially bottled up. This ground war placed heavy demands on the Twelfth Air Force, which had moved from Tunis to Italy in mid-December. To assist, B-26s from the Fifteenth Air Force began regular air missions in support of the ground war in Italy.

Not until the last week of February did weather clear enough over England and Italy simultaneously for General Spaatz' two air forces to at last prove the validity of their design. Big Week was a six-day Allied blitzkrieg deep into Germany where the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces (and British R.A.F.) combined for a sustained, around-the-clock series of raids. From Sunday, February 20, until the following Friday, more than 3,300 bombers of the Eighth Air Force and more than 500 bombers of the new Fifteenth Air Force dropped 8,231 tons of bombs--nearly as many as the Mighty Eighth had unloaded in its entire first YEAR of operation. Nearly two-dozen targets deep inside Germany were struck in that six-day period, and American fighters planes of the Eighth, Ninth, and Fifteenth Air Forces flew 3,673 sorties. It was the week in which the Allied Air Forces began to at last wrest aerial superiority over Europe from the Luftwaffe. It was also a foreshadowing of much more to come in the spring as new bombers and aircrews arrived in theater.

In Italy Big Week was followed by six consecutive days of weather so poor that not a single mission could be mounted by the Fifteenth Air Force. Meanwhile the ground war in and around Anzio continued to be a bitter stalemate as fresh troops and tons of supplies steamed in from Germany to reinforce the Gustav Line. To break that stalemate the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) commander, General Ira Eaker, launched Operation Strangle on March 19. The plan called for both strategic (Fifteenth) and tactical (Twelfth) aircraft to begin interdicting Axis reinforcement and re-supply of the Gustav Line. Almost immediately American and R.A.F. fighters and medium bombers began attacking marshaling yards, rail lines, bridges, and tunnels from Florence to Rome. Heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force meanwhile unloaded tons of bombs on transportation and industrial centers at Verona, Turin, Milan, and Bologna, in northern Italy.

In the first month alone medium bombers flew 176 missions, destroying or damaging nineteen bridges. By March 24 every major supply line to the German front in Italy had been cut, and the marshaling yards in the north lay in ruins. As a tactical interdiction campaign, Operation Strangle was unprecedented in size, scope and duration. On May 11, two months after Strangle was implemented, American forces broke out at Anzio and began their drive north. Allied Forces entered and liberated Rome the following month on June 5, the day before the Normandy invasion.

Meanwhile at Foggia, on the last day of March the 463d Bomb Group (B-17) became operational, bringing the Fifteenth Air Force to fifteen heavy bomber groups. Improving weather late in the month gave rise to increased frequency of missions; heavy bombers flew on five days in the last week alone. On April 2 the 461st Bomb Group (B-24) became operational, giving General Twining sixteen heavy bomber groups and enabling him to mount a 530-bomber mission against the ball bearing plant and aircraft factory at Steyr in northern Austria. It was the Fifteenth Air Force's largest formation to date.

Hundreds of enemy fighters met the massive formation on April 2 and, despite more than 150 sorties by American fighters in support of the mission, nineteen bombers--nearly two hundred young American airmen--were lost. The following day 24 heavy bombers went down out of 450 dispatched to bomb targets at Budapest. When 300 B-24s and B-17s returned to Budapest the next day, 13 bombers fell to flak and enemy fighters. In fact, with improving weather the Fifteenth Air Force fielded nearly 2,500 heavy bombers on six consecutive daily raids from April 2 to April 7. The blitz resulted in the loss of 95 American bombers, nearly 1,000 men killed or captured in less than a week. Fortunately, in addition to the recently arrived bomb groups brought in to help the Fifteenth achieve its planned strength of 21 heavy bomber groups by May 10, replacement crews were also arriving to fill the gaps in squadrons decimated by the recent heavy losses.

Lieutenant Edwin Andy Anderson's Crew   Air Force Pilot Second Lieutenant Edwin O. Andy Anderson was a strapping young man from Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the fall of 1943, nine young men were assigned to his leadership to crew a B-17 Flying Fortress. In Florida these ten airmen began the process of working and training together that would enable them to complete future missions, and hopefully survive to return home together. Anderson's crew included: . Co-Pilot - First Lieutenant George L. Voss of Chicago, Illinois Navigator - Second Lieutenant Robert L. Newson of West Chicago, Illinois Bombardier - Second Lieutenant David R. Kingsley of Portland, Oregon Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner - Technical Sergeant John D. Meyer, Jr. of Queens, New York Radio Operator - Don McGillivray of Des Moines, Iowa Left Waist Gunner - Staff Sergeant Martin Hettinga of Anchorage, Alaska Right Waist Gunner - Staff Sergeant Harold D. James of Chicago, Illinois Ball Turret Gunner - Staff Sergeant Stanley J. Kmiec of Hamtramck, Michigan Tail gunner - Staff Sergeant Michael J. Sullivan of Villa Park, Illinois The crew's bombardier hailed from Oregon, one of two westerners in the team. He was a young man who had already endured much and proven himself strong and dedicated. Since the age of 10 his eight brothers and sisters had relied on that strength to keep the family together. Despite failing health, his mother had always reminded her children, "Love each other, take care of each other." It was a lesson that young man was to remember now as he become part of a new family of ten. Tail gunner Mike Sullivan recalled he was "A friendly, calm, hardworking part of the crew (who) never pulled rank on the noncoms. He had a quiet sense of humor that put everyone at ease." In the sky over Europe that 25-year-old bombardier would again demonstrate his love and concern for others, becoming one of World War II's greatest heroes.    Lt. David R. Kingsley by Phyllis Kingsley Rolison   Long before Dave was a hero to so many people, he was a hero to our little family. We grew up in Portland, Oregon, at 24 SW Montgomery Street. There were nine of us; five boys and four girls. Dave was next to the oldest; I was next to the youngest. My little sister, Sister Margaret Mary Kingsley, is the youngest. Our father was a special investigator for the Portland Police Department. Before he worked for the police department, he had 8 children and he didn't have a job. One day he was coming out of church and a man stopped him and said, "I understand you need a job." He had never seen the man before. He said to go right down to the police department and there will be a job for you. The man at the police department said, "How did you know we had an opening? It just opened up." When I was 2 and Dave was 10, our father died in an automobile accident. At this time, my mother had eight children and was five months pregnant with her ninth child. She made a decision right then not to give any of us up. This is when Dave first stepped in to help. He was 10 years old at the time. He and Grandma helped mom get through an almost impossible time. Somehow her strong faith helped her to survive the next few years. My first memory is when I was about 7 years old. We did not have much money, but I remember a life full of love and lots and lots of laughter. Dave kept the boys in line and Grandma took care of the girls. We had a very happy life during those years. The boys went to St. Michael's school on SW Montgomery Street, and the girls went to St. Mary's Academy and then Marylhurst. Every morning we would go to Mass and all of us would sit on the front row of St. Michael's Church. I was told that my dad wired that church.  When I was 10 and Dave was 18, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. A short time later, she was confined to her bed. She could not turn herself from side to side. When he had to be turned, Dave and one of the boys would pick her up and turn her over. Again, she said she would not give any of us up. She had a plan. Now Dave had a bigger job to do. Grandma had died, so it was his job alone. Now at 18, Dave took over the care of all of his brothers and sisters. (Tom, the oldest brother, joined the Navy in order to provide some income to the family.) He was not only our brother now but had the duties of a father. He talked to us, he listened to us, he made us do our chores and, of course, I'm sure he saw that we said our prayers. My mother was remarkable. I don't remember her ever raising her voice in anger to us. She had a punishment for everything we would do wrong. She was a very gentle person. Without a word we knew what would happen if we didn't obey. A few things come to mind. If we didn't make our bed before we went to school, all the bedding would be off the bed and we couldn't go out to play until it was made. It was a hard job for little girls. No one had to say a word. If we girls had an argument, we would have to wash the back door, which was a full window. One on one side, one on the other, until we would begin to laugh and the anger was over. My brothers were all about 6 feet tall, so she had to somehow let them be boys. She had a boxing ring built out in the back yard. Not a fancy boxing ring, just a plain ring. If the boys fought, she had them get the boxing gloves. they would have to go into her bedroom, put the boxing gloves on, then she would lace them up. After that, they could go out and fight it out. The one that won had to carry the other one in and take care of him until he was okay. That was her way of letting big boys be boys. My brother, Dan, was an amateur boxer and Dave was an amateur wrestler. While mom was in that bed and couldn't even move, she taught us many valuable lessons. When we came home from school, mom would want us to come sit on her bed and she would talk to each of us about what happened at school, about life, love and our strong faith. She taught us to love each other, take care of each other, and take care of anyone in need. All during this period, Dave was taking on the small and big jobs of a dad. One time, two of my brothers decided to go down to the railroad yard, hop on a railroad car, and ride it as far as it would go. What they planned to do at the other end, we don't know. they got in, closed the door, and later fell asleep. The next thing they knew there was a banging on the door. When they opened it, there stood Dave. He told them to get home where they belonged. What they didn't know was the railroad car wasn't going anywhere. It was parked on the side track. Now, my oldest sister was very beautiful. She had boys over all the time. The boys had to pass inspection by Dave. I remember one boy he took aside. What he said and did we never knew, but we never saw that boy again. These were some of a father's duties that Dave took over at the age of 18. Mom died when I was 13 and Dave was 21 (1939). They put each of us in places where we would be taken care of. I remember Dave coming so very often in his old jalopy to take us for rides, to talk to us, and to see if we needed anything. He was still trying to take care of us.  He was our hero. While young David Kingsley continued to give his best efforts to keep the communications open among his seven siblings, he went to work as a Portland fire fighter to further support the family. On December 7, 1941, his older brother Tom was serving as a Pharmacist's Mate aboard the U.S.S. Phoenix at Pearl Harbor. At anchor near the hospital ship U.S.S. Solace when the attack began, the light cruiser returned fire throughout the engagement, escaping damage or casualties. The following April David left the fire department to join the Army Air Force. His brother Donald joined the Merchant Marines, becoming something of a hero himself. At sea near South America, Donald Kingsley saw a man fall overboard near the bow of the ship and promptly threw a rope ladder over the rail. He then grabbed the ladder and jumped overboard, only to find that the ladder was too short. Instead of hitting the water the rope jerked taught, breaking both of Donald's arms. Despite this painful injury, Donald yelled for help, then grabbed the drowning sailor and managed to cling to him until assistance materialized. But for Donald's courageous actions, the other sailor would have floated to the back of the ship where he would have been churned to death by the propeller.  Bob, the youngest of the Kingsley brothers, later joined the Navy and served during the war as a Naval Pharmacist's Mate. Eugene Kingsley went to work for Douglas Aircraft, building the airplanes that took the war to the enemy. While in the Army aviation cadet program David attempted to become a pilot but failed the training. He went on to pass the preliminary bombardier-navigator course at Santa Anna, California in April 1943. In July he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant at Kirtland Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with his Bombardier Wings . Brother Tom, who had survived the Pearl Harbor attack, flew in for the ceremony. While admiring his older brother's colorful array of ribbons David remarked, "If there's going to be a hero in this family, you'll be the one." Lieutenant David Kingsley was subsequently dual-qualified as a navigator, and then in September 1943 was assigned to Lieutenant Anderson's air crew in Florida for combat training in a B-17 Flying Fortress.

David Kingsley and his nine new brothers trained for six months to develop confidence in each other, and to learn how to apply their own specialized training to fulfillment of their missions. Generally, Army Air Force policy was to assign ten men to a crew, then to keep that crew together from the training phase to deployment. Save for losses due to combat or other circumstances, an air crew would complete their subsequent combat missions together and then return home as a group. For most airmen, assignment to a crew became a familial adoption process that would become a life-time relationship. During the fall and winter as Andy Anderson and Lieutenant Voss flew practice missions with their new crew, the individual members developed a strong sense of trust in the captains of their ship. A mutual bond, a special form of brotherhood, also developed among the team. The dedication that each man had to the other and to the crew as a whole could not help but remind Lieutenant Kingsley of his mother's oft-repeated mantra to her children, "Love each other, take care of each other, and take care of anyone in need." Kingsley had never forgotten his own initial desire to be a pilot and frequently asked Anderson to teach him how to fly the aircraft. It is unclear how many opportunities Kingsley, or other interested members of the crew were afforded in the cockpit, though it was not uncommon for a pilot to thus broaden the experiences of his crew during the long period of training. Throughout the fall and winter, crews in training back in the United States followed news on the war front with great interest. Everyone knew of the early August raid on Ploesti, Rumania, a mission that had decimated five B-24 groups of the 9th Air Force and made that previously un-heard-of city infamous. In October "Ploesti" was replaced with name name "Schweinfurt". Sixty Eighth Air Force bombers had been lost in an August 17 raid, then on Black Thursday (October 17, 1943) in a return to Schweinfurt, 65 bombers were lost and 17 destroyed beyond repair. The news slowed through the months of November and December, and well into January and February 1944 as poor weather over Europe caused many bombing missions to be cancelled. Meanwhile in Florida, Lieutenant Anderson's crew had finished their training. In March 1944 the crew was dispatched to Savannah, Georgia, where they boarded a brand new B-17 Flying Fortress. For a week the factory-fresh bomber was put through trial runs and then flown to Palm Beach. From there the ten airmen flew south to Trinidad, on to Brazil, continuing across the South Atlantic to West Africa, and finally to Tunis, Tunisia. Lieutenant Anderson and crew were subsequently assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force's 341st Bomb Squadron, 97th Bomb Group (Heavy) based at Amendola, Italy. The crew's flight across the Mediterranean was the last they saw of their new Flying Fortress. Shortly after landing in Italy their B-17 was absorbed into the inventory of other squadrons, while Anderson's air crew went through a few weeks of in-theater training. As quickly as that training was complete Andy Anderson and his air crew began flying combat. It was a busy time for the Fifteenth Air Force, and every bomber and crew was a vital part of accomplishing its mission. From April to mid-June the ten men under Lieutenant Anderson were kept busy. Over a period of sixty days they flew twenty combat missions. From April 2 to mid-June more than 25,000 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B24s flew missions on nearly sixty days. On May 11 the Fifteenth reached its projected strength of 21 heavy bomb groups and mounted a 730-bomber mission the following morning. It was the largest formation thus far fielded. Targets varied; in mid-May the break out from Anzio required heavy bombardment throughout northern Italy. During this period however, the Fifteenth also returned again and again to the Weiner-Neustadt aircraft production facilities in Hungary, as well as industrial targets at Budapest, Hungary and Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Harbor installations and ports throughout the area were struck again and again, heavy bombers hitting as far west as Toulon in Southern France. Fifteenth Air Force support was critical to the success Operation Strangle attained in support of the ground war in Italy. Simultaneously, German aircraft production suffered dramatically and more than 1,000 enemy fighters were shot down by aerial gunners in U.S. heavy bombers and by escorting P-38 and P-51 fighter pilots from April to mid-June. Therein were accomplished on a daily basis, two of the basic missions previously outlined for the Fifteenth. Additionally General Doolittle, and subsequently General Twining, had been instructed to attack Axis petroleum supplies and to do all that they could to weaken German control in the Balkans. By the end of April 1944 Russian Forces had pushed the Eastern Front steadily backwards into Poland in the North and to the northeast border of Rumania in the south. During this same ten-week period more than a dozen missions were flown against petroleum production at Bucharest, Giurgiu, and the now infamous city of Ploesti.

PLOESTI
The Widow Maker

Ploesti, Rumania, was historic decades before World War II made the city of 100,000 at the foot of the Transylvanian Alps infamous. As early as 1857 refineries in the oil-rich region became the first in the world to refine petroleum. The evolving world-wide need for Ploesti's liquid gold elevated that product to become fully 40% of Rumania's exports, and gave the citizens of the hard-working city a comfortable lifestyle.

During World War I Rumania aligned itself with the Allies. For the first time in history warfare had become truly mechanical with the advent of cars, trucks, tanks and aircraft. This new need for fuel, further escalated by the transition of ships from coal to diesel, prompted Germany to invade Rumania in 1916. To prevent Rumanian oil from falling into enemy hands, British engineers already working in Ploesti promptly dynamited the refineries. The damage was so severe it was several years after the end of the First World War before the city returned to its pre-war levels of production.

Two decades later when Hitler began his blitzkrieg in Europe the nation of Romania found itself precariously perched between German advances in Poland and Hungary, and Soviet advances from the Ukraine.  The small country, not even as large as the state of Oregon, found itself besieged on two fronts despite attempts at neutrality.

In June 1941 Rumania abandoned neutrality and joined the Axis, primarily in hopes of regaining areas ceded under pressure to Hungaria and Russia in 1940. Under the protection of Nazi troops, by 1942 Ploesti was producing nearly a million tons of oil a month, including 90-octane aviation fuel, the bulk of it to fuel the Axis war effort. Nearly a third of the fuel needed to field Hitler's tanks, battleships, and aircraft, came from the refineries at Ploesti. 

Ploesti's location in Rumania made it an unlikely target for Allied bombardment in 1942, but Brigadier General Alfred Gerstenberg, Commanding General and Commander of the Luftwaffe in Rumania, knew that sooner or later Ploesti's refineries would be attacked. Toward that end he began erecting defenses in February 1942.

In fact, the first attack on Ploesti came far earlier than either the Germans or the Allies could have anticipated. In May 1942 a group of twenty-three B-24 bombers under the command of Colonel Halvor "Hurry-up Harry" Halvorson was dispatched via the South Atlantic to stations in China. The mission to the Far East was disrupted when the proposed bases were taken by the Japanese, and the Halpro Group found itself stuck in the Middle-East with no further orders, and no place to go. 

Unlike later, highly-planned bombing missions over Ploesti, the refineries were more of a target of opportunity for the Halpro mission. Not until June 5, 1942, did the United States expand its six-month-old declaration of war to include Hungary, Bulgaria, and Rumania. Sharing the runway at the Royal Air Force airfield in Fayid, Egypt, Colonel Halvorson's B-24s at last had a viable target. 

At ten thirty on the night of June 11, 1942, thirteen of Halvorson's heavy bombers took off and headed north.  As a night flight, destined to put the bombers over Ploesti with the first rays of dawn, it was impossible to maintain a flight formation.  Each pilot was on his own, navigating through the dark skies over the Mediterranean, while hoping to find his comrades when the morning sun rose over the Black Sea.

One of the bombers was forced to turn back to Egypt when frozen fuel transfer lines cut power to three engines.  The remaining twelve continued on towards Ploesti where they dropped their bombs from 30,000 feet on what was believed to be the large Astra Romana refinery.  The first raid on Ploesti was unremarkable and inflicted only minimal damage to the Rumanian refineries and German oil supply.  Of the twelve Liberators that reached Ploesti, six landed safely in Iraq (the designated recovery point for the mission) and two landed in Syria.  Four bombers were forced to land in Turkey where the aircraft were seized and the crews interned.  The only injuries were minor, and not a single man was lost or killed in action.

The 2,600-mile (round-trip) Halpro mission to Ploesti demonstrated a previously unanticipated range for American heavy bombers. It was a "note on a brick through the window" to General Gerstenberg that Ploesti was vulnerable to attack, and that the refineries were marked by a big Bull's Eye on the maps of the Army Air Force. Gerstenberg immediately implemented major upgrades to the Ploesti defenses under his command, fully aware that the American Army Air Force would be coming back soon.

The November 1942 Operation Torch put American bombers in North Africa as the Allies quickly gained control of the region. By the summer American bombers based at Benghazi, Libya, were 200 miles closer to Ploesti than had been the original 13 Halpro bombers that had attacked from Egypt. By now as many as 200 Axis fighters were in the vicinity of Ploesti, including four wings (52 planes) of ME-109s at Mizel, twenty miles east of the city. More than 200 big anti-aircraft guns ringed the city limits to protect the refineries, including 88-mm flak guns and 37-mm and 20-mm rapid-fire cannon. Barrage balloons on explosive-laden cables were raised every night, then lowered during the day. They could be quickly elevated again in the event of a daylight attack. Gerstenberg had every reason to believe he was ready for anything. What he got was an air mission he could never have imagined.

 

TIDAL WAVE
The Return to Ploesti in 1943 was the most delicately planned and most specifically rehearsed bombing mission in history. It called for nearly 200 B-24 Liberators to make an early morning departure from air fields in Libya, cross the Mediterranean, climb over the Albanian mountains, and attack SEVEN of Ploesti's major refineries. To add a stunning surprise, the mission was to be a low-level, roof-top attack.

After months of preparations including practice raids on mock-ups of Ploesti in the Libyan desert, Tidal Wave launched on August 1, 1943. The mission fielded 178 Liberators, 163 of which reached Ploesti to fly into a hell previously unseen by any American airman. Approaching the city so low that some of the bombers picked up grass in their bellies, the inbound formation was stunned when innocent-looking haystacks suddenly fell apart to reveal hidden enemy gunners. Colonel Leon Johnson's Liberators of the 44th Bombardment Group flew into Ploesti from the north, following a railroad track at tree-top level towards their assigned target. Opposite the track and running parallel with Johnson's formation was the 98th Bombardment Group's formation led by Colonel John Kane. The innocent-looking train that also traveled south between the two formations was an example of General Gerstenberg's extreme innovation to protect Hitler's black gold. In an instant the walls fell away from the box cars to reveal flat-beds containing multiple and deadly Nazi anti-aircraft and machine guns. These took deadly tolls on the two bomb groups and, ultimately, both Johnson and Kane would be awarded Medals of Honor for their bravery as they fought their way into Ploesti.

Tidal Wave was destined to be the ONLY low-level bombing mission  launched against Ploesti. The intrepid airmen in their B-24s on that fateful day flew into a maelstrom, dropping bombs from altitudes so low that enemy roof-top guns had to be pointed DOWN to engage the American attackers. Five of the seven targeted refineries were hit: one was permanently destroyed, two were shut down for several months, and two were able to remain in service but at a greatly reduced rate of production. In less than half-an-hour, five daring heavy bomb groups on what was a near-suicide mission, cut Ploesti's oil production by 35%, from 400,000 metric tons to 262,000 metric tons, for several months.

The cost of the mission to the Americans was stunning. Of the 163 Liberators that bombed Ploesti only 89 returned to Benghazi, Libya. Of those that returned 58 were damaged beyond repair. Of the 1,173 American airmen who flew the mission more than 300 were killed, 200 others were captured and interned as Prisoners of War, and 440 of those who made it home were wounded. Five veterans of the raid were awarded Medals of Honor, more than any other air mission in history, and 56 airmen were awarded Distinguished Service Crosses. More than 800 Distinguished Flying Crosses and Silver Stars were also awarded.

Return to Ploesti
By the Spring of 1944 production at Ploesti had increased to 370,000 metric tons of petroleum products, a commodity critical especially on the Eastern Front. Nazi forces were falling back daily under the Soviet advance, and the disruption of the fuel supply demanded by Axis tanks and aircraft could only inure to a swift Allied victory in the Balkans.

The Fifteenth Air Force's move to Foggia, Italy, had placed American heavy bombers well within range of Ploesti. Following the devastating August 1 Tidal Wave mission however, it would take the U.S. Army Air Force eight months to mount a return. In that interim General Gerstenberg worked around the clock to prepare for the subsequent attacks he knew must come.

Ploesti itself was a city which covered an area of approximately 19 square miles. Twelve major refineries encircled the city, connected by a looping rail system. A rail line south of the city connected Ploesti to the Rumanian capitol of Bucharest, 35 miles southward, the site of a major marshaling yard. Pipelines funneled fuel south as well, making its way beyond Bucharest to the port of Giurgiu on the Danube where petroleum was shipped out and needed supplies came in. In the Spring of 1944 all three cities were targeted for attack by heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force.

In the months after Tidal Wave General Gerstenberg had taken dramatic steps to protect Ploesti. It was frequently said that Ploesti was the third-most defended city in the world--behind Berlin and Vienna. Gerstenberg had emplaced nearly 1,000 anti-aircraft guns in a circle around Ploesti measuring 12 miles in diameter. There was no aerial route into the city that was not protected by deadly flak, and any bombers that might make it inside the circle to drop their bombs would then have to fight their way back OUT through more deadly flak. A Confidential 1944 Air Objective Folder prepared by the Army Air Force described Ploesti's defenses:

Air Objective Folder No. 69.1 Rumania Defenses and Vulnerability: The defenses of the Ploesti area are quite strong and active. Local defenses exist for the various groups of refineries and possibly for certain of the vital transportation points. The Germans have carefully protected the vital parts of the refineries by the construction of protective walls around them. The storage tanks have been camouflaged with pain or by wooden sheds built over them. A nightly barrage of forty to one hundred balloons is maintained over the city. It has been reported they are lowered at day and that at night they are raised from 6 to 10,000 feet. Included in the various protective defenses has been the construction of "dummy towns" to deceive attacking bombers. A dummy Ploesti was erected on the site of an encampment at Albesti about 7 miles east of Ploesti in June 1941 and during the Russian attack this "dummy town" was purposely set on fire. It is also reported that a "dummy town" has been constructed about 8 miles northwest of Ploesti. The blackout of the town is said to be very good and the only light likely to be seen is a glow from some of the refinery plants that have not been stopped. The fighter aircraft defenses of Ploesti were taken over by the German Air force during the Balkan invasion in the spring of 1941 and since that time they have been shared equally with the Rumanians. There are three principal airdromes in the area supplemented by two alternative bases. Attacking bombers may also receive opposition from the enemy airbases in the Bucharest area to the south of Ploesti. The outer anti-aircraft defenses of Ploesti form the perimeter of an oval extending to the north with the north-south axis about 30 miles in length and the east-west axis about 20 miles long. The inner defenses of the city are very strong and in October, 1941, extended for five miles in a belt around the town, with the guns increasing in calibre towards the edge of the belt. In most cases the guns have been camouflaged by nets or "roofs" over them.

The Air Objective Folder made no estimates as to the number of fighters or guns that protected Ploesti, but everyone knew they were significant in number. Furthermore, General Gerstenberg emplaced more than 1,000 smoke pots around the refineries to spew clouds of blinding fog over the city upon initial radar reports of inbound American bombers.

On April 5, 1944, the U.S. Army Air Force at last returned to Ploesti; more than 200 Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers dropped 587 tons of bombs on the marshalling yards. Gerstenberg's defenses were ready and 13 bombers were shot down by flak or enemy fighters. Ten days later more than 400 heavies returned, more than half the force attacking Ploesti oil production while the remainder simultaneously hit the important marshaling yards at Bucharest. Nearly 800 tons of bombs fell over Ploesti from 290 heavy bombers. Eight never returned home. Nine days later more than 500 heavy bombers repeated the double-punch, and it was obvious to both friend and foe that the battle for Hitler's black gold had entered a new phase.

Ploesti was hit three times in May: on the 5th, 18th, and on the last day of the month. The mission on May 18 illustrates the difficulties from weather and the dangers from enemy aircraft and guns that plagued nearly all missions into that deadly target. More than 400 heavy bombers were dispatched, including 35 Flying Fortresses from the 463d Bombardment Group. The citation for a subsequent Presidential Unit Citation awarded to that group illustrates the difficulties and dangers well:

"On 18 May 1944, thirty-five B-17 type aircraft, heavily loaded with maximum tonnage, were airborne, and despite adverse weather conditions rallied with the wing formation and set course for their destination (Romano Americano Oil Refinery at Ploesti, Rumania). Under continued adverse weather conditions encountered en route, the visibility became so limited, with dense cloud layers reaching to 30,000 foot elevation, that all other units returned to base. Undaunted by the seemingly overwhelming odds, the 463d Bombardment Group continued on alone through the dense cloud coverage, which rendered compact formation flying extremely hazardous. Despite intense, heavy, and accurate enemy anti-aircraft fire encountered over target, the gallant crews, displaying outstanding courage, professional skill, and determination, though many of their airplanes were damaged severely, maintained their tight formation and brought their ships through the enemy defenses for a highly successful bomb run, inflicting grave damage to vital enemy installations and supplies. Rallying off the target after the bombing run and while unprotected by friendly fighters, the group was savagely attacked by approximately 100 highly aggressive enemy fighters. In the ensuing fierce engagement, while battling their way through the heavy opposition, the group lost 7 bombers; however, in the gallant defense of the formation, the gunners accounted for 28 enemy aircraft destroyed, 30 probably destroyed, and 2 damaged."

Sandwiched in between Ploesti assignments were other missions like returns to the deadly Weiner-Neustadt Messerschmitt factories, which cost more than 40 bombers downed in two missions in May alone. Ploesti was the target again on June 6 when more than 500 heavy bombers attacked the oil refineries. On June 10 it was the fighters' turn. Normally the P-38 and P-51 pilots of the Fifteenth's fighter groups flew escort for the heavy bombers. On this day 1,000 pound bombs were strapped beneath 46 P-38s and, though eight fighters were forced to abort, the remaining 36 successfully dropped bombs on Ploesti oil production facilities. Second Lieutenant Herbert B. Hatch of the 1st Fighter Group flying a P-38 in support of the mission, became an ace-in-a-day after shooting down five Rumanian aircraft.

By mid-June Lieutenant Andy Anderson and his air crew had become seasoned veterans with twenty missions towards the requisite 35 that would earn them a flight home. After flying their first missions in various inventory pool bombers they had at last been assigned their own--a B-17, christened Sand Man. From Sand Man's cockpit, turrets and open bomb bay doors they had toured Weiner-Neustadt, Genoa Harbor, Lyon, Nice, Marseilles, and other old-world cities from miles above. Working as a team they had weathered fighter attacks, exploding flak, and the other dangers inherent to aerial combat. 

After operating as a team now for more than nine months, they had become uncommonly close, establishing that unique bond of brotherhood shared by men to have endured much and survived. After seventeen missions, with some sadness the crew had bid farewell to radioman Sergeant Don McGillivray, who was detached and sent to Naples, Italy, for special training on new radar bombing equipment. McGillivray was replaced in Sand Man's radio room by Technical Sergeant Lloyd E. Kaine, who was quickly accepted as a part of the crew.

Five consecutive days of bad weather grounded the Fifteenth Air Force from June 17 to June 21. The skies cleared enough on the 22d for a 600-bomber mission against targets in Northern Italy. That evening the orders for the next day's mission were issued. It was to be an all-out attack on Ploesti, the eighth since bombing had resumed on April 5. It was also to be the largest yet mounted, 761 Flying Fortresses and Liberators assigned to fly through Gerstenberg's defenses and destroy Rumanian oil.

The roster of pilots from the 97th Bombardment Group assigned to this mission included the name of Lieutenant Edwin O. Anderson. When the sun came up the following morning Andy and his crew would embark on their twenty-first mission. Sand Man had been pulled out for repairs, so the crew would be once again flying in a B-17 from the inventory pool. The crew would also be flying without Lieutenant Voss in the bomber's right-hand seat. The veteran co-pilot had recently experienced blackouts, and during the five-day period weather had halted operations, he had been grounded for medical evaluation.

 

 

Medal of Honor

 

 

On Friday, May 4, 1945, Lieutenant David Richard Kingsley was remembered during funeral services at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Portland. It was the church Kingsley had attended with his parents before their deaths, the church in which David's sister Phyllis had been sitting when she received the news of her brother's death.

The flag-draped coffin was symbolic; David Kingsley's body was still buried on a hillside in Rumania. The empty coffin served however as a reminder that the young former-firefighter from Portland had paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his country.

The funeral for David Kingsley included yet another symbol--a symbol of courage above and beyond the call of duty. Before the flag-draped coffin Major General Ralph P. Cousins presented Navy Pharmacist's Mate First Class Thomas Kingsley with his brother's Medal of Honor. It was one of only two known such presentations ever made in a church. On May 10, the City of Portland issued a Resolution recognizing Kingsley's heroism and the lessons of his youth that made him a hero. It noted: "The act of Lieutenant Kingsley was one of deliberately placing his own parachute harness about the body of a seriously wounded tail gunner thereby making it possible for the wounded man to reach safety but removing all possibility of saving his own life in the impending crash. His act which showed inherent desire to save the life of another undoubtedly was attributable to Lieutenant Kingsley's training in the church and his training while a member of the City of Portland, Bureau of Fire."

Forty-four years after David Kingsley's death his youngest sister Margaret, a Holy Names Nun at Marylhurst, said, "(David) showed no qualities on that plane he hadn't already shown as a young man. David Kingsley didn't need death and a medal to become a hero. If love, selflessness, and devotion to duty are the standard, (David) already was one."

Phyllis Kingsley Rolison, the only other of David's siblings still alive said, "We are so proud of Dave for sacrificing his life for his fellow crew members. I must tell you, though, we were not surprised that he would give his life to save another. He spent his short life--26 years--helping others. Dave learned my mom's lesson well:

"Love each other, take care of each other, and take care of anyone in need." 

 

In the aftermath of World War II, life continued as it had for centuries in the quiet Belgian village of Suhozem. Families tended their flocks and their crops, eking out a living from the land and doing their best to remain inconspicuous under the harsh post-war rule of the Soviet Union. Unforgotten were the seven members of the Douraliiska family, or even the foreign airman who had for a time been buried on a nearby hill. Villagers had retained souvenirs from the crash site.

Among those souvenirs was a six-foot section of Opissonya's wing, recovered by Maria Douraliiska, a relative of the seven villagers killed when the bomber crashed. For decades Maria had used the largest remnant of the American bomber to dry apples, plums, pears and wool. It had served her well as it was long, flat, and retained heat in the sunshine.

During World War II the Bulgarian people had allied with Germany out of fear of Russia. Survival depended on having at least one strong ally. During the war, though Rumanian and Bulgarian forces fought with the Nazis on the Russian front, there was little animosity towards the United States. This contributed largely to the strong partisan freedom fighters' movement, and generally good treatment of Americans captured. Following the war Bulgaria found itself under Soviet domination and therefore still at odds with the West.

On November 10, 1989, after decades under Soviet rule, Todor Zhivkov resigned his positions as head of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) and head of state of Bulgaria. One year later Bulgaria had at least some of the primary building blocks for a democratic state: a freely elected parliament, a coalition cabinet, independent newspapers, and vigorous, independent trade unions. This also opened the door for a warming of relations with the West.

In 2001 two American pilots serving in Bulgaria as part of a multi-national training force became aware of the crash site at Suhozem. After further research they learned the name of the American killed in the crash, and were surprised to learn that he had been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and that an air base in Klamath Falls, Oregon, had been named for him. Shortly thereafter Retired Oregon Air National Guard Brigadier General William Doctor began working with Oregon Guardsman David Funk to erect a memorial at the crash site. During visits to Bulgaria the two men joined forces with Bulgarian Air Force Major Nickolay Dimov and Vessela Pechava, and architect in Plovdiv.

In October 2004, Phyllis Rolison and her husband Joe joined a contingent of officers from Kingsley Field in Oregon on a flight to Bulgaria. (Not until work had begun on the memorial was the Kingsley family aware of the civilian casualties of the crash.) Upon arrival Phyllis met the surviving witnesses to the crash, and went with Joe to the crash site where she placed flowers while he searched for and found pieces of the bomber. 

On October 23, a delegation of dignitaries from both countries united in Suhozem for dedication of the memorial to David Kingsley and the Douraliiska family. Phyllis Kingsley Rolison was the guest of honor in a group that included eye-witnesses to the crash, members of the Douraliiska family, and even Ivan Petrov Apostlov, a Bulgarian pilot who had pursued Opissonya in a German fighter on that fateful day. When unveiled, the memorial contained the section of wing preserved by Maria Douraliiska, with a relief view cut into stone opposite the wing. One engraved portion bore a photo and tribute to Lieutenant David Kingsley, with another engraved memorial to the Douraliiska family below.

As to the event itself, The Oregon Sentinel reported: "Every aspect of the dedication ceremony involved a mix of American and Bulgarian elements. It opened with the traditional Bulgarian custom of presenting bread and salt to guests.  A color guard of American and Bulgarian military personnel placed flags in their stands. Both Bulgarian and American chaplains delivered invocations. A Bulgarian military band played the national anthems of both countries. Bulgarian soldiers placed floral wreaths in front of the memorial. Following speeches by (American Ambassador to Bulgaria James) Pardew and the local Bulgarian officials, a folded American flag was presented to (Phyllis) Rolison, and a bouquet of flowers was presented to Suhozem Mayor Neicho Nedelchev."

David Kingsley nay be little remembered outside his home state of Oregon and the small Bulgarian village of Suhozem. Nonetheless, in his valor he gave the gift of life to a friend, in his death he left a legacy of valor and inspiration, and out of that great tragedy of June 23, 1944, two nations have found a new bond of brotherhood.

 

Coming Next Donald Dale Pucket  Staying the Course  The Story of the Four Chaplains

A very special thanks to Phyllis Kingsley Rolison and her husband Joe. David Kingsley's younger sister has made every effort to insure that his sacrifice is never forgotten. Joe graciously provided extensive information, clippings, and photos for preparation of this story. Phyllis kindly, though tearfully, granted phone interviews to answer questions and accurately record even small details. My thanks also to Gloria Sullivan, whose husband Michael passed away in 2003. In an emotional but inspiring telephone interview, she gave unique glimpses into her husband's life and the impact David Kingsley's sacrifice had on him. Opissonya crew members Harold James and Stanley Kmiec also provided wonderful assistance in sorting out dates and the sequence of events. They, along with Lloyd Kaine, are all that remain from the crew that flew that final mission as Andy Anderson's air crew.

Sources:
Doolittle, General James and Carroll V. Glines, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, PA, 1991.
Kepple, Todd, "Bulgarian Memorial to Include Kingsley", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 18, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Remembering a Hero...Remembering a Brother", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 20, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "One Final Mission", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 21, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Kingsley's Sister Visits Crash Site in Bulgaria", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 21, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "The Gift of Life", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 22, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Signs of Change: Oregon Contingent Tours Air Base", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 22, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Life in Suhozem", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 24, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Tribute to the Lost", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 24, 2004
Kepple, Todd, "Crash Memorial a Work of Love for Two Veterans", Klamath Falls Herald and News, October 25, 2004
"One Pilot's Odyssey", http://odin.prohosting.com/~vstoyano/B-17op.htm 
The Oregon Sentinel, Official Newsletter of the Oregon National Guard, Salem, Oregon, November/December 2004
The Oregonian, "Hero's Death Wins Highest U.S. Award", Portland, Oregon, February 17, 1945
Tillman, Barrett, Above and Beyond, The Aviation Medals of Honor, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 2002.

Part II - World War 2 Wings of Valor Home Page Introduction Day of Infamy When America needed Heroes Pay Back The Tokyo Raid Harl Pease Too Young to Fly MacArthur Kenneth Walker  Reprimand or Medal Hamilton and Craw The Banker & The Soldier Airmen on the Ground  Jack Mathis Bombardier Brothers Snuffy Smith You don't have to be a saint To Become a hero. Sarnoski & Zeamer 1 Plane - 9 Heroes TWO Medals of Honor John C. Red  Morgan Medically Unqualified Morally Determined  The Ploesti Raid  When Heroes Filled the Sky  Ralph Cheli  Leadership by Example Sacrifice by Design Neel Ernest Kearby The First Top Gun Raymond Wilkins The Last Survivor Forrest Vosler  Blind Determination  James H. Howard  "I seen my duty and I done it!"  Lawley, Truemper,  & Mathies  Coming Home the Hard Way Ed Michael Until the Last Man Comes Home Leon Vance Burden of Command David Kingsley  The Ultimate Sacrifice Donald Pucket  Darrell Lindsey  Richard Bong  Horace Carswell  Robert Femoyer  Gott & Metzger  Frederick Castle  Thomas McGuire  William Shomo  Henry Red Erwin The Courage to LIVE Raymond Knight

A Very Special Thanks to Author/Historian Barrett Tillman for his special assistance and creative support in the development of this series. Part I World War One Coming in November 2006 Part III US Air Force