Dailies of the 323rd - the 91st Bomb Group!

take-off, that they had as well go on for a completed mission.
7 thru 10 Jan. 1944: Mission to Ludwigshaven, Germany: On the
7th, the mission was not "scrubbed". Eight of our ships made it
to Ludwigshaven, Germany and back without any serious difficulty.
Major John C. Bishop, Squadron Commander, and Captain John T.
Gladstone, Squadron Operations Officer, led the group in ship
#639 "The Careful Virgin" which has made an enviable record as a
ship. It is equipped with all the accessories that make it a lead
ship and seems to be the one that Major Bishop usually flies when
he leads. It was formerly flown by Captain William E. Clancy who,
with his crew, completed twenty-five missions and are now, back
in the United States. Other ships taking part in this mission
were: #761, 2/Lt. Kolts and crew; #815, Capt. Dalton and crew;
#372, 1/Lt. Edwin R. Reid and crew; #712, 2/Lt. Sutherland and
crew; #739, 1/Lt. Bramble and crew, #172, 1/Lt. Samuelson and
crew; and 2/Lt. Maziarz and crew.
Enemy aircraft seldom came within range of our guns. Fighter
escort was provided by the American fighter Squadrons. Bombs were
dropped in the target area and this, the one hundred and first
for the squadron and group, is chalked up as a completed mission.
It marked the twenty-fourth for both Major Bishop and Captain
Gladstone. Crews left on the ground attended school and took part
in various training activities. Such work was continued by all
crews until January 11, when another mission was flow. However,
the 9th being Sunday, all ground training activity was cancelled.
This is done in order to give the men a breathing spell, to take
stock of themselves. The church services are quite well attended
and a lot of the fellows take this time off as an opportunity to
write home and to do a lot of things of a personal nature. Passes
are given so they can visit with the local people in towns
nearby.
There is a library provided by the American Red Cross, as well as
a snack bar where a soldier can go for refreshments or to read a
book or a newspaper. Also, there is a theater located over the
consolidated mess, which shows American films, as well as
English. The Church Services, Red Cross Club, and the Theater
contribute no little art toward maintaining the high level of
morale that is to be found among the troops of this squadron.
11 Jan. 1944: Mission to Oschersleben, Germany: Oschersleben,
Germany, that is the FW-190 factory there, felt the full impact
of tons of bomb's dropped from ships of the 8th Air Force on
January 11, 1944. This squadron sent seven ships, all of which
returned except ship #372. It fell a victim to German fighters,
which gave us a lot of trouble for a change. Our fighter escort