Vanished Hero: The Life, War and Mysterious Disappearance of America’s WWII Strafing King
Page 32
3. Craven and Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume VI, Men and Planes, XV.
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Proclamation 2487—Proclaiming That an Unlimited National Emergency Confronts This Country, Which Requires That Its Military, Naval, Air and Civilian Defenses Be Put on the Basis of Readiness to Repel Any and All Acts or Threats of Aggression Directed Toward Any Part of the Western Hemisphere, May 27, 1941. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=16121.
“The Chance of a Skunk Picking on a Lion”
1. Office of Statistical Control, Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II, 16.
2. Letter, Elizabeth Righetti Middlecamp to Anthony C. Meldahl, July 13, 1995.
3. Office of Statistical Control, Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II, 62–63.
4. Rebecca Hancock Cameron, Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907–1945 (Bolling AFB: Air Force History and Museums Program, 1999), 425.
5. “Squeezing Last Ounce From Plane Helps Pilot to Keep Out of Jams,” Abilene Reporter-News (August 31, 1944), p.8.
“I’m Going off to War Now, Mom”
1. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Leedom Kirk John, 1992 and 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by John are derived from this collection.
2. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Russell Haworth, 1995. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Haworth are derived from this collection.
3. Robert Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble: KIAs, MIAs, POWs & Evaders of the 55th Fighter Group in WWII (Visalia: Jostens Printing & Publications, 1993), 15.
4. Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 52–53.
5. Bernard Boylan, Development of the Long Range Escort Fighter, USAF Historical Study 136 (Maxwell AFB: Research Studies Institute, 1955), 180.
6. Telephone interview, Jay A. Stout with Frank Birtciel, February 8, 2015.
7. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Herman Schonenberg, 1995. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Schonenberg are derived from this collection.
8. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Darrell Cramer, 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Cramer are derived from this collection.
9. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Edward Giller, 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Giller are derived from this collection.
10. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and John Cunnick, 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Cunnick are derived from this collection.
11. Joe Christy, Luftwaffe Combat Planes & Aces (Blue Ridge Summit: Tab Books Inc., 1981), 82.
“Have My Own Squadron Now”
1. Adolf Galland, The First and the Last: The Rise and Fall of the German Fighter Forces, 1938–1945 (New York: Bantam Books, 1978), 206.
2. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, November 2, 1944.
3. Headquarters, Army Air Forces Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, Pilot Training Manual for the Thunderbolt, P-47N (Washington: Headquarters, Army Air Forces, Office of Flying Safety, 1945), 52.
4. Bernard Boylan, Development of the Long Range Escort Fighter, USAF Historical Study 136, 180–181.
5. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Millard “Doak” Easton, 1992. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Easton are derived from this collection.
6. Raymond F. Toliver and Hanns-Joachim Scharff, The Interrogator: The Story of Hans-Joachim Scharff, Master Interrogator of the Luftwaffe (Atglen PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 1997), 213–214.
7. Ibid., 223.
“Everyone Looks So Well”
1. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Frank Birtciel, March 22, 1945.
2. Colin Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis, The German Aces Speak: World War II through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe’s Most Important Commanders (Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2011), 64.
3. Smithsonian National Postal Museum. “Victory Mail—Online Exhibit.” Victory Mail—Online Exhibit (accessed April 01, 2016); http://postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/letter/better.html.
4. Rosemary Ames, “Sabotage Women of America”, File E-NC-148-57/181; OWI Intelligence Digests, Office of War Information, Record Group 208; National Archives at College Park, Maryland; 4–5. http://postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/letter/better.html.
“We Try Not to Hit the Crew”
1. Klaus Grabmann recollections, via Anthony C. Meldahl, undated.
2. Mission Summary Report, 55th Fighter Group, February 25, 1945.
3. Johannes Steinhoff, The Final Hours (Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2005), 123–124.
4. Piet G. M. Truren, The U.S. 8th Air Force’s Microwave Early Warning (MEW) Radar at Greyfriars, Suffolk, and Eys, Netherlands During 1944–1945. November 2012. Accessed April 1, 2016. http://www.dunwichmuseum.org.uk/reslib/PDF/20130531141206Article2012,MEWSRadaratDunwich,PietTruren,4Mb.pdf.
5. Richard Davis, Carl A. Spaatz and the Air War in Europe (Washington: Center for Air Force History, 1993), 521.
6. Mission Summary Report, 55th Fighter Group, December 24, 1944.
7. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, December 24, 1944.
8. Littlefield, Robert, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 164.
9. Paul Reeves, A Christmas Story, Unpublished memoir, undated. All other quotes by Reeves about this incident are derived from this source.
10. Undated statement by Walter Konantz, 338th Fighter Squadron.
11. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Russell Haworth, December 24, 1944.
“Tonite This Lad is a Tired Guy”
1. Narrative History for January 1945, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, AAF Station F-159, England.
2. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 11525. Pilot Statement, Robert Jones, January 4, 1945.
3. Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 184.
4. Headquarters, 65th Fighter Wing, Light, Intense and Accurate: U.S. Eighth Air Force Strategic Fighters Versus German Flak in the ETO (Saffron Walden: 65th Fighter Wing, 1945), 53.
5. VIII Fighter Command, Down to Earth: Fighter Attack on Ground Targets (Bushey Hall: VIII Fighter Command, August 30, 1944), 14.
6. Headquarters, 65th Fighter Wing, Light, Intense and Accurate: U.S. Eighth Air Force Strategic Fighters Versus German Flak in the ETO, 29.
7. Ibid., 72.
8. Ibid., 79.
9. VIII Fighter Command. Down to Earth: Fighter Attack on Ground Target, 7.
10. Office of Statistical Control, Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II, 263.
11. Headquarters, 65th Fighter Wing, Light, Intense and Accurate: U.S. Eighth Air Force Strategic Fighters Versus German Flak in the ETO, 53.
12. Gerhard Oberleitner, You Up There—We Down Here (Andelfingen: History Facts Time Capsule, 2011), 163.
13. Roger P. Minert, In Harm’s Way: East German Latter-day Saints in World War II (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009). https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/harm-s-way-east-german-latter-day-saints-world-war-ii/berlin-district/berlin-moabit-branch.
14. Mission Summary Report, 55th Fighter Group, January 14, 1945.
15. Headquarters, 65th Fighter Wing, Light, Intense and Accurate: U.S. Eighth Air Force Strategic Fighters Versus German Flak in the ETO, 10.
“It All Happened Pretty Fast”
1. Mission Summary Report, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, January 13, 1945.
2. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 11856. Pilot Statement, Kenneth Schneider, January 13, 1945.
3. Consolidated Encounter Report, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, January 13, 1945.
4. Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 168.
5. F. A. Borsodi, Pilot’s Commen
ts on Me-109G, AAF No. EB-102, Inter-Office Memorandum, Army Air Forces, Material Command, Dayton, Ohio, March 1, 1944.
6. F. A. Borsodi, Pilot’s Comments on Me-109G, AAF No. EB-102.
7. Christy, Luftwaffe Combat Planes & Aces, 128.
8. Thomas Toll, Report No. 868: Summary of Lateral Control Research, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley, 1947, Figure No. 47.
9. Christy, Luftwaffe Combat Planes & Aces, 45.
10. Ibid., 77.
11. Jay A. Stout, Unsung Eagles: True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II (Mechanicsburg: Casemate, 2013), 257.
12. Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 42.
13. Memorandum, 1st Central Medical Establishment, Eighth Air Force to Headquarters, 66th Fighter Wing, Berger Anti-G Suits, August 29, 1944.
“Jerry Went Out of Control”
1. Letter, Frank Stich to Kenneth Renkert, October 8, 1982.
2. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, February 3, 1945.
3. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, William Lewis, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, February 3, 1945.
4. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, February 3, 1945.
5. Combat Thrills, radio interview, Elwyn Righetti with Larry Freeman, Broadcast date unknown.
6. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Richard Gibbs, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, February 3, 1945.
7. Forsyth, Robert, Luftwaffe Mistel Composite Bomber Units (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2015), 57–59. All references to, or quotes by, Lorbach are from this source.
8. Memorandum, Comparative Statistics: 55th Fighter Group with Other Groups in 66th Fighter Wing. George Crowell, Commanding, Headquarters, AAF Station F-159, February 13, 1945.
“Seems Like an Excellent Break for Me”
1. Compilation of various correspondence between Anthony C. Meldahl and Frank Birtciel, 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Birtciel are derived from this collection.
2. Commendation, George Crowell, Commanding Officer, 55th Fighter Group, AAF Station F-159, to Lieutenant Colonel Elwyn G. Righetti, February 21, 1945.
3. Letter, George Crowell to Kenneth Renkert, August 11, 1982.
4. Telephone interview, Jay A. Stout with Edward Giller, December 2, 2015.
5. Compilation of various correspondences between Anthony C. Meldahl and Richard Gibbs, 1993. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes by Gibbs are derived from this collection.
6. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Millard Anderson, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, February 25, 1945.
7. Headquarters (France), United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, Public Relations Office, February 25, 1945, #10,206.
8. Ed Malone Radio Show, Top of the Evening, Westinghouse Overseas Program, December 6, 1944, Blue Network.
9. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Robert Cox, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, March 3, 1945.
10. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 12898. Pilot Statement, Marvin Satenstein, March 5, 1945.
11. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Robert Cox, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, March 3, 1945.
12. Joint Victory Credits Board, 65th, 66th and 67th Fighter Wings, April 17, 1945.
13. Headquarters (France), United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, Public Relations Office, March 3, 1945, #10,256.
14. Telephone interview, Jay A. Stout with Frank Birtciel, February 8, 2015.
“I Hit the Deck”
1. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Thomas Kiernan, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, March 18, 1945.
2. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Archie Dargan, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, March 18, 1945.
3. John J. Pullen, “You Will Be Afraid.” American Heritage. June/July 2005: 29.
4. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, March 21, 1945.
5. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Dudley Amoss, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, undated.
6. Sworn Statement, Dudley Amoss, witnessed by Harold Benner, May 25, 1945.
7. Joint Victory Credits Board, 65th, 66th and 67th Fighter Wings, June 12, 1945.
“I’m Pretty Much Tired”
1. Letter, Roy Cooper to Ken Renkert, October 21, 1982.
2. Letter, Jack Ilfrey to Anthony C. Meldahl, May 4, 1993.
3. Colin Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis, The German Aces Speak: World War II through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe’s Most Important Commanders, 60.
4. Alfred Price, The Last Year of the Luftwaffe (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1991), 130.
5. Ibid.
6. Telephone interview, Jay A. Stout with Frank Birtciel, March 24, 2015. All other quotes from Birtciel related to this incident are derived from this source.
7. Fritz Markscheffel, Schulungslehrgang Elbe. Unpublished paper. March 28, 2008. Via Anthony C. Meldahl.
8. Adrian Weir, The Last Flight of the Luftwaffe: The Suicide Attack on the Eighth Air Force, 7 April 1945 (London: Cassell, 1997), 42.
9. Ibid., 45.
10. Ibid., 57.
11. Dietrich Alsdorf, Auf den Spuren des “Elbe-Kommandos” Rammjäger (Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, 2001), 25.
12. Fritz Markscheffel, Commentary on Air Interrogation Report dated, April 26, 1945, A.D.I. (K) & U.S. Air Interrogation, June 20, 2012. Via Anthony C. Meldahl.
13. Ibid.
14. Philip Kaplan, Behind the Wire: Allied Prisoners of War in Hitler’s Germany (Mechanicsburg: Casemate, 2012), 25.
15. History Channel. “Dogfights—Kamikaze Aired on HISTP—Ark TV Transcript.” April 1, 2010. Accessed April 4, 2016. http://tv.ark.com/transcript/dogfights-(kamikaze)/5916/HISTP/Thursday_April_01_2010/241943/.
16. Letter, Klaus Hahn to Karl-Heinrich Langspecht, March 25, 1993. Via, and translated by, Anthony C. Meldahl. All other quotes by Hahn related to this incident are derived from the same source unless noted otherwise.
17. W. Budd Wentz, MD. “Rammed Over Germany, Target: Parchim.” Accessed April 4, 2016. http://home.earthlink.net/~tom.mccrary/TargetParchim-RammedOverGermany.htm.
18. Ibid.
“Don’t Be a Fool”
1. Richard Davis, Carl A. Spaatz and the Air War in Europe, 539.
2. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Edward Giller, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, April 9, 1945.
3. Joe Christy, Luftwaffe Combat Planes & Aces, 52.
4. Consolidated Encounter Report, Edward Giller, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, April 9, 1945.
5. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Elwyn Righetti, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, April 9, 1945.
6. Richard Davis, Carl A. Spaatz and the Air War in Europe, 584.
7. Hermann Buchner, Stormbird (Manchester: Crecy Classic, 2000), 238.
8. Werner Girbig, Six Months to Oblivion: The Defeat of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force over the Western Front, 1944/45 (West Chester: Schiffer Military History, 1991), 205–206.
9. David Middlecamp, “Remembering Elwyn Righetti on Memorial Day.” Photos from the Vault. May 21, 2015. Accessed April 04, 2016. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/photos-from-the-vault/article39533085.html.
10. Mission Summary Report, April 16, 1945, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group.
11. Confidential statement, John Kavanaugh, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, April 16, 1945.
12. Oral history interview, Harold Ide with Edward Giller, November 22, 1991. All other quotes by Giller related to this incident are derived from this source.
13. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 13941. Pilot Statement, John Kavanaugh, April 17, 1945.
14. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 13865. Pilot Statement, Walter Strauch, April 20, 1945.
15. Missing
Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 13866. Pilot Statement, Walter Strauch, April 20, 1945.
16. United States v. August Kobus, A German National, February 6, 1946, Case No. 12-1155, Deputy Theater Judge Advocates Office, War Crimes Branch, United States Forces, European Theater.
17. Littlefield, Double Nickel-Double Trouble, 171.
“One More Pass”
1. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 13920. Pilot Statement, Robert Welch, April 19, 1945.
2. Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report, Richard Gibbs, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, April 17, 1945.
3. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) No. 13916. Pilot Statement, Carroll Henry, April 21, 1945.
4. Ibid.
5. Mission Summary Report, 55th Fighter Group, April 17, 1945.
“Your Little Daughter is Sure Getting Cuter”
1. Telephone interview, Jay A. Stout with Edward Giller, December 2, 2015.
2. Letter, Carroll Henry to Elizabeth Righetti, November 24, 1945.
3. Arthur Thorsen, The Fightin’ 55th (Unpublished manuscript, 1984), 222.
4. Letter, Konrad Rudolf to Anthony C. Meldahl, April 27, 1993.
5. E-mail, Robert Righetti to Jay A. Stout, February 1, 2016.
6. Letter, E. A. Bradunas, Major, Air Corps, Chief, Notification Branch, Personnel Affairs Division, Deputy Chief of Air Staff, to Cathryn Righetti, May 31, 1945. Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF), Righetti, Elwyn G., Colonel, O-396412. Page 170 of 230. Complete copy of Individual Deceased Personnel File. Original housed at the Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland.
7. Letter, Tom Welch to Righetti Family, July 5, 1945.
8. Letter, Lorraine Righetti to Associated Press War Desk, New York, August 20, 1945.
9. Letter, Headquarters, U.S. Forces, European Theater, Office of the Commanding General, to Elizabeth (Mom) Righetti, October 4, 1945.
10. Letter, Tom Welch to Righetti Family, October 4, 1945.
11. Letter, War Department, The Adjutant General’s Office, to Elizabeth “Mom” Righetti, January 2, 1946.
12. Letter, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Hayes, Headquarters, 55th Fighter Group, to Staff Sergeant Lorraine Righetti, March 7, 1946.