Hello to all,
I do apologize for not responding to my post I placed in November 2006 about information on a B-17 called "American Beauty"
I, like so many others, am looking for any information confirming my fathers information. Brief information: My Daddy never talked about his service, I was in high school in the 80's before I found out he served. He didn't have a good ending to his enlistment and it left a unsettling taste in his mouth. The first time anyone in the family heard him talk about being in the Army Air Corp was when my nephew gave us a tour of Fort Campbell. "I was stationed here", that's all he said. Daddy was VERY big into family genealogy and researching his family. He understood how written stories were so important for the generations to come. So Daddy wrote a short biography on himself.
I graduated High School in June 1943. In November I turned 17 and with a forged birth certificate joined the Army Air Corps Cadet program. (A mix up with his name registered him as Leroy V. Arsdale, this did not get fixed until his discharge)
On December 1st I reported to Camp Attebury, Indiana induction center. A week later by troop train to Shapherd Field Texas for basic training. From there to Amarillo Texas for preflight school then to Randolph Field Texas. At Randolph I "washed out" of the Cadet program with mathematics problems. I was transferred to Truax Field Wisconsin for radio operator training and then to gunnery school at Las Vegas Nevada Army Air Base in April 1944.
May 1944 I received orders to report to a deportation port in New Roushel, New Your with a 15 day delay-en route giving me my only time off during three years of service. In June 1944 I landed at Great Ashfield Air Drome, Suffold near Cambridge, England and was assigned to the 385th Bomb Group, 551st Bomber Squadron. My last mission was in April 1945. During my tour of duty I flew 23 missions, credited with 13 enemy air craft downed, wounded twice and decorated twice.
It wasn't a good base, most planes were lost around their 15th mission and casualties were high. Loosing a friend a day became common place. Moral was very bad. The base Commander would not allow a NCO Club and the PX was open once day a week, no beer or alcohol drinks, he did not want to corrupt the "boys".
On my 23rd mission I was wounded by flack in my left foot and ankle. { The story the told my sisters and I about a year before his death was they had to ditch the plane. The crew dialed out. Daddy opened his shoot and noticed below him was a crew member that shoot did not open. He pulled his knife, cut his shoot and dove to the guy and pulled his shoot. By the time he opened his shoot is was late and he hit the ground to hard. That furthered the injury to his ankle.} I was sent home on a hospital ship and sent to the Army Hospital in Louisville, my home. After my surgery healed I was sent to Fort McCollum, Alabama, to a company in their second week of basic training. From there to Fort Hood, Texas to an armored division, then to Camp Polk Louisiana to an artillery unit. I became angry at being transferred out of the Air Corps and into the regular Army and rebelled at everything. While on a weekend pass in Leesville I struck and almost killed a full Colonel (I had been on the boxing team). I was given a General Court Martial, stripped of my S/Sgt. rank, all awards and honors and given a Dishonorable Discharge. The Court Martial sentence of Dishonorable Discharge was over turned by the review board and Pvt. Leroy V. Arsdale was sent to a rehabilitation base at Fort MaCullough, New York. While there the mix up in my name was corrected and in March 1946 Leroy V. Arsdale disappeared and Pvt. Lee Roy Van Arsdale was inducted into the Army and given an Honorable Discharge and sent home on 60 days terminal leave. After six months my discharge had not arrived, I notified the Army and I finally received my discharge dated 4 February 1947, minus foreign service, record of wounds, or decoration. I had spent three years, two months and four day in the Army and has done nothing, according to the records.
I'm sure my dad was no angle and he never spoke of all he had done nor has he every told a lie, that I know of, but I can not find anything on him. I sent for his record and do the fire there is nothing. I do have his discharge paper and a warn out paper from Army Air Force Bomber Group ??? Air Force Dover, England. Subject: wearing of ribbons and citations. By order of Col. Ke?????, signed by William G Swa??on Capt. and 1st Lt Henry J Wilkenson.....It list his ribbons, medals, combat missions and so on.
As most people trying to track down and thread of information on their parents time in the service, anything, hoping to see them standing in the back ground of a photo, anything but I am not able to. He said she flew in the "American Beauty" B-17, he said he navigated and was the gun in the turret on the top (can you tell I don't know my B-17ings). My father was in he early 80's when he pasted and his memory for numbers and names may not have been very clear but still you think I could find something. I can not find an "American Beauty" with the 385th BG, 551st BS, I can not find a loge sheet, mission loge, or crew list with either of his names. He said he had a bubby from the 385th BG named Bob McCullum, can't find him. It was suggest to me that maybe my Daddy made these stories up to cover for something else he didn't want anyone to know. Like maybe he did something really horrible or he wasn't even there. I don't think so, my nephew was in the Army for 22 years. He talked to my dad of the things he has had to do, I think that would have had to open him up if there was anything to hide.
I have discovered a list of planes named "American Beauty", their are seven.
#42-73045 6PR, 20CM
#44-41251 308 BG, 375 BS
#42-95293 392 BG, 578 BS
#41-29530 451 BG, 724 BS
#41-29530 484 BG, 827 BS
#42-73055 5 BG
Linda
I didn't intend to write a book here.