BU Crew Formation
Ok...since the New Year, I haven't been sleeping much. The information has been coming too fast and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to slip into place....
I decided to check all the dental records for our crew members in order to determine last treatments and at what base they took place at. The following produced startling results:
Robert Harris:
November 9, 1944 - Checkup at Charleston, S.C.
Harold Hubka:
November 27, 1944 - Checkup at Charleston, S.C.
Tony Secalo
November 6, 1944 - Checkup at Charleston, S.C.
Richard E. Schaffer
November 27, 1944 - Checkup at Charleston, S.C.
George Quinn
November 27, 1944 - Checkup at Charleston, S.C.
We know Frank Davis was at Charleston, S.C (evidenced by his letters home) during this time but no dental records are in his IDPF.
We know that Fred Reinke was at Charleston, S.C. (evidenced by wife's and sons e-mails and his fathers letters)during this time but I do not have his personnel file.
Therefore, we have confirmed that seven out of ten final crew members were at Charleston, S.C in November '44.
It has taken close to three years, but we can safely say that this crew formed up at Charleston Army Air Field in November 1944 before they flew up to Mitchell Field, New York and then off to Bangor, Maine. The letters provided to us from the Davis & Quinn families, along with the Reinke family conversations were invaluable in making this conclusive.
However, we are still left with three crew members that are not currently linked to Charleston. There are no dental records for Henry Dumont and Thomas Domanack in their respective IDPfs. Were they at Charleston in November 1944?
With respect to Wesley Kozenka, I have not been able to trace him to Charleston. My last known assignment for him was Chatham Air Field in GA on October 24, 1944. This evidence was obtained through his dental records, however I do not have any medical records relating to him at Charleston. If I can establish that he left GA after 10/24 and went to Charleston, we will then know that he joined the crew there and most likely went to NY and ME. If he did not travel overseas with the crew, it could explain the notation by Fred Reinke on the crew photo (above) that Wesley was a 'spare' co-pilot.
Tis sad my family never thought to preserve his letters or memories. Perhaps we take for granted those around us, thinking they will remain with us forever and will always be able to be near us to answer our questions when we call on them. Perhaps it is life itself, facing our mortality each day we wake, arriving closer with the rising sun. Perhaps, life just deals us a bitch of a hand some times.
Blue skies,
C. Corwin