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

target area. It did very little damage to our ships and none to
personnel. In the past, this has been known as a "rough one" due
to enemy fighters in that area, but now it seems to a lot of the
men as a sort of "milk run" mission. thirty seven man hours
of ground school was done by personnel who did not take part in
this mission. This was a big day for S/Sgt. Venceslaus M. Sikich,
waist gunner on Capt. Thompson's crew, as he finished his tour of
twenty-five missions which means that he was relieved from combat
flying. He was given the DFC for his good work.
5 Feb. 1944: For the third day in succession, another mission was
flown. The target was Avord, an Air Field, about 125 miles south
of Paris, France. The group was led by Capt. Bramble as Air
Commander in our ship #504, with Lt. McFarland as pilot. Six of
our ships took part: ship #504, Lt. McFarland and crew, Capt.
Bramble and crew; ship # 585, Lt. Maziarz and crew; ship #580,
Lt. W. E. Raid and crew; ship #739, Lt. Samuelson and crew; ship
#815, Lt. Pickard and crew; and ship #748, Lt. Sutherland and
crew. All dropped their bombs with excellent results. As none
aborted, or failed to reach the target, the squadron felt proud
of the day's work. When a ship takes off on a mission and then
has to turn back, neither its crew nor the ground crews feel
happy about it. To them, it is a lot of hard work and effort
wasted. This was the twenty-seventh mission for T/Sgt. Henry J.
Streets, a veteran tail gunner who has done all his missions with
this squadron.
6 Feb. 1944: On the 6th, a mission was undertaken against another
airfield in France near Nancy/Essay. Nine ships of this squadron
took part: Ship #639, Capt. Dalton and crew; ship #939, Lt.
Stringer and crew; ship #172, Lt. Osterburg and crew; ship #504,
Lt. Kolts and crew; ship #585, Lt. Bradford and crew; ship #580,
Lt. Gorby and crew; ship #965, Lt. Hackleman and crew. Enemy
opposition was slight.
The mission was not completed as bombs were not dropped on target
area. It was called an "abortive sortie", a term used to indicate
that ships were near the target but for various reasons they did
not complete the mission. All returned without loss. This being
Sunday, there was no ground school or training activity. All
personnel had an opportunity to attend church services and to
devote their time as they thought best. Only those men on the
mission were kept busy.
7 - 9 Feb. 1944: For the next two days as there were no
operational missions scheduled, the squadron engaged in ground
school and training activities. More attention is given the
physical training now. Certain officers and enlisted men are