Winfred to Margaret

EDITOR’S NOTE: Winfred, his crew, and the entire 453rd Bomb Group are now on their way to the E. T. O. ( European Theater of Operations). While there is a pause in the letters,  three informational articles are being provided. ARTICLE 2 – The Southern Route to the E.T.O. Below is a map of the Southern Route used to get from the United States to England (October – December, 1943) by a different Bomb Group – the 392nd.  Included is a link to an interesting story ‘Flying the Southern Route’ written by one of that group’s pilots – Burrell Ellison.  It is Burrell’s personal account detailing their crew’s trip across.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Winfred, his crew, and the entire 453rd Bomb Group are now on their way to the E. T. O. ( European Theater of Operations). While there is a pause in the letters, three informational articles are being provided. ARTICLE 1 – How the 453rd Bomb Group Got to the E. T. O. The article below explains how the 453rd got to England. A link is provided to The Liberator Men of “Old Buc” which has much more information on the 453rd Bomb Group’s history.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the last letter Winfred sent home to his sister Margaret before ‘going across’. Dec. 12, 1943          0990          WM          % POSTMASTER NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. Winfred writes Margaret; he is plenty busy; asks about St. Louis; can only wish he would be home for Xmas; feels he deserves a furlough after a year of training; has not heard from anyone; can’t think of much that would be okay to say; and ends by teasing his cousin Erma.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was the last letter Winfred sent home to his sister Margaret from March Field, CA. Dec. 3, 1943          0960          WM          March Field, CA Winfred heard from Margaret but definitely will not have time to write again for a while. He went to Hollywood again last night and had a swell time. Winfred and a buddy met a girl with a ’41 Chevy and a friend; never seen such a soldier’s town before. Must close; lots to do; came in at 7:00 am went right to work; am plenty tired; sound wild? – making hay while the sun shines. PS He will be making over $300 per month when he goes overseas but will have no place to spend it – GRRR!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two letters were written and sent home by Winfred on Dec. 1, 1943; one to the Folks and one to his sister Margaret. Dec. 1, 1943 (1)          0940          WF          March Field, CA Winfred lets the Folks know he is still in the States, not doing much but spreading rumors and sleeping. He has heard from Cliff who has Mary Lou on his mind, and wishes he was a flier.  Winfred says Clifford’s job is essential and he goes through more than most.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two letters were written and sent home by Winfred on Nov. 25, 1943; one to the Folks and one to his sister Margaret. Nov. 25, 1943 (2)             0910      WM       March Field, CA Winfred tells Margaret he is quite busy flying. It is Thanksgiving Day. They have a big dinner prepared but must watch their diet because of today’s high-altitude mission.  He hopes everyone can be together next year and tells Margaret to tell her boss she wants a ten cent per hour raise or “nuthin at all”.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two letters were written and sent home by Winfred on Nov. 19, 1943; one to the Folks and one to Margaret. Nov. 19, 1943 (2)             0870      WM       March Field, CA Winfred hasn’t forgotten Margaret. He spent 24 hours in L.A.; The crew rent a ’40 Olds and took in the Radio Room, Palladium, Florentine Gardens, and Errol (Earl) Carrols; the girls were plentiful and having a uniform helps; guesses he will be on his way before December to a place where he won’t see many Japs; is a sergeant now; guesses Clifford is on his way back to the army; says it is really foggy; and will write as long as he can.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two letters were written and sent home by Winfred on November 12, 1943; one to the Folks and one to his sister Margaret. Nov. 12, 1943 (2)             0830      WM       March Field, CA Winfred writes Margaret they are near the end of training; hopes to get a new B-24-H soon – it is bigger with more guns; might get home for a short visit; just got crew photo taken in front of a plane; and bets Clifford is home now on his furlough.

EDITOR’s NOTE: Yesterday’s letter (Nov. 9, 1943) from Winfred to the Folks was written in the afternoon after Winfred’s BIG SCARE! that morning.  There is no mention of the near-death experience. Nov. 10, 1943                    0810      WM       March Field, CA                THE BIG SCARE! Winfred writes to Margaret about his BIG SCARE! He begins by complaining on not getting his ratings yet but will hold off on applying for Cadets. He then goes into great detail about how he nearly fell out of the plane at 12,000 ft yesterday and tells her not to tell anyone!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two letters were written and sent home by Winfred on November 12, 1943; one to the Folks and one to his sister Margaret. Nov. 3, 1943 (2)               0750      WM       March Field, CA Winfred thanks Margaret for the candy; the whole crew shared it. He’s been flying 6-hour missions every day and sometimes two a day; trying to catch up on flying and aerial gunnery.  Also, doing some search missions because a radio operator did not report their location before going down. He no longer gets his daily letter from Lois.