Crew 51

The crew was formed in Alamogordo Air Base in January 1945. I believe I was the last man to be assigned the original crew. While at Alamogordo, our original Plane Commander and Pilot were hospitalized and were replaced by Thomas Wacht and James O. Kirk, respectively. Toward the end of April, we were shipped to Kearny, Neb. to pick up a new B-29. It was there that we learned of President Roosevelt's death. We left Kearny shortly thereafter for our overseas home on the island of Guam. We arrived there the first week of May 1945 and were assigned to the 39th Bomb Group as Crew 51. After training over Rota that took 10 hours of flying time, the officers and the engineer flew extra cargo, each aboard a different plane in the squadron. The crew flew 29 missions. P-51 is believed to be the first replacement crew to be assigned to the 39th Bomb Group. Sheldon Elliott recalls the occasion when P-51 flew Colonel George W. Mundy, 39th Group CO, to Tinian on or about 15 August 1945. Colonel Mundy, at the close of hostilities, was assigned to take over the 313th Wing there. The crew held great respect and admiration for Mundy. As Sheldon so aptly put it, "Missions seemed to go a lot more smoothly with him in the lead plane."

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