Voices From The Past

Christmas day, 1999 will be a day that will always stand out in my mind. That day my son Kedron Rhodes gave me a present that has become the greatest link to my dad, Harold Rhodes and his involvement in W.W.II. Ked gave me a model of a B-24, the plane my Dad was on for 29 missions before they were shot down. The model would have been a wonderful gift in and of it's self. However the events prior to Christmas day held the mysteries of the past. That knowledge of this would not be known for another two years.

My father never talked much about the war that any of us can remember. He died at the age of 47 so as a family, we never knew much about the portion of his life during the war. Kedron contacted both my mother and my sister trying to get information about the plane my dad was on so he could make a model of it and give it to me for Christmas. About all they could tell him is that dad was a top gunner on a B-24 named Naughty Norma and they were shot down on their 29th mission and landed in Sweden. That was about the extent of it. Ked wanted more information so he went to the web.

On October 12, 1999 Kedron Rhodes posted a message at a B-24 veterans group web site asking if anyone had any information on a plane named "Naughty Norma". He did not think any more about that posting until Tuesday, May 22, 2001. When he went back to the site he found that three replies had been posted. That set into motion a whole change of events. Kedron send me, Sheldon, an email telling me what he had found out.

Ked sent the message to an address that I seldom check. For whatever reason, I checked my mail on that account on Friday, May 25th and found Ked's message waiting for me. When I read how he had found the replies, I immediately went to www.google.com and did the same search that he had done. That took me to the replies that he had received.. One of the postings was from Tom Brittan so I sent him a message the same day. He replied on Saturday with information and the casualty report for a B-24 numbered 42-100281. That apparently was the plane named Naughty Norma but I knew it could not be right because my dad was not listed on the crew. I replied saying that about all I knew was that Dad was shot down and they landed in Switzerland On Sunday Tom replied with the names of the planes that had gone done in Switzerland As I read the word Switzerland I realized I had made a mistake. Dad had gone down in Sweden. I sent Tom a quick reply along with an apology. It seemed only fitting that Tom's reply about 42-94973 came on Monday, May 28, Memorial Day. Dad was listed on the crew.

As I looked over the casualty report with my dad's name on it I felt as though I had just found a huge missing link to my dad's war experience. As I read down the list of names of the men that were with dad on that fateful day, I wondered what had ever happened to the rest of the crew. Could it be possible that any of them were still alive? Of course they could be. They would have to be about the same age as my mother. With that in mind I did a search for the pilot, John Forsyth. The results were overwhelming. There are LOTS of John Forsyth's. Where would I even start? How long would it take to go through all those names only to find that none of them was the pilot of Naughty Norma? I felt I had found something but the task was too great. Then the thought came to me that perhaps I could narrow the search down by putting in the middle initial that was listed on the report. That search narrowed it down to just two names. But what are the chances of either of them being the right one? How many people have their middle initial listed on the web somewhere?

Of the two names in front of me, one was from the North, the other in Florida. If he was the age of my mother, he would most likely be retired. If he is retired, he would want to live in Florida. Made since to me. Even if it wasn't him, I had to start somewhere. I dialed the number in front of me and a lady answered. I introduced myself and told her that I was looking for a John Forsyth who had piloted a plane during W.W.II. named Naughty Norma. She said, "That would be my John. Let me get him for you." That evening I had to privilege of talking to the hero who had flown my dad on every mission he was on. For the first time I heard the stories of several of those missions. I found out things that made me prouder than ever of my father. I found out that Naughty Norma really was "their" plane. However it was not the plane they were shot down in. You will have to read the "rest of the story" to find out why.

As soon as I hung up from talking to John, I called my mother and told her the events of the past couple of days and how it led up to the conversation of the past hour or so. By the evening of the 29th I had talked with and tape recorded the conversations of a total of five of Norma's crew. I called my mother and sister and shared with them a lot of the information but I knew that there was parts of the story that I had left out. I also knew that my own children and family would also want to know what I had learned. So in an attempt to get them as much information as possible, I scripted out the conversations word by word. I then combined each conversation into the chronological order and posted that information on this site. It wasn't until the next day, Wednesday, May 30 that I realized that I had posted this site exactly 57 years to the day that Dad and his crew were shot down. It never accrued to me as I was putting all of the information together that it was on the anniversary day of them going down.

Since that day I have exchanged pictures and information with each of those crew members. From that I have been able to add pictures of the events. My sister Lila, her son Dusty and my son Kedron have all done a lot of the research providing me with links and lots of information. It is our desire that this site will be of interest to you and that all of us will have a greater appreciation for the men and women who have fought and are fighting to keep our Country free. We owe them more than we could ever repay.

Who knows what a model B-24 might do for you? Our friends over at Fiddlers Green have developed a wonderful paper model of a B-24. It is well worth the small price they are asking and you could be working on it in the amount of time it took you to read this page. Why not download it while you are reading the next chapter in my Dad's story?

This is a tribute to my Dad, Harold N. Rhodes and the brave B-24 crews of the 389^th BG during WWII

Harold Nelson Rhodes
13136596
Enlisted 10 Nov. 1942 - Retired 31 May 1967

Basic Training

Mulqueeney, Sawyer, Moore - Rhodes
Davis Monthon Air Field, Tucson, AZ June 1943

"I knew your father very well. Was he a good man? He was a real good man." - Brenard Prueher

It was at Davis Monthon Field that the crew was assembled in June of 1943. Kellis' sister sent him a large sheet coconut cake packed in popcorn for his birthday July 17, 1921.

Their original operator was a short, heavy, good natured man by the name of Strabinski. He was a good man but got air sick as soon as the plane left the runway. Countless barf bags were held for him and later thrown out for him. He was replaced by Bob Meads.

While at Tucson they checked out copilots. They did touch and go landings, power off and on stalls, etc. It was a lot of work for John, Bernie, Harold and Bob. The rest of the crew took turns helping out.

Charles spent a lot of time helping Bill Miller with his practice booming. He needed someone to move the "bug" or target around the hanger.

Harold stood out from the start. They knew they had a good airman. According to Charles Kellis, he and Joe were "a little too rowdy for Harold. But he went along and never said much."

One of Harold's jobs was to come on the intercom and tell the rest of the crew when they reached 10,000 feet so they would know when to put on their oxygen. Dad had grown up in West Vagina and had a bit of an accent. Apparently Dad pronounced oxygen, "oggen". Every time he came on and said "Crew chief to crew. We are going through 10,000 feet. Go on oggen" someone in the crew would answer him back "say again". So he would repeat the message the same way. They all laughed and he never seemed to catch on.

The crew in training

Crew in Grand Island, NE Oct. 1943 - Notice B-17 - That was all they had in Grand Island Staging Area. Meads - Sawyer - Rhodes - Kellis - Mulqueeney - Moore Forsyth - Burroughs - Miller - Prueher

Standing: Prueher (Navigator), Forsyth (Pilot), Burroughs (Co Pilot), Miller (Bombardier) Front: Meads (Radio), Sawyer (Engineer - Lt. Waist), Kellis (Armorer - Radio - Rt. Waist), Mulqueeney (Tail - Armorer), Rhodes (Engineer - Top Turret), Moore (Ball Turret)

This picture was taken of crew 50 of the 460^th beside B-24H-1 DT 41-28574. This was the very first B-24H assembled by Douglas at Tulsa from a knock down kit produced by Ford at Willow Run, MI. Following on from earlier B-24E assembly, it had constructor's number 166. The 1 and part of the first 6 can be seen. The last 6 has been painted over with last three figures of the serial number.

It was made available to the USAAF in September 1943. The bold last three figures of the serial number painted on the nose are a sure sign that it was assigned to a training unit in the US.

They trained for 3 months and then went to Grand Island, NE. From there they went on a train to Fort Dix, NJ. They stayed there for about two weeks before they boarded the Queen Mary. They went to Fertha (Fort?) Clide where England and Scotland come together on the west coast of Scotland. That is where the 389th bomb crew was. They arrived around December 1, 1943. They were assigned to a couple of staging stations and then went to Hethel. They arrived in Norwich February 1, 1944.

460th BG was composed of four squadrons (760th, 761st, 762nd and 763rd) and was based at Spinazzola, Italy, as part of 55th Combat Wing, which was assigned to the 15th AF. Crew #50 would tend to point to the squadron being the 761st. The group was deployed to Italy in Jan or Feb 44 - about the same time as my father, Harold Rhodes' crew arrived in England.

8^th AF - 389 BG (H) 566 BS
Hethel, Norfolk, England - April 1944

Possibly, they were originally scheduled to go to Italy as an original 460th BG crew but ended up being assigned to the 8th AF in England as a replacement crew. Losses were very heavy at that time and the 8th AF had a desperate need for replacement aircraft and crews.

Somewhere around the third mission, Miller, the bombardier and Moore, the nose gunner, "turned chicken" and quit. Those who flew did so because they volunteered to do so. Therefore if volunteering to fly was an option, so was quitting. The men and all of their belongings were immediately removed and never spoken of again. They did not want their influence on any of the rest of the "fly boys." Prueher asked to take over the responsibilities of Miller. He didn't mind the extra work and the "extra space" in the plane was welcome. The crew that was left refereed to themselves as "The Basic 8".

Everybody wanted to quit. When asked if he was ever scared, John Forsyth answered, "No. I was never scared. Terrorized YES! Scared is too sissy of a word." By definition, courage is not the lack of fear but proper action in spite of it. The eight that continued to work together as a team were not men without fear but men who did what they needed to do in spite of it. That is what makes a man a hero.

The Crew Put Together

B-24J-85 CO 42-100281

The "Basic 8"
1/Lt. John C. Forsyth - Pilot
Crew at Hethel - Mulqueeney, Burroughs, Meads, Prueher, Forsyth, Rhodes, Sawyer, Kellis
What was left of original crew. Miller and Moore had left. Taken April of 1944.

John Forsyth - at hard stand - Hethel - England 1944 George Burroughs

John Forsyth's wife was Norma Meyers. She was always saying to the guys,
"That's naughty" or "This is naughty". That is how 42-100281 got the name.

Prueher

Forsyth, Prueher and Mulqueeny flew every mission with my Dad.

Harold Rhodes

"Ol Rhodesey. Knew him well." - Prueher

Rod (Charles) Kellis & Joe Mulqueeney

Dick (Richard) Sawyer & Robert Meads

Joseph Tomas & Forsyth, Prueher, Burroughs

These are pictures of the same B-24 whose nose art photo is in "LIBERATOR ALBUM" page 39 of By Mike Bailey with Tony North (ISBN 1 85780 060 5). It was B-24J-85 CO 42-100281. Its call letter in 566th Sq. was D+ and from mid-March 1944 this was displayed on the fuselage as well as on the tail in addition to the squadron code RR.

Crew Chief - He was on flying status later and was shot down over Germany and killed.

Ground crew - crew chief in middle of both pictures.

The First 28 Missions

My Dad's first mission was on February 24, 1944. (see Mission Log) That day there were 23 planes that went out and only 16 returned. Out of the 2nd Section which sent out 10 planes, 6 of them went down. Only 4 made it back. I can't imagine the fear they must have felt knowing that they had to somehow survive 29 more missions before they could go home. The odds were not good but there was a job to get done.

It is not known how many times in all Naughty Norma was flown in combat by Lt. John C. Forsyth and his crew but I have traced it on the following dates in the very incomplete 389th BG mission data that I have:

Feb. 21, Mar 15, 16, 18 (aborted this mission for reasons unknown) & 20, Ajpr. 8 & 29 and May 25.

John C. Forsyth Missions

Month	Day	Target	Aircraft	Aircraft Name
Feb.	21	Osnabruck
Feb.	24	Gotha
Feb.	25	Furth	42-100167	My Tuffy page 16 of Liberator Album
March	9	Brandenburg	42-100190	Princess Konocti page 14, 37, 178
March	13	No Ball	42-100281	Naughty Norma
March	15	Braunschweig	42-100281	Naughty Norma
March	16	Fredrichshafen	42-100281	Naughty Norma
March	18	Aborted
March	20	Frankfurt	42-100281	Naughty Norma
March	26	Siracourt	42-100281	Naughty Norma
March	27	Pau	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	8	Braunschweig	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	9	Tutow	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	18	Rathenow	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	19	Paderborn	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	20	Wizernes	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	24	Gablinger	42-100281	Naughty Norma
April	28	Mimoyecques	42-94996	Liberty Belle page 169
April	29	Berlin	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	1	Brussels	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	7	Osnabruck	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	8	Brunswick	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	9	Florennes	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	20	Rheims	42-50335
May	25	Troyes	42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	28		42-100281	Naughty Norma
May	29	Politz	42-94973

p 16 of Liberator Album - 42-100167 My Tuffy discards her ordnance over the target during the winter 1943. b-24j-75-co 420100167 from 566th BS was written off due to severe battle damage on 9th march 1944.

42-100190 Princess Konocti Pg. 14, 37,178

42-94996 Liberty Belle Pg. 169

Forsyth Forsyth Burroughs

Count the missions

This picture was taken after the aircraft had flown 11 combat missions (see bomb symbols on the armor plate below the pilot's side window). It was not necessarily flown by the Forsyth crew on all of these. It is likely that it was flown occasionally by other crews in the same way as the Forsyth crew flew B-24J-80 CO 42-100190 J+ "Princess Konocti" on Mar 9 (coincidentally, this also landed in Sweden but at Halmstad on Jun 20 when the target was again Politz).

It was the custom at the time that the pilot and the navigator would take an "experienced" crew when they went out on their first mission. This put John Forsyth and Brenard Prueher one mission ahead of the rest of their crew. Then somewhere around Prueher's 18th or 20th mission they were all given a 3-day pass because their waist gunner, Rod Kellis, had been wounded on a mission with Naughty Norma. They went into the town of Norwic. They had just fallen to sleep when some guy came in and woke Prueher up telling him that he was needed at the base to fill in for a sick navigator. That extra mission put Prueher one ahead of Forsyth.

On May 28, 1944 Naughty Norma was hit hard. They completely lost one engine and the rest of the plane was not in good shape. It was "crippled up" real bad. Never the less they made it back to England. This made the 30th and final mission for Prueher.

At one point you were finished after 25 missions. When Gen. Dolittle took over the 8th Air Force, he changed the requirements to 30. Before the war would be over that number would go up to 35. Because of all of the heavy losses, Prueher was the first man in a long time to complete 30 missions. That was cause for celebration. Everyone knew Prueher and wanted to buy him a drink. He didn't refuse.

Because some of the crew had been replaced with other men, there were a total of 4 that only had one more mission to go. Prueher would have liked to gone up again to be with Forsyth and the other 3 to be with them on their last mission but Forsyth would not hear of it. He said there were just too many men that had died going up on just one more and he didn't want anything to happen to Prueher. According to Prueher he was not in any condition to go up that next morning anyway.

May 29, 1944

One last look at the target.

(From left to right; Bob, Harold, Bernard, Joe, Tomas, John, Dick, Rod, George.)

The regular bombardier was sick the morning of May 29th. Jack Hayden was on standby and became their "pick up" bombardier. Jack only had one more mission to go and he wanted to get home. So he would be part of the crew that day. This was his first time flying with the Forsyth crew. Forsyth later said of Jack, "He was a nice guy and a good bombardier." According to Jack, the pilot he normally flew with got the idea he wanted to be a big shot somewhere around their 15th mission. "He wanted to be a pilot who would get 'em," said Jack. Jack later saw that pilot in Miami.

The crew woke up at 3:00 AM and were on the flight line at 3:30. At that time they were assigned to 42-94973. The plane did not have a name at that time but went by the letters on the tail, RR. As soon as dawn broke, somewhere around 5:00 AM, they took off for Politz, Germany to bomb the shipping harbor. According to John Forsyth, "It flew good. We didn't have any problems with it". This was my Dad's 29th mission.

In formation

Little did they realize that this was going to be their last mission together.

They took their "usual" route which they referred to as the Lincoln Hwy. over the Zider Sea, Doomer Lake south of Hanover, south of Berlin, turned north and were bombing the port of Stenton on the Baltic seaport just north of Berlin.

"Little Friend" on the right      

Flak fills the air

There was heavy ground fire and flak took out the supercharger on the number 2 engine enroute to the target. It wasn't far to the target so they feathered the engine and continued on. They reached their target and were able to drop their bombs.

Bombs away

After dropping their bombs they turned back over the Baltic Sea for Hethel, Norfolk. Because of the loss of the one engine, they were trailing the other planes in their flight. They had no sooner made their turn for home when they were surrounded by 18 Me210's German fighters. Every gunner was in position and firing their machine guns. The tail gunner reported that at least 3 of the Me210's were shot down before they were hit themselves. Jack Hayden said he had seen 5 go down. Three of them right away and two that were smoking but turned back to Germany. He didn't see how they could have made it. The remaining fighters continued their pursuit of the larger group of bombers. According to Hayden, Mulqueeny, the tail gunner, saved them.

Going down

The No. 3 engine was hit and caught on fire but they were able to get it extinguished. The prop on that engine was also feathered. The left stabilizer was almost totally demolished and a wheel was shot. The hydraulic system was shot out so the flaps and landing gear all came down. The rest of the plane was full of holes. They were hit by 20 mm shells and a couple of rockets.

S/Sgt. Richard Sawyer, the left waist gunner, was wounded quite badly in the right arm by a 20 mm shell.

When Sawyer was hit it blew him onto Kellis knocking them both down. While Kellis was trying to get Sawyer off of him he was hit in the back and some metal hit him in the right eye so he could not see very well. Jack Hayden made his way out of his position to go administering first aid to Sawyer. It was about that time that the top gun turret was hit.

T/Sgt. Harold N. Rhodes, the engineer and top gunner, was hit in the neck knocking him out of the turret. He fell to the floor of the plane landing on the bomb bay doors, which just minutes before had closed. About that time 4 or 5 more bullets went right on through between Hayden and Rhodes. According to Hayden, Rhodes had a close call. Although Rhodes was "bleeding like a stuck pig" it was soon determined that he was going to be all right. He was quickly given some morphine for the pain. Forsyth had little control of the plane so Rhodes crawled to the back of the badly shot up tail section and found the cables for the vertical and horizontal stabilizers shot in two. He tried to repair them using his belt but was unsuccessful. The left router was pretty well shot off. Forsyth does not know how he was able to get enough control to keep it in the air.

They were loosing altitude and fuel fast. Forsyth asked 2/Lt. Francis Giardiello if they would be able to make it back to England. He said there was no way. Forsyth asked him for a route to Sweden but Giardiello did not have the sectional maps for that area. At this time Forsyth was wishing he had taken Prueher after all. This was Giardiello's first mission. Forsyth made a turn and "guessed". Giardiello later gave Forsyth a heading that would have taken them to occupied Denmark! Forsyth told him, "If and when we get on the ground, stay out of my way!" He did.

The crew knew they were going down too fast to make it to Sweden. They also knew that landing in the Baltic Sea would be disaster and landing in Germany would mean being prisoners of war. In an attempt to keep the plane in the air as long as possible, they threw overboard all not strictly necessary equipment including their guns, ammunition, their flack suits and the bomb site. With the flaps down to 30 degrees, they made their way to what they hoped would be Sweden.

This was a Swedish news photo.

Damaged tail of B-24H-20 FO 42-94973 F+

Sometime around 2:30 or 3:00 PM, they were able to get the plane landed. I believe they landed in a field and hit a fence. The plane was immediately surrounded by men with machine guns. This led them to believe that they were in Norway which was occupied by the Germans. About that time a tall blond man stepped forward and said "Welcome to Sweden." John Forsyth shouted out, "Could you point those guns the other way." The Swede replied, "Don't worry. They're not loaded." They had actually landed at Bulltofta A/F near Malmo, Sweden.

An ambulance took Sawyer and Rhodes immediately to the hospital. The base commander welcomed Forsyth and the rest of his crew. There had been 5 planes land there that day. Forsyth was the oldest so the base commander made him in charge. He asked Forsyth what he could do for them. Forsyth asked if they could have some food. He said, "I know these men are hungry". They marched to the mess hall and were served the only thing they had left; soup and biscuits. The commander asked if they wanted any milk. They were not allowed to drink the milk in England so Forsyth asked if it was pasteurized. The commander looked at Forsyth as if he was out of his mind and said, "Of course it's pasteurized." Forsyth reports "So they brought out pitcher after pitcher of milk. You never saw guys go through milk so fast in all you're life. They hadn't had any for months."

Meanwhile, Prueher was back in England standing at the end of the runway when 21 of the 22 planes that went out that day came back in. The crew that he had been with for so many missions did not return. He had no idea what had happened to them at this time. Later the base Chaplain told him that they were 99% sure that they had made it safely to Sweden. Three days later Prueher was flown to Ireland where he stayed for three months as a radar instructor. He was sent back to the States around September 1st. "I never did see the boys," said Prueher. Years later he was able to locate Sawyer in Buffalo, NY. Mulqueeny came to visit him in Norwich, CT and Burroughs came to see him in Dover, DL.

Back in Sweden, the crew were given rooms for the night and the next morning they boarded a train and headed north. Rhodes and Sawyer were in the hospital. The rest of the crew went up to Loka Brunn which is an old Swedish spa in the mountains. They were given temporary passports. They were not allowed to go into town until they got civilian clothes. They picked up some "crummy looking" civilian clothing. None of them had a full military uniform. There were certain towns that they could not go into.

Because it was so cold while flying, they never wore a complete uniform. They would put on long johns, a heated suit that plugged into electric but most of the time it didn't work. Then an old jean shirt, field jacket which was over sized and fur lined boots.

They didn't have much to do during this time. "It wasn't bad other than it was boring." They played soccer and rode bikes. It seems that there was a charcoal taxi that they would take into a bigger town about 20 or 25 miles away from Loka Brunn. Sometimes when they got to a big hill they had to get out and push.

Richard Sawyer

There is a note on the back that says that is a cookie in his mouth. I don't know where the picture was taken but you can see his right arm is in a sling. The 20 mm shell had taken a piece of bone out of his arm. Forsyth said if it wasn't for the skills of the Swedish doctors, he would have lost the use of his arm.

The crew that day was

Pilot	Forsyth, John C., 1/Lt.	0-680199	30th mission
Co-Pilot	Burroughs, George 1/Lt.	0-683961	30th mission
Navigator	Giardiello, Francis R., 2/Lt.	0-712096	1st mission
Bombardier	Hayden, Jack W., 1/Lt.	0-734454	30th mission
Radio Operator	Meads, Robert W., T/Sgt.	20415422
Engineer/Top Gunner	Rhodes, Harold N. T/Sgt.	13136596	29th mission
Ball Gunner	Carrigan, Michael, S/Sgt.	33094606
Waste Gunner	Kellis, Charles B., S/Sgt.	35417738	21st Mission (Wounded April 9 in hospital 2 wks.)
Waste Gunner	Sawyer, Richard, S/Sgt.	12207080
Tail Gunner	Mulqueeny, Joseph P., S/Sgt.	13126488	30th mission
Nose Gunner	Tomas, Joseph A., S/Sgt.	16108655

All of these brave men received the well deserved Distinguished Flying Cross. Michael Carrigan had taken the place of one of the guys who had quit early on. Thank you Mike wherever you are.

According to a Swedish researcher, it had flown 10 missions not counting this one.

Date:	Pilot:	Event/Mission:	Notes:
30 APR 44	Lewis	Siracourt	1st Combat Mission
2 May 44	Lewis	Siracourt	2nd Combat Mission
8 May 44	Lewis	Brunswick, Ger.	3rd Combat Mission
9 May 44	Lewis	Florennes	4th Combat Mission
11 May 44	Patterson	Belfort	5th Combat Mission
13 May 44	Lewis	Tutow, Ger.	6th Combat Mission
19 May 44	Harris	Brunswick, Ger.	7th Combat Mission
20 May 44	Harris	Rheims, Fra.	8th Combat Mission
23 May 44	Harris	Orleans, Fra.	9th Combat Mission
24 May 44	Harris	Orly, Fra.	10th Combat Mission
25 May 44	Harris	Troyes, Fra.	11th Combat Mission
27 May 44	???	Saarbrucken, Ger.	12th Combat Mission
28 May 44	Harris	Merseburg, Ger.	13th Combat Mission
29 May 44	Forsyth	Politz, Ger.	14th Combat Mission -- Landed in Sweden due to extensive damage to engines and tail structure -- 2 WIA, and aircraft interned.

However, I have found this list of the missions and it shows this one as number 14.

B-24H 42-94973 left Sweden for England on 7 July 1945. MACR 5216

The Stay In Sweden

"You had a good Father I'll tell you that." - John Forsyth

Sweden
May 29 - Dec. 22, 1944

Forsyth, Burroughs, Meads
Kellis, Rhodes, Mulqueeney
(Their first set of civilian clothes.)


Taken shortly after Dad got out of the hospital.

Harold had several pieces of shrapnel and/or Plexiglas surgically removed from his neck. At least one piece was not able to be removed because of its location to vital arteries. As a side note, Dad's nose was never straight. Somehow I had thought that it was crooked because of his injuries in the war. It wasn't until I was talking to one of the crew members that mentioned Dad's nose as being broken boxing or something. I found that hard to believe. It was a war injure I was sure. I mentioned it to my sister as I was telling her about the conversation and she said he broke it playing football. How could this be? It was a war injure. Now I had to know for sure so I asked Mom and guess what, he broke it in High School playing football! Had it not been for my contact with the crew, I would have always thought it was from the war. Only goes to prove you don't know what you don't know.

After leaving the hospital, he was asked to assist with some repairs on damaged aircraft. Apparently they had to switch some engines and word was out that Dad was great with them. He joined the other crew members in Loka Blunn later. Regarding Dad, Forsyth said "He was good I'll tell ya. He was a top engineer. He could do just about everything. You name it, he was doing it."

Brenard Prueher had this to say about my Dad. "Boy were we proud of him. He was a top man there was no doubt about it. He was the best engineer that we could have had. Sharp boy when it came to engines. He and John worked perfectly together. He worked with the pilot most of the time when he wasn't in the top turret. On landing he was squeezed right in side of the two pilots. He had a real important job. He was always a step above the rest of the Sgts. He got his first stripe and his second stripe before any of anybody else did. He was a GOOD man. You better believe it."

Dad also helped transfer gas from one tank to another.

George Burroughs

Loka Brunn Rhodes

They were moved around a couple of times. For at least some time, the crew made their residence in this rooming house. They were located between two lakes.

Buildings at Loka Brunn (Theirs on Rt.)

Main Dining hall at Loka Brunn

Bob Meads - Loka Brunn

Mulqueeney - Loka Brunn - Kellis - Loka Brunn - Rhodes - Loka Brunn

Forsyth - Loka Brunn - Meads - Loka Brunn - Burroughs - Loka Brunn

Joseph Tomas Mulqueeny - Ball Gunner after Moore quit.

Mike

Harold Rhodes

There were some things for the guys to do while at Loka Brunn. They tried to stay busy. They even built docks, a diving board and a 30 foot tower.
One man drowned while they were there. He was not from their plane. He was not on their crew. I don't know who he was.

Kellis - Kellis, Mulqueeney, Rhodes - LB Sweden - Mulqueeney, Kellis, Forsyth eating a mid morning Swedish pastries.
Notice escape map. They were keeping track of invasion after D-Day.

They left Sweden somewhere around the end of October. It was not too long before Thanksgiving. The Red Cross made the arrangements for them to finally be able to leave Sweden. They went to Fallat and were taken out at night in a stripped down B-24. Their first stop was in Stockholm. All they took was a brief case. They sat in the bomb bay till they got to Scotland. Then they had to stay in Scotland to get the records straightened out for a week or two and they put them on a list to come home.

Back In The USA

"Harold was the best at his job. Thought an awful lot of Harold." - Rod Kellis

Somewhere around December 22, 1944, dad returned to the United States and his home in Aurtherdale, WV.

Wedding Picture

I guess you could say it was a short engagement because on December 29, 1944 Harold Rhodes and Hazel Lucille McKinney were married in Oakland, MD. The crew had some leave time as soon as they got back to the States. Then they were to report FL or CA depending on what part of the country they were from. There they were to get their records straight and get their new assignments. For the most part they pretty much scattered. Dad was to go to Miami, FL.

John and Norma Forsyth with Rod Kellis - Nightclub, Miami Beach, FL Jan. 1945

Forsyth arrived in Miami on his birthday, December 28, 1944. John saw George Burroughs and Rod Kellis while there. He was there about 10 days and then went to AZ to be in instructor. So John had already left for AZ by the time Harold and Lucille arrived. John later went to TX and then on to Romulus, MI.

"I did my job and they did theirs and that's all there was to it." - John Forsyth

Dad and Mom went to Florida January 13 on their honeymoon and stayed at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. (See the arrow pointing to the top floor window? That was their room.)

Jan. 13, 1945 - Jan. 14, 1945

Jan. 16, 1945

Harold - Joe - Bob Harold - Lucille - Bob       Dad and Bob
(Charles does not think they guy in the middle is Joe. Need to ask Joe.)

While in Florida, they meet up with two of the crewmembers, Joseph Mulqueeny and Robert Meads.

After their homeymoon, Mom and Dad had to once again part ways. Dad went on to Chinute Field, IL to find a place for them to live and Mom took the train and went back to WV.

The last days of the war.
Champaign, IL April - 22, 1945

From Miami Dad went to Champaign, IL where he was stationed. Mom left Miami on a train and went back to Masontown.

Dad was only in Champaign a couple of weeks when he was scheduled to have surgery on his nose to straighten it. When they took him into the operating room and injected his face, he had a reaction to the medication and they were not able to do the surgery. So they gave Dad the weekend off. He and Mom meet in Cincinnati, OH for the weekend.

It was about a month before Dad was able to find a place for them to live in Champaign. With all of the guys that were coming back from the war at that time, all of the housing around the base was full. It was difficult finding a place to live. Dad finally found a place on Clark St. It was a small place but at least it would be their new home. He called Mom and she got on the train for Champaign. She arrived there in mid afternoon on a stormy day. She got off the train and caught a taxi and instructed the driver to take her to Park St. thinking that was the address Dad had told her. When the driver pulled up in front a rundown shack of a house, Mom couldn't believe her eyes. Yet, if this was what he found, it would be home. At least they would be together. She paid the driver and he carried her suitcase up and set it on the porch leaving her to herself. There wasn't anyone there and the door was locked. Mom had no idea what to do. About that time she heard a voice coming from across the street saying, "I don't believe there is anyone home over there." Mom looked and saw a young mother across the street taking cloths down off the clothes line. Mom though that would be dangerous with all the lightning that was going on.

The woman invited Mom to come over to get out of the rain. This lady's husband was in the Air Force too and had recently been sent overseas leaving her and their baby daughter there until he could get back.

The lady offered the use of the phone to call out to the base to get word to Dad that she had arrived. When Mom called she was told that Dad was out working on a plane and couldn't come to the phone right then. They assured her that they would give him the message that his wife had arrived and to call her at this ladies number. Time went on and Dad did not call. When it got to be around 5:30 - 6:00, Mom once again called the base. They said that Harold was not there, he had gone into town to meet his wife. She said, "I am his wife." They had forgot to give him the message before he left.

Not knowing what to do, Mom decided to stay put where she could see the house across the street and be close to the phone in case he called back to the base and they gave him the ladies number.

The young mother fixed supper for Mom and together they watched and waited for Dad to arrive or call. The hours passed slowly and eventually it was getting late and time for bed. Still no word from Dad. The lady suggested that Mom sleep on the couch where she would be close to the phone. If it rang, Mom was to be the one to answer it. Mom didn't sleep much that night waiting for the phone to ring but it never did.

Meanwhile, Dad had left the base early looking forward to the reunion with his new bride. When he arrived at the house at Clark St. and she was not there, he was concerned. He waited for a little while and then walked to the train station thinking that perhaps she was out there walking to the house. When he arrived at the train station he was not able to find her there either so he walked back home. She still wasn't there. Where could she be? How could he have missed her? So he decided to walk back to the train station. Again, she was not to be found. The rain was pouring down and he had to once again make the trip back to the house. We are not sure just how many trips Dad made back and forth that night. Concern and worry turned into fear thinking of all of the possibilities for her to be missing.

The next morning Dad showed up at the base and told the rest of the guys about his fretful night. It was at that time they told him that Mom had called the day before and left a phone number where she could be reached. Needless to say, they were embarrassed and apologized for forgetting to tell him. They felt so bad that they gave Dad the day off. Dad immediately called the phone number that he should have had the afternoon before.

Mom grabbed the phone on the first ring and rejoiced when she heard his voice. At last they had found each other. Dad told her to go back to the train station and he would meet her there. After all, he knew exactly where that was by now. They both hurried as fast as they could to get to the train station for their long awaited reunion.

Mom was relieved to find out that the house she had keep her eye on for so many hours the night before was NOT the house they would be living in. Dad was relieved to know that his wife was safe and sound.

Little did the man walking the streets back and forth to the bus station that stormy night know that there was only one street separating him and the one he was searching for. Clark and Park run parallel with each other with only University separating them. The house numbers were the same so they were on the same block just a street apart.

---

They were only in Champaign 2 or 3 months before they were transferred to Langlie Field, VA. They went to Masontown on their way to VA.

Masontown, WV - May 2, 1945 May 13, 1945

Masontown - July 9, 1945

---

Hampton, VA

July 17, 1945

Dad went on to Hampton, VA by himself and found them a place to live. Mom took a train to VA. They were there until the war was over and Dad received his discharge Aug. 24, 1945. The day the war was over there was excitement in the streets everywhere. Dad put Mom in the shower with her clothes on and turned the water on. The war was over and they were going home. They went back to WV.

Oct. 45 They went to Davy, WV where my Dad's Grandfather lived. They took Arnim (my Dad's Dad) with them.

---

Out of the Air Force

Dad got out of Air Force on August 24, 1945.

Dad knew that he had to get work as soon as possible. He started working down in the coal mines in Delslow, WV just outside of Morgantown. He shoveled coal into the coal cars. This is the same mine that his dad and father-in-law, Otto McKinney worked in. Otto had been in charge of keeping the pumps running that kept the water out of the mines. A motor jumped the track and he helped lift it back on. The strain burst something on the inside of the eyeballs and he went blind. So he was not able to work at the time Dad was there. Dad realized the dangers of working in a mine so he was only there for 3 or 4 mouths.

He got a job running a stem shovel at a strip mine in PA driving back and forth every day. He realized that there was not much of a future working in the mines and the long drive was not good.

Dad found a job working in a furniture factory in Arthurdale where they were living at the time. He was working there when their first son David Nelson was born on December 9, 1946. David died the next day. On August 22, 1948, I was born. The furniture company was not doing good and it finally got to the point that the paychecks would not clear the bank. They eventually do go bankrupt. Dad asked Mom what she thought about him going back into the Air Force. She said, "Well, at least we would have a pay check and we wouldn't have to worry about the checks clearing." So Dad made the decision to reinlist in November 2, 1949.

In May of 1950 Dad called Mom to tell her that they were going to Rapid City, SD. She said, "Where in the world is that?" Sheldon was 19 months old. Once again, Dad went on ahead to find a place for us to live.

"And we know that to them that love God
all things work together for good." Romans 8:28

Taken in Rapid City, SD in the Spring of 1962 shortly before leaving for Morocco.

Dad was gone several times over the years for two weeks to a month at a time for schooling and training. It wasn't until 1963 that we were separated for an extended period of time. Dad received orders for Morocco. We were going to be going there as a family for a three year tour of duty. All of us had received our shots, sold our house in Rapid City and were ready to go. Knowing that we would not be able to take our household goods, they were placed in storage in Rapid City awaiting our return to the States. We all loved Rapid and did not really want to leave. Little did we know the day we pulled out of Rapid City that this was part of an awesome plan to keep Dad alive. The truth of that would come in the days ahead.

We went to Baltimore, MD to be close to Bertha McKinney, Mom's mother with the thought that Dad would go on to Morocco., find us a place to live and then we would make the trip there. The Lord was good to us and had the trailer right next door to Grandma unoccupied and up for sale. We really didn't need to "buy" a place to live, we only needed it long enough for Dad to find us a place over there. Well, that is what we thought. The owners of the trailer understood our situation and agreed to rent it to us on a month to month basis.

It was only a few days after we moved into the trailer that the main news was about a plane from Ellsworth, AFB in Rapid City, SD that had crashed. In the hours that followed, the details of the crash and the names of those onboard were announced. All of the men on that plane were guys Dad had been working with just a few days before. There was no doubt in his mind that had we not left when we did, he would have been a part of the crew that day. The truth of Romans 8:28 was very clear at that point. The realization that Dad was alive because of the move made being in Baltimore more enjoyable.

Dad in Morocco

Dad left for Morocco intending to find a place for us as soon as he got there. However he was only there a short time when there was a sudden change in plans. The Air Force announced that they were going to close the base Sity Sudean, Morocco. He was told that as soon as the base was closed, he would be sent to Spain to complete the three year tour. There would not be any need for him to have his family there in Morocco. We were excited about the possibility of living in Spain and waited for the day to arrive when we could go and be with Dad once again. Those plans would soon be changed too.

This scooter was Dad's transportation in Morocco. He shipped it back so that Sheldon could have it to take to school.

As it ended up, Dad was in Morocco almost a year as they closed the base. As it got closer and closer to the time for him to be sent to Spain the decision was made to send him back to the States. The asked Dad where he would like to be stationed and he requested Rapid City. Have you ever heard of anyone actually getting stationed at the base of their choice? Well, sure enough, orders came through and we were all going back "home".

May 6, 1963 Dad sent Mom a letter from Morocco telling her they were going back to Rapid City.

When Mom got the letter she sat there and cried tears of joy. Lila went running next door to tell Grandma McKinney. When she got there Grandma asked her what her mother was doing. "Setting over there crying," said Lila. "Then tell her to come over here and cry," replied Grandma.

We also realized another reason for being in Baltimore during that time. One rainy day Mom noticed that Grandma's curtains were not yet opened. When she went over to check on her, she found her in bed too sick to get up. Mom took her to the doctor and she was immediately admitted into the hospital. They did surgery on her and found a blocked bowel. The doctor told Mom that it was a good thing that she got her in as soon as she did. Otherwise, she would have died. Praise the Lord. He always has us where we need to be at the time.

Retirement day 31 May 1967
Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD

Dad was highly decorated

The years after Dad retired from the Air Force.

August 1971

In August of 1971 Dad, Mom and Lila went to Anchorage, AK to visit Sheldon who was stationed there in the Air Force. It was a wonderful time together as a family. Harold and Sheldon went salmon fishing together and had the time of their lives. Dad was the guest speaker for group of teens at an Anchorage church. Little did we realize that this would be our last time together as a family.

September 1971
We believe this is the last picture taken of Dad.

On November 6, 1971 a cerebral hemorrhage suddenly took Dad's life. There is no doubt that Dad is now with the Lord that he loved so dearly. He is buried Portage, MI where he was living at the time.

On August 18, 1973 Sheldon married Victoria Carr in Lansing, MI. They now have four children; Karon, Kedron, Kurt and Kenneth.

On January 3, 1981 Lila married Dennis Ragland. They now have two children; Paula and Dusty.

Kurt, Victoria, Kedron, Karon, Ken, Sheldon                   Lila, Paula, Dennis, Dusty

 Lila Ragland (Rhodes) has a book of dads that says "389th". Inside it says   "389th Bombardment Group". In the back it lists:
Lt. John C. Forsyth
2282 Delaware Dr.
Cleveland Heights, Colorado

Dad later visited John while he was living in Shaker (Cleveland), OH. I don't know the exact time of that visit. According to my Mother, it must have been shortly before their first baby was born (December 9, 1946). She was not able to go with Dad because she was so far along with the pregnancy.

John flew in the reserves for about 5 or 6 years and ferried planes out of Detroit for several years. Then his eyes went bad and he had to quit. He and Norma had two kids.

Co-Pilot George Burroughs kept on flying. He reentered as a Capt. He flew C-24 cargo planes and later helicopters in Viet Nam. Then while stationed in Nevada, he was flying helicopter one day with the base commander onboard and they went into the side of a mountain. Both were killed.

Brenard Prueher was from Janesville, WI so he went back there. He arrived home September 1, 1944 after 3 months as an instructor in navigation. He was married October 24th. He left Janesville in 1952 when the company he was working as a traveling salesman at the time they sent him to New York. He covered everything East of the Mississippi. He later went to NJ and from there to Norwich, CT in 1970. They have one daughter who is married to a New Hampshire Dr. They have a son who lives with them. They also have two grandchildren.

Joe Mulqueeny's first wife died of a cerebral hemorrhage and he remarried five years later. His second wife became a paraplegic. In 1945 he got into an apprenticeship as a tool and die maker in Philadelphia, PA. He worked in that trade for 37 years and retired at 55.

C. Rodney and Martha Jane Kellis

Because Rod Kellis was only on his 21st mission when they were shot down, he thought he would have to continue until he had his 30 in. He later found out that they were classified as POW's and could not participate in that theater again. The war was soon ended and he was able to go home. He now lives with his wife Martha Jane of 55 years (2001) in Hillsboro, OH where he has lived all the time. He was a surveyor for the state highway department. Dad had stopped in to see him when Dad was on his way to the Korean War in 1951 or 1952. That was the last time they saw each other. Sometime around 1998 Charles' daughter was going to Morgantown, WV. Charles asked her to try to find Dad. She made some phone calls but didn't find anyone that knew Dad. Apparently every time flak would hit the under side of the plane, splinters would come up and hit Kellis in the butt. They would then have to pick out little splinters but all in all considered themselves very fortunate.

Charles has been instrumental in the raising of funds and the erection of a monument to three of his classmates (Hillsboro High School 1940) who were all airmen and killed over Europe in W.W.II. The monument was set July 12, 2001 in memory of; 2nd Lt. John W. Bowen Jr. July 14, 1922 Killed in action April 14, 1944 Bombardier 15th AAF B-24, Flight Officer George D. Collins Nov. 11, 1922 Killed in action July 10, 1943 Pilot 12th AAF B-25, 2nd Lt. Spencer L. Shaw Sept. 8, 1921 Killed in action Feb. 20, 1945 8th AAF B-17.

Charles helping Harsha Monument Co.

The man in the green shirt is Charles' son in law and the Mayor of Hillsboro.

The young man standing by him is Charles' grandson, Jostin Harsha.

Martha Jane Fling Kellis - Frank Burns

Charles Rodney Kellis - Bonnie Burns

Jack Hayden had the opportunity to go for another two years in the Army and become a pilot but he didn't. He has about 30 solo flights. He has been married 55 years (as of May 2001). He retired in 1980. At the age of 77 he fell out of a tree while trimming it so he could cut it down. He had a broken pelvis and was beat up pretty bad. They have two sons and one daughter. They have 7 grand children and one great grand child.

Email from Kedron Rhodes

Subject: check this out!

Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 13:51:41 -0400

Hey, I did a search for my name on google.com and it came up with myname in a forume that I forgot that I had signed up with. Pastedbelow are the comments that people have posted! Let me know what youthink!!

: : Does any one know anything about the B 24 Naughty Norma? Mygrandpa was on that plane. His name was Harold Rhodes. If anyone could give me any information on that plane that would be great!!! Thanks: :

: There were at least two B-24s named NAUGHTY NORMA in the 8th AF: B-24D-10 CO 41-23934 in 93rd BG, 329th BS: B-24J-85 CO 42-100281 in 389th BG, 566th BS: Both were painted olive drab/neutral grey. :

Kedron, A T/Sgt Harold N. Rhodes of Arthurville, WV is listed in the Directory of the 389th BG Pictorial book which was published around 1946. If this is your Dad, then the 389th BG plane listed by Tom Brittan for the 566th BS would be the plane your Dad was affiliated with. George

I love the internet!

luv ya bunch!

dek

What happened to Naughty Norma?

As for Naughty Norma, she was on a mission to bomb industrial targets in SW Germany when she was shot down by flak 19 July 1944, 11:30 AM. A wing damaged and the tail section knocked loose. All of the crew bailed out at +/- 4500 ft. She then crashed at Menzenschwand on the Kaiserberg, 15 km NW of St. Blasien, Schwarzwald, or 25 km NNW of Waldshut, Germany. She was part of the 389^th BG (H) 566 BS Hethel, Norfolk.

However, according to another report, while on this mission the plane ahead of them had just dropped their bombs but one bomb did not release. The bomb doors were closed and about that time the bomb dislodged and fell through to corrugated aluminum doors tearing them off. One of the doors came back and took off one of the wings of Naughty Norma. The crew managed to parachute out and the plane crashed in a forest and burned.

Her final crew was:

Pilot	Deeter, David O., 2/Lt.	0-697477	POW
Co-Pilot	Reedy, Richard W., 2/Lt.	0-819318	POW
Navagator	Moller, William, 2/Lt.	0-712880	POW
Bambadeer	Sullivan, George J., 2/Lt.	0-783534	POW
Radio Opperator	Schuster, Jack, T/Sgt.	32205078	POW
Engeneer	Wilson, William J., T/Sgt.	38464898	Evaded
Nose Gunner	Rice, Jacob H., S/Sgt.	39197681	POW
Waste Gunner	Rowland, Wilburn T., S/Sgt.	37413237	POW
Waste Gunner	Garrett, Frank B., S/Sgt.	39856640	POW
Tail Gunner	Lillte, Lester G., S/Sgt.	32583420	Evaded

The two evaders returned to duty on 29 Sept. 1944.

S/Sgt. Garrett was captured at Tiengen/Upper Rhine on 25 July 1944 and apparently attempted to escape to Switzerland. Tiengen is only 5 km from the Rhine (Swiss border). MACR 7554

Crash Site of Naughty Norma

What ever happened to 42-94973?

I wish I could say for sure that my Dad was greatly responsible for getting her back in the air. Although she needed a lot of work she did fly again. It seems as though they took parts and pieces off of 4 planes and built one. Here are pictures of the tail before and after.

Notice that in there hurry, the numbers on the tail got transposed.

Along with a new tail, new engines and a lot of other things, for the first time, she also gets a name.

Salvaged Sally

Salvaged Sally actually flew back to England on July 7th, 1945. Well, I guess she made it back. All I really know is that she left Sweden for England that day. I don't have any other word as to what happened to her.