Transcript: Video "A Village Remembers"

Tech. Staff Sgt. Russell J. Robinson, R/O 791st Squadron, 467th BG
Photo taken12 days before Mission 760

Driving on this deserted airfield, still standing in Norfolk, the memories of the '40s come flooding back when this was one of the bases of the Second Air Division of the United States Army Air Force. The roar of the Liberators may have gone, but a village still remembers.

Many visitors, when passing through this Norfolk village of Rackheath, situated just outside Norwich, stop and admire this village sign and wonder why there is a picture of a Liberator, a memorial plaque, and a village seat, and what part of the village history this means. We hope that this unique wartime record will show you what it was like in those dark days of the '40s when the members of the Second Air Division of the United States Army Air Force were based in this village and in many others throughout the whole of East Anglia.

Like many other Norfolk villages, Rackheath still bears proud witness to the close ties with the Second Air Division. The village sign incorporates a B-24, the seat was given by the 467th Bomb Group, and a plaque commemorates those of the group who gave their lives in the defense of Freedom. Although this is the story of just one base and one village, it was just the same for all the other groups of the division and their East Anglian villages.

And we begin our journey at the tower, now deserted and silent, but still overlooking the remains of the main runway. On the technical site, one of the hangars is still standing and is used by industry, and the group operations room has also survived, although no Liberator missions are planned there today.

The golden gates leading to Rackheath Park have not changed, and the Hall, although now deserted, still retains its charm and beauty with its lake and bridge and the wonderful rhododendrons nestling in the trees. The huts of the domestic site still remain, and if you stop and stand quietly, you can almost hear those American voices.

The farm on Green Lane West is still there, and so is Salhouse railway station, the gateway to East Anglia for so many Americans in 1942. Also unchanged are the village inn, the Green Man on the Wroxham road, and the Sole and Heel at the Rackheath Crossroads, where the 467th Bomb Group got their first taste of the wartime English beer.

Now, as the evening draws over the field, let's go back in time and look at a unique film record made by Lieutenant Colonel James Mahoney, Deputy Group Commander of the 467th, and listen also to his voice describing the scenes he took in those far-off days.

(Narrated by Lieutenant Colonel James Mahoney):

The film starts out with what is obviously an Eighth Air Force shoulder patch superimposed upon the map of Europe. Following that is the group insignia of the 467th and the individual squadron insignia. The first is the 788th, which was entitled "The Happy Warrior." The next is "The Flying Boxcar," the insignia of the 789th Squadron. A character hurling bombs was the 790th's insignia, and the last one, the "League of Cruisers" Squadron, the 791st*. These last three squadron insignia and the following one were all designed by two Disney artists.

Moving on, you see the "Golden Gates" – that is the entry to Rackheath and the estate of Sir Edward Stracey. Moving down the road is the guardhouse, by which all incoming and exiting vehicles and personnel had to be checked. Next is a scene of Rackheath Manor, Sir Edward's place. Sir Edward and Lady Stracey occupied this manor during our entire stay, along with their daughter Doreen.

Appearing in the sky over the manor house is Big Pete, our assembly ship. The next scene shows our group headquarters and Ops block. The last time I was at Rackheath a few years ago, the Ops block was still pretty much intact and being used for storing refrigerators and other major electrical appliances. Following that is a rather idyllic scene showing the cows pastured adjacent to our hardstands.

Following that are scenes of outdoor maintenance. We did not have nearly enough hangar space, as was true of all bases. And some shots of the bomb dump, which was on the far edge of the base, and all sizes and types of bombs visible, from the small anti-personnel bombs – those containing the red tags – to the largest we carried, that is, the 2,000 lb bomb. Four of these were carried in each B-24.

Following that are some scenes ready for today's mission. These are somewhat unusual in that most of our mission preparation was accomplished late in the day, and most missions took off early in the morning. This happened to be about at the time of the Bulge when we were flying around-the-clock support missions for the ground troops. You see the planes being fueled and bombed.

Another shot of Big Pete, and then some GI art on our various planes, most recognizable of which is Witchcraft. Much has been written about the Witch: the 130 missions without an abort, the number of bombs dropped, the number of wings changed, engines changed, holes patched, etc. But the most interesting to the crew members was that nobody was ever injured in any way when flying the Witch.

The next scene shows the crews loading into the trucks after briefing to be taken to their hardstands. Then some start-engine scenes. Again, these films were taken during the rather unusual operations at the time of the Bulge. Normally, this all occurred during darkness.

Next, you can see the caravan and takeoffs feeding in from the perimeter strip, both sides of the runway. We used 15-second intervals, an alternate feed from either side of the runway. The planes took off in the order in which they would reach and form up at altitude. Our formation altitude was generally our bombing altitude, usually above 20,000, most often about 22,500 feet.

After several takeoff scenes, there's a sequence of what we call "the second dawn" occurring above the clouds. And these were taken at our usual assembly time, early morning. Also, you can see Big Pete standing out rather clearly. As we circled for assembly somewhere up north, just beyond Cromer, you can see the leader flying assembly flares. As you know, each group had its own combination of two colors in two-star flares. Ours happened to be a combination of red-green. The lead was supposed to fire them every 20 seconds.

My film shows the usual three-squadron assembly. There was no fixed size to a group formation; we put up whatever the division field order called for, and this ran anyplace from 18 to 62. You also see Little Pete, which was our P-47, flown by the Old Man, myself, and our group operations officer, used for shepherding lost sheep into our formation. Inasmuch as we operated on radio silence, this was usually done by flying in tight and using hand signals to direct the wandering Liberator toward his leader. Little Pete, like Big Pete, returned to base after the group was formed and on its way.

Following are some formation shots, some loose and some not loose. There's also a shot of four Mustangs flying in trail. And the next series of flares indicate the IP, that is, the initial point of the bomb run, at which time the leader signaled that point with flares and turned toward the target. The bomb bay doors opened.

You might be interested in the number "3" that appears on the nacelle of one of the engines. Because the top turret gunner could rotate his turret at high speed, he sometimes lacked orientation.

(Brief, unclear combat chatter excerpt: "600 he sent me in trouble out 2:00 watching got an engine on fire for the three planes 9:00 coming around keep your arm...")

Next, you see flak and many planes converging on the target area. One plane is hit, goes down in flames, a few chutes come out. Then bombs away, which I took on a mock run over France where my presence in the command seat was not particularly urgent. Following that, the bombing of Pas de Calais, which Roger Freeman refers to in his book as being the most accurate bombing ever done by the Eighth Air Force.

Also, en route home, some P-51s, two P-51s performing victory rolls as they went by to indicate to us they had shot down an enemy plane that day. And some high contrails, again of fighters, and some contrails being made by bombers.

Next is Little Pete coming up to meet us for a number of reasons: to check to see what priorities we had for the landing of the group in terms of damaged airplanes, wounded aboard,

etc. Also to closely visually inspect any suspected damage on the planes. And there are some broken clouds over the North Sea, allowing plenty of room for an easy letdown.

After that, the three-squadron group approaches the field, and from here on, the pictures were taken from the tower. They start our procedure landing, which lands one squadron at a time. The first squadron peels its planes off at 5-second intervals. The other two squadrons circle, individual planes circle over the tower, and the control officer – or in this case, it was us up in the top with the field glasses – checking the planes for any damage. The planes were scheduled to land at 20-second intervals. I say scheduled because it was a very difficult target to achieve.

You then see the second squadron coming around and peeling its planes off, and the third squadron will make one more wide swing out toward Great Yarmouth before coming back for its turn to peel off its planes. And among the bombers, Little Pete sneaks in with me at the controls that day. I taxiied to the hardstand and then climbed up.

Then there are various scenes of planes landing and returning to roost and being fueled up for tomorrow. The last scene shows the crew getting out of the trucks for interrogation. A later arrival taxis in, and the daylight has gone, but the base does not stop as the ground crews work throughout the night to prepare the Liberators for tomorrow's mission. In the '40s, life on an airfield was indeed a 24-hour task.

(Return to main narrator):

This then has been a unique glimpse of History, filmed and narrated by Lieutenant Colonel James Mahoney, the Deputy Group Commander of the 467th Bomb Group of the Second Air Division, United States Army Air Force – the Rackheath Aggies who were stationed at Rackheath from October 1943 to June 1945 under the command of Colonel Albert J. Shower. Perhaps the story of just one field, but in fact, the story of them all.

Now, in the present day, on the deserted runway, many local people still remember them. And one of those is Mrs. Reynolds.

(Mrs. Reynolds):

My bungalow was over there. There was a railway in between my bungalow and this airfield, and I could see the runways. I could see the craft taking off and returning. And two, the two that we liked best, well, two that stood there most of the time, every time they came back, was Snooper and Witchcraft. Snooper remained there till nearly the end of the war and then disappeared. But Witchcraft stayed there, and I think was even engaged in the Normandy Landings, and she returned with the aircraft men when they went back to America.

Other memories still come to light, such as this dog tag recently plowed up by Mr. John Robinson near Rackheath Hall. In another Broadland village not far away, with a Royal Air Force crest on its village sign, are links yet again with the Second Air Division. Here at Royal Air Force Neatishead, part of the 467th base is still working hard in the defense of Freedom. These huts, which were originally at Rackheath, are now used as a combined mess in this vital Royal Air Force radar station. In the bar, there is a plaque to mark the close ties with the Second Air Division, a link of friendship stretching way back to the '40s, as explained by the Station Commander, Group Captain John Hopkins.

(Group Captain John Hopkins):

Hello, my name is John Hopkins, and I run an RAF station at Neatishead. We formed in 1941. You came and joined us in 1943. The association we formed then is still very, very strong. We still work with the United States Air Force, and we're still in the Battle For Peace together. We have a very close association with the Second Air Division from Rackheath, in that we are still using buildings now that you used in 1943. They provide us with our only social center on the station, and without it, my station now wouldn't work. So the association that was formed 30-odd years ago is still going very strong.

(Return to main narrator):

And so we return to Rackheath. And while we look back once more at some original photographs, let's listen to Jordan Utal, a member of the Second Air Division and a governor of their unique Memorial Trust, to explain why they came, their thoughts in those years, and how they came to leave us the unique Memorial to all the groups in the Second Air Division: the wonderful American Room in the Central Library at Norwich.

(Jordan Utal):

You have seen the story of one peaceful East Anglian village, Rackheath, the World War II airdrome adjacent to it, and the 467th United States Army Air Force Bomb Group which fought the war so heroically and successfully from it. Firmly tied into this story are the largely similar stories of 13 other B-24 Liberator bomb groups and the five P-47 and P-51 fighter groups of the Second Air Division, United States Army Air Force, and the peaceful East Anglian villages adjacent to them.

It is the story of brave men who flew in these aircraft, of those who survived, and of those 6,100 men who made the supreme sacrifice. And also of the countless thousands of support personnel, men and women, who knew them, served with them, laughed with them, and wept for them when they died.

The survivors reacted quickly after V-Day, responding generously to the appeal from the Second Air Division commanding general for funds to be used for the creation of a suitable memorial for all who died in line of duty. And how much more suitable could one be than the unique, living Second Air Division Memorial Room of the Norwich Central Library, dedicated to peace and to continuing education for the use of the citizens of East Anglia? A room which contains a freshly kept stock of thousands of books on all facets of American life, each one dedicated to the memory of the fallen comrades of the Second Air Division.

It is devotedly administered by the largely British Board of Governors of the Memorial Trust of the Second Air Division, United States Army Air Force, headquartered in Norwich, and supported in perpetuity by the income from the trust fund, to which annual contributions are made by the Second Air Division Association, now 5,000 strong, and more recently by donations from local Norwich sources.

The association has met in convention reunion each year since 1948, five of those occasions in Norwich. Each reunion remembering the departed and renewing and strengthening the bonds of friendship among the survivors and our English friends. All this enlarges the story of Rackheath village and strengthens the bridges formed between the citizens of East Anglia and the men and women of the Second Air Division. It serves as a tribute to the struggle we shared, the tears we shed for the fallen, and the glowing satisfaction we experienced in our victory.

(Return to main narrator):

So this is that unique and beautiful Second Air Division Memorial: the American Room in the Central Library at Norwich. You must call in and see it to understand its meaning, its peace, and tranquility. At the going down of the sun over the runways, and in the morning, we and future generations of East Anglians will always remember the men and women of the Second Air Division with pride and affection. 

*My father's squadron. His plane was usually the squadron lead behind Shower's element.

—From video "A Village Remembers" courtesy of Joe Dzenowagis