May, June, July, August 2015

Acting President’s Message

     Greetings veterans, spouses and families, and fellow second generation members.  For the past six months, the new Board Officers of the newly-formed 376th Bomb Group Association have worked diligently to facilitate a seamless transition between the old 376th vets organization and the new 376th vets organization.  Hopefully, all that the General Members will notice is a well-managed and tightly-run machine.  (One can hope!) As such, the documents included in this mailing include:

Annual Meeting/Reunion Registration Packet and Registration Form; and
Draft Proposed First Amendments for the new 376th Bomb Group Association Bylaws.

     Annual Meeting/Reunion Registration Packet and Registration Form – We have planned what we believe will be one of the best reunions you’ll ever attend! Please take haste and reserve your hotel room as soon as possible, even if you are unsure about your attendance.  The reasons for this are explained in the Registration Packet.  So, don’t miss out on your chance to visit a beautiful city where your vacation activities have been carefully selected and offered at discount prices.
     Draft Proposed First Amendments for the 376th Bomb Group Association Bylaws – Unfortunately, the bylaws which were originally created to launch the new organization do not reflect many aspects of managing the organization in a manner consistent with past practices and as desired by the Board Officers.  Therefore, more definition and description were needed to explain the intent and function of the organization, to ensure fiscal responsibility and to reinforce past and new management practices.  The Draft minutes from last year’s Board and General Membership meetings will be approved at this year’s scheduled Board of Directors and General Membership Meetings.  The contents of these minutes also provided much of the basis of the proposed bylaws. It is imperative that you review these Proposed First Amendments to the Bylaws since you’ll be voting on them at the General Membership Meeting on Friday, October 2. An electronic version of both the strikeout/underline and the clean copy will be posted to the website for your reference (go to  www.armyaircorps-376bg.com).  It may be easier to just review the clean copy with no revisions showing!
     Membership – If you have not already done so, PLEASE DON’T DELAY, submit your bi-annual membership dues to our Treasurer, Kenney Hebert (see dues information in this newsletter).  And, lastly, I want to express to you the importance of becoming, or continuing to be, an active member of this organization.  Without your participation, the organization cannot meet its goals and provide the services that we have pledged to provide, and therefore is threatened to become an internet-based organization only!  Specifically, we absolutely need more second generation membership and involvement on standing and ad hoc committees in order to ensure the financial health and longevity of the Association.  So, please join the current second generation Board Members to help us continue to hold the annual reunions and meet our mission: “To perpetuate the name, history, comradeship, memories and deeds of the living and the heroic dead of the 376th Heavy Bombardment Group”, one of the most decorated bomb groups in World War II.  I welcome your attendance at our Annual Meeting in San Diego to discuss the possibilities. Thank You!  
     I’m looking forward to seeing you all in San Diego, my hometown, and sharing with you what makes this a special place to live and visit! Until then…..I wish you good health and safe travels!    Warm Regards,

Deborah (Heist) Sharpe
Acting-President/Reunion Planner

 Historian’s Corner

     Our web site continues to expand.  One of the major factors continues to be descendants, both children and grandchildren, of 376th  veterans.  In addition, friends and relatives are also sending a variety of information about their service.
     The following is a list of the veterans, the person providing the material, and the type of material:

Albahari, Hyman;                grandson: Matthew;                 crew photo
Andrews, Ralph;                  friend;                                     photo
Cap, Stanley;                       daughter: Pam;                        crew photo
Carmel, James;                    son: Jeff;                                  crew photo
Cummings, John F;              nephew: Jerry;                         grave, newspaper
Fromson, Merle;                  daughter: Terry;                       photo collection
Goehle, Henry John Paul;     daughter: Caron;                      photo collection
Gorman, Donald;                 son: Thomas;                           crew photo
Kennedy, William;                son: Mike;                                photo collection
Mackenzie, Alexander;        friend: William Kennedy's son;  photo collection
McCord, Carl;                      grandson: Keith;                       crew photo
McGowan, Hugh;                 daughter: Laura;                       crew photo
Mitchell, Delbert;                 friend: Ralph Wilson's son;       photos, stories
Smither, William;                 daughter: Celeste;                    war story, photo
Tarr, George;                       stepson: Bernard;                     crew photo

     We are also in the process of digitizing the material in our archive.  Continue to send your material.
                                                                  Ed Clendenin
                                                                          Historian
 

A Word From Our Chaplain

     This last Memorial Day 2015 I read an excellent piece written by the Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Donley, and the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, sent to the Airmen of the U.S. Air Force and their families.

Memorial Day provides an opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifices of our nation's uniformed service members, particularly the more than one million Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who gave their "last full measure of devotion" to preserve the freedoms we cherish. Many of us can envision a specific individual -- a relative, friend, or coworker -- who has paid the ultimate price in defense of America. Take a moment -- right now -- and think of that person and their family ... thank them for giving their all.

Let us also honor the sacrifices of our "greatest generation" on this day of remembrance. Our ability to hear first-hand from our World War II veterans will not last forever, as the final Doolittle Tokyo Raider reunion earlier this year testifies, so take advantage of every opportunity to thank and learn from these heroes. We must never let the sacrifices of our fallen, missing, captured or wounded be in vain.

     It’s a tremendous honor to serve as chaplain to the 376th and I want to take this opportunity on behalf of the second generation
to say thank you to our fathers, both living and passed, veterans who served during WWII.
     During the entirety of the war it is estimated that between 110 to 150 million people lost their lives. Why this horrible loss? President Roosevelt in his message to Congress December 8, 1941 stated very clearly why the United States was entering the war.

“On the morning of 11 December, the Government of Germany, pursing its course of world conquest, declared war against the United States. The long-known and the long-expected has thus taken place. The forces endeavoring to enslave the entire world now are moving toward this hemisphere…delay invites greater danger. Rapid and united effort by all of the peoples of the world who are determined to remain free will ensure a world victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of savagery and of barbarism.”

     It was Winston Churchill who warned in 1935 that the world lacked the courage to stop Hitler’s war machine. Churchill was not entirely correct. Our nation did rise up and millions courageously fought, many making the ultimate sacrifice. The war against the Axis powers was won. That war machine came to an end.
     We are recipients of a great treasure, freedom. The Liberandos destroyed 220 enemy aircraft in aerial combat and alone suffered casualties totaling 1,479 officers and enlisted personnel and 169 aircraft. Next to the Army ground forces the AAF lost more men than any other branch of the military during the war. It is important that every generation treasure this tremendous gift of freedom won at such great cost.
     I am grateful for the many Memorial Day commemorations all over America.  This Memorial Day, 2015 I am praying that as a nation we regain that original resolve and take hold of the motivation to end the war on terror. One author wrote that it is time to recognize the truth that no one, not a Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, or even a Muslim, is safe from the assault of the radical Islamist hatred. These people are fomenting an ideological war on any and everyone who will not submit to their dogma. Certainly not the first time the Greatest Generation has encountered something like this. But subsequent, not so great generations, generally are failing to grasp that this is ideological warfare.
     The Apostle Paul was familiar with ideological warfare. As a Hebrew, Paul was convinced, based on a vision of the resurrected Christ, that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. He took this message of repentance and faith in Jesus to the Roman Empire.  The Apostle Paul encountered horrific kick-back in his missionary journeys as did his fellow Christian missionaries, many including Paul giving their lives for the message of forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus. Later he would write to the Corinthians:

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.  
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Message Bible

     Whether we wish to admit it or not, our nation was founded on self-evident truths that were derived most evidently from the Bible. Our legal system is Judeo/Christian, meaning it is rendered from the Bible.
     Paul’s starting point was a Biblical world-view that understood that humans are flawed. To use Biblical language, humans are “fallen.” Fallen? What does that mean?... you might ask? It means that they, we, are sinful. There is something broken on the inside of us that has bled outwardly and infected the entire world. Genesis tells us that what God created “good” has become, in the language of the Apostle, - “unprincipled, dog eat dog, not fair, manipulative and massively corrupt.” Paul preached a “truth about God” that corrected “warped philosophies” and “barriers against the truth of God.” He taught that our misshapen lives could be re-formed and shaped afresh to be like Christ. Every “loose thought and emotion and impulse” could be restructured by this message, this Gospel.  
     It was Paul’s associate John who wrote in John 3:16 - “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Then later in 1 John 4:16 “God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
     This Christian message was not dreamed up by Paul or John. They received this message from the Son of God, Jesus, who received it from His Father. The God and Father of Jesus gave to the human race the way back to wholeness and peace.  
     President Roosevelt’s address to Congress on that faithful day of December 8, 1941 appealing for a “rapid and united effort by
all of the peoples of the world who are determined to remain free will ensure a world victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of savagery and of barbarism,” did not rid the world of the forces of savagery and barbarism after five horrible years of world war. The Apostle Paul understood that the real war is not fought on a physical plane. It is a spiritual war. As much as radical Islamists insist that they are fighting a spiritual war, it’s just another ideology of savagery and barbarism that free nations will rise up to resist because they see it for what it really is. Until the Prince of Peace is received in human hearts, we will not find peace on the inside and we will continue to war with each other in countless savage and barbaric ways. My prayer is that
His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, one heart, one life at a time.  
                                                                         In His Service,
                                                      Robert B. Oliver, Chaplain
 

In Memoriam….

     Sulkosky, Edward Joseph, passed away December 9, 2014 at age 89. Mr. Sulkosky was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Mary Sulkosky, 1 brother and 3 sisters, and 1 grandson. He was originally from Eckley, PA and was a veteran of the US Air Force. A resident of Montgomery since 1955, he worked for the Veterans Administration for over 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Rosa Wisener Sulkosky, and four children, Edward Howard Sulkosky (Nancy), Rose Sulkosky Morris (Tom), Michael Joseph Sulkosky (Lisa), and Marianne Sulkosky Parrish (David). He is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Bobby Sulkosky, Heather Jones, Matt Morris, Ken Sulkosky, Robin Sulkosky, Andrew Sulkosky, Justin Parrish, and Jordan Ray; 10 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild. He is also survived by a sister, Margaret Fedorsha in New Brick, NJ.

     August W. Schild Jr. was born in Waco, Texas on March 1, 1925, and passed away in Willis, Texas on February 25, 2015. August W. Schild Jr. served in the United States Army Aircorp. as a radio operator/gunner with the 376th bomber squadron in WWII achieving rank of Technical Sgt. Preceded in death by his wife Mildred, August William Schild Jr. is survived by his daughter Penny Helms and husband Gene Bolen, son; August "Butch" Schild and wife Elaine, sister; Candy Schild, brothers; Charles Ray Schild, Teddy Schild, and Dwight Schild, grandchildren; Billy Helms, Chris Helms, and Harold Barron, seven great grandchildren, cousin; Freddy Schild, and lifelong friend Jerry Welch.

     Loving husband, father, grandfather, and our hero, Junior Wallace Caldwell, 89, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, formerly of Milton, WV passed away January 7, 2015. He was born December 13, 1925 in Edwight, WV. He was the son of the late Okley Lee Caldwell and Mary Holly Caldwell. He was a veteran of World War II and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps 15th Air Force 376th Heavy Bombardment group. He was a member of Beulah Ann Missionary Baptist Church and the Huntington Masonic Temple Lodge #53. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by daughter, Becky Anne Caldwell Black, grandson, Brandon Black, and granddaughter, Tara Black. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth Peaches Austin Caldwell; daughter, Marybeth Kyle of Ocala, Fla.; son, Craig Caldwell (Debbie) of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; sister, Delores Myers of The Villages, Fla.; seven grandchildren: Donald Black, Melissa Barnett, Mary Ann Shrum, Chris Kyle, Kristine English, Summer Kasarla & Caleb Caldwell; 16 great-grandchildren; special friends: Fred Lunsford & Paula Pinder.  

 
    Adrian M. 'Bud' Foley Jr. Prominent attorney in NJ legal and political circles, gubernatorial appointee who led NJ Constitutional Convention and oversaw early financing for Giants Stadium, 'a thoughtful leader who represented everything that was good in public life,' 93 Adrian M. "Bud" Foley, Jr., one of New Jersey's leading lawyers for six decades, died at home in Essex Fells, N.J., surrounded by his family, on Feb. 9, 2015, three weeks after his 93rd birthday. Born on a farm in Bartlett, N.D., Mr. Foley moved as a child to New Jersey, where he attended his beloved St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J.; went on to graduate cum laude from Seton Hall University, and after the war received his law degree from Columbia University. A decorated veteran of World War II, he was a B-24 navigator in the United States Army Air Corps who flew missions over the Mediterranean, Baltic and European theaters. He was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters, and five battle stars. Adrian is remembered as Legal Advisor to the 376th HBG.

Treasurer’s Report

DEATHS REPORTED

Name                 Squadron              Date

August W. Schild                         513th     February 25, 2015
Edward Sulkosky                         513th    December 9, 2014
Junior Wallace Caldwell               513th     January 7, 2015
 

FINANCIAL REPORT
The current account balance is $11,890.67.

                                 Kenney Hebert, Treasurer