Stories About 29th Bomb Group

Source: Air Force Magazine, June 2007

By John T. Correll Contributing Editor

The phosphorous bomb was loose inside the airplane, burning at 1,300 degrees. SSgt. Red Erwin seized it in his bare hands and fought his way to the copilot’s window.

Henry Eugene Erwin learned responsibility at an early age. He was born in Docena, Ala., in 1921, the oldest child in a large family. He was 10 years old when his father, a coal miner, died. Gene, as the family called him, took a part-time job stocking shelves in the coal company commissary. “It helped us get along,” he said.

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Donald Henry Nass, born Dec. 29, 1925, is the son of the late Ernst and Mae Nass. Donald's father owned a lumberyard in Jefferson that provided not only lumber but also coal and ice to the Jefferson community. His mother was a homemaker. Don was 18 years old when he enlisted into the Army Air Corps, knowing he would soon be drafted. In 1944, he had a younger 15-year old sister, Dorothy (Dor), still at home and a sophomore at the Jefferson High School.

Source is Don Nass website. Note: Thanks to Don Nass and his Family for permission to share these letters.

Please select a letter to read:

September 11, 1944

Postmarked from Pratt, Kansas on Sep 12, 1944 at 11:30 a.m.

Sept. 11, 1944 Monday Dear Everybody: Well, I got in my first 6 flying hours. Just came down. We flew from 7:20 this morning til 1:20 this afternoon in a B-29. The amazing part of it all was that I didn't "heave." It felt kinda funny though. I should be getting used it now though.

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By Sandy Amell - Navigator

This is my recollection of my experiences as the Navigator on Allie Thacker's crew in the 6th Sq., 29th BG, 314th Wing. I tell it as I remember things but, as my children sometimes tell me, "That's not the way it was, Dad." If there are errors, forgive me. It was 56 years ago!!

29th Bomb Group History

The 29th Bomb Group was activated on February 1, 1940 at Langley Field, Virginia. It was comprised of the 6th, 43rd, 52nd, and 411th bomb squadrons. The 411th inactivated on May 20th 1944. On April 1, 1944, the 29th Bomb Group (H) was redesignated as the 29th Bomb Group (VH).

From: Bob McCarthy of the 29th Bomb Group

We were on our hardstand caring for our plane, as usual. Air crew and ground crew giving that special attention to making everything perfect, when the announcement came over the p.a. speaker that the war was over in the E.T.O. The reaction of those present was immediate and exuberant. Men were running around, jumping up and down, dancing, shouting and in an extremely jubilant attitude.

Source: Air Force Magazine, January 1994

By John L. Frisbee

Contributing Editor

On the bomb run, the lead B-29 was hit by flak and burst into flame.

On the morning of June 5, 1945, B-29s of the 52d Bomb Squadron, 29th Bomb Group, lifted off the runway at North Field, Guam, for the long flight to Japan, their target the industrial city of Kobe. Leading the squadron was Maj. George A. "Tony" Simeral, one of the most experienced aircraft commanders in the 314th Wing. In 1942 and 1943, he had flown 30 combat missions in the Mediterranean as a B-24 commander. Then came a year as a B-24 instructor--duty he considered dull and almost as dangerous as combat. He volunteered for B-29s and was assigned to the 29th, which arrived at Guam in February 1945, with Major Simeral as commander of a lead crew.

By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY WASHINGTON —

As Joe Chovelak stands in the World War II Memorial here, his bushy white eyebrows bristle at the notion that his beloved 29th Bomb Group is holding its last reunion.

"That is harsh. I mean, 'last reunion' is like going to a funeral," says Chovelak, 83, the tireless historian of the Army Air Forces that bombed Japan in 1945 and came here this weekend for the group's 13th and final get-together. "This is a farewell reunion."

Credits: Naperville Sun, Nov. 11 2008 by Tim Waldorf

Note: Joe Chovelak was trained at PAAF in WW II

Article as Follows:

Between March and August of 1945, Joe Chovelak and 10 other members of the Nathan Crew in the 314th Wing of the U.S. Air Force's 29th Bomb Group flew 35 night fire bombing missions over Japan.

Source: New Haven Register

by By Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor

HAMDEN — When Herbert Small closes his eyes at night, he dreams of 1945.
Now that he’s 84 years old and life has slowed, thoughts of the bombing of Japan during World War II frequent his waking mind as well.

Source: B-29 Yahoo Group

by Rick Toreson