John R. Woodruff, Mission July 31, 1944
Our first mission was on July 31, target was oil storage and refineries at Targoviste, Romania. We flew left wing to a famous plane (Flame McGoon), it had flown 75 missions without a turnback. They were trying to set a record of 100 missions, then send it back to the states for a War Bond Drive. Just before the target we ran into heavy flak. One hit McGoon directly in the bomb bay and she blew up. We had to dive to get out the of way. It nearly hit us. We didn't see any chutes come out. We had flak holes in our plane on every mission.
The website 376bg.org is NOT our site nor is it our endowment fund.
At the 2017 reunion, the board approved the donation of our archives to the Briscoe Center for American History, located on the University of Texas - Austin campus.
Also, the board approved a $5,000 donation to add to Ed Clendenin's $20,000 donation in the memory of his father. Together, these funds begin an endowment for the preservation of the 376 archives.
Donate directly to the 376 Endowment
To read about other endowment donation options, click here.
Reunion
DATES: October 15 - 18, 2026
CITY:New Orleans, LA
HOTEL:
Hyatt Centric French Quarter
800 Iberville Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 586-0800
Click here to read about the reunion details.
Click here to view videos of the 2022, 2024, and 2025 reunions.
