United in Flight – The
Eight Balls of 1942
Rod Fleck
Ephemera – a piece of paper imprinted in some
manner that captures some event or activity in time, but without context and/or
research remains just a captivating piece of paper. Such was the case with a photograph of a
black line drawing that I found while browsing Joe Tonelli’s on-line auction
site (www.tonelliauction.com). For a few dollars, I acquired this WWII
ephemera and was delighted when it arrived.
The item is an eight inch by ten inch black
and white photograph of a pen and ink drawing done by George Bartholomaeus, who
also made the photo reproduction.
The graphic design of the piece is captivating
and appears to show the progression of aviators in the 8th Air
Force. Portions of the 8th
saw service in Iceland
during WWII, and the illustration captures that location with the landscape
below the “eight ball,” as well as the Viking ships in the lower border
The date of the piece is barely legible, but
is written as “G43-1-25G”. George
Bartholomaeus, as discussed below, was a commercial artist prior to his
enlistment in the Spring of 1942. Unfortunately,
there are no other notes regarding the reason this item was created, however,
it could have been in association with members of the 11 officers being
reassigned from their duties in Iceland.
Of the eleven officers that were “shanghaied,
sabotaged, and tricked” into their service with the 8th, ten were
Americans and one, Captain Ernest H. Hillier, appears to have been
Canadian. Four of the ten retired as
senior officers in the United States Air Force, with one reaching the command
of Major General. Three of the ten died
while serving their country. If those
who survived the war were shown this piece of ephemera in the later years of
their lives, one has to wonder what their reaction would be. Each would probably have smiled, laughed and
remembered the meaning of the image that T/5 Bartholomaeus created nearly 60
years ago. Each would probably have also
drifted off into thought and recollection of those days when they were much
younger and were part of the effort to “win the war.” They are listed below in the same order as
they appear on the piece.
1. Lee
R. Standifer – Was born in 1918 in Knox County, Tennessee. He enlisted on 16 Mar 1941 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia in the Army Air Corps as an
aviation cadet. He was a single actor at
the time of enlistment having completed four years of college. He stood 5’ 8” and weighed 139 pounds. As a Captain with the 391st Fighter Squadron
of the 366th Fighter Group he flew a P-47 which was named Captain Shadow. [] He was involved in a landing accident at Thruxton, England
on 31 Mar 1944 while flying a P-47D, serial number 42-75419. [] He is probably the USAF Colonel Lee R.
Standifer, Director of Materials and Processes, Aeronautical Systems Division,
that opened a two-day meeting in Dayton,
Ohio that focused “the technical
progress” that had been achieved on “low-carbon high-nickel maraging steels.” []
2. Jack
E. Carter – Unfortunately, there were many Jack E. Carter’s that
enlisted in the U.S. Army. The most
likely candidate for the Jack E. Carter may be the single male born in 1920 in North Carolina that enlisted 0n 10 Feb 1941 at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina. He
had three years of college, and worked as a messenger/errand boy in Moore County, North
Carolina. He
was 5’ 10” and 162 pounds when he enlisted into the Army Air Corps as an
Aviation Cadet. [] If so, then he was probably the Jack Edward
Carter who was born on 18 Sep 1920 in Madison County, North Carolina, resided
in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina,
and who died a widower on 6 Feb 1999.
His education was listed as being five or more years of college. [] He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery and his
service information noted that he was a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel who had
served in both World War II and Korea. []
3. Robert
Shonlank – Enlisted on 8 Feb 1941 as an Aviation Cadet in the Army Air
Corps in Richmond Virginia.
He was born on 25 Nov 1916 in New York,
but living in Henrico County,
Virginia at the time of his
enlistment. He stood 5’ 6”, weighed 140
pounds and worked as a foreman. He had
four years of college education. [] He married Martha A. Woltmann of Bloomington, Illinois on
9 Jun 1942 in Maine. He stated that his residence was Jamaica, New
York. [] He died in June 1980 in Sacramento, California.
[]
4. Michael
J. Ingelido – Was born in 1916 in Connecticut,
enlisted on 11 Feb 1941 at Hartford,
Connecticut in the Army Air Corp
as an aviation cadet. He was single at
the time and worked as a teacher with four years of college. [] He earned a Bachelors of Science in Education
from Central Connecticut State College and undertook graduate work. [] He flew 195 missions in World War II flying
British Spitfires, P-39s, and P-47s and was credited with destroying 22 German
aircraft – 12 in the air and 10 on the ground.
For his actions in guiding two other dive-bomb squadrons to secondary
targets in a damaged P-47 during the attack on German fortifications at Brest, France,
he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
After the war, he continued with the United States Air Force and over
the course of 28 years rose in rank to where in August 1969 he was a Major
General in command of the 14th Aerospace Force at Ent Air Force Base. []
5. Wilfred
L. Whitfield – Was born in the Spring of 1919 in North
Dakota, probably in the James
River Valley.
[] Wilfred appears to have grown up in the
Valley working on the farm until he enlisted on 8 Feb 1941 as an aviation cadet
in the Army Air Corps at Fargo,
North Dakota. [] He had completed two years of college prior
to his enlistment and was single. He was
5’ 6” in height and weighed 140 pounds.
6. Ernest
H. Hillier – “Captain R. C. Comdg” was used under his signature at the
bottom center of the image. He was
listed amongst passengers aboard the U.S.S
Chateau Thierry that was sailing from Reykjavik,
Iceland on 22
Mar 1943. []
7. Warren
E. Vinzant – was born in 1920 in Oklahoma
and enlisted on 2 Jul 1940 in Tulsa,
Oklahoma into the Army Air
Corps. His term of enlistment was for
the “Phililline Department.” He was a
single, had finished four years of college and worked in the manufacturing of
automobiles. At the time of enlistment,
he stood 5’ 8” and weighed 150 pounds. [] On 2 April 1942, near Plum Branch, South Carolina, he
bailed out of a P-39E, Serial No. 41-7251, when its engine failed while
assigned to the Air Corps Ferrying Command. [] He remained in the service following the war
and was promoted, as a Colonel, to the command of the 498 Tactical Missile
Group on 1 Aug 1961 and served as its commander until 17 July 1965. During his tenure with the 498th, the 498th
was equipped with Mace missiles and defended Japan’s
Ryuku Islands. [] He died on 18 Apr 1995 in Lompoc,
Santa Barbara, California. []
8. George
D. Vigue – was born in 1918 in Massachusetts
and enlisted on 8 Feb 1941 in Boston,
Massachusetts in the Army Air
Corps as an aviation cadet. He had
completed high school, was single, and worked aboard a ship. He stood 5’ 9” and weighed 156 pounds. [] On 6 Feb 1943, he survived a taxing accident
at Kassos Field, Iceland while taxing a P-40C,
Serial No. 41-13429, while with the 33rd Fighter Squadron of the 342nd Combat
Patrol Group (CpG). [] On Jul 1945, while flying a P-47N-2 with the
21st Fighter Squadron of the 413th
Fighter Group off of the Philippines,
Major Vigue was killed. [] He received an Air Medal, Silver Star, and
Purple Heart during his service. []
9. John
H. Walker
– There are two potential “John H. Walker” that enlisted prior to 1942 in the
Army Air Corps as aviation cadets. The
first is a John H. Walker born in 1915 in Ohio,
who enlisted on 7 Feb 1941 in Detroit
Michigan. He was a single salesman with four years of
college who stood 5’5” tall and weighed 142 pounds. The second is a John H.
Walker who was born in 1919 in Siam
and who enlisted on 8 Nov 1941 at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama. He was a single actor with four years of
college who stood 5’ 9” tall and weighed 154 pounds.[] On 12 Aug 1942, a John H. Walker survived a
taxiing accident caused by mechanical problems involving a P-39D, Serial No.
40-3021, with the 33rd Fighter Squadron of the IBC at Reykjavik Field, Iceland.
[] A memorial exists for him at the Fort William
Mckinley, Manila Cemetery,
Manila in the Philippines,
and also at the Edgell Grove Cemetery
and Mausoleum in Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
[]
10. Joseph
D. R. Shaffer – Was born in Feb/Mar 1918 in Ohio, the son Earl A.N. Shaffer and his wife
Emma. [] Shortly after his birth, he was living with
his paternal grandparents Joe V. and Esther L. Shaffer of Hamilton,
Butler County, Ohio. [] Ten years later, the Shaffers were living in Long Beach, Los
Angeles County, California
where Joseph’s father, a veteran, worked as a loan broker. [] He enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an
aviation cadet on 12 Feb 1941 at March Field in Riverside California. At the time, he was a single mechanic with
two years of college and was 5’ 9” and weighed 182 pounds. [] He is credited with being one of the two
American pilots responsible for downing the first German warplane, a FW-200
Condor that crashed about 9 miles off of Grotta Point, Iceland. He was flying a P-40 enroute to England.
[] For his actions on 14 Aug 1942, he was
awarded the Silver Star. [] On 4 April 1943, he survived a landing
accident while flying a P-40K, Serial No. 42-45882, with the 33 Fighter
Squadron of the 342nd Combat Pursuit
Group (CpG) in Iceland. [] He died as a Major in a mid-air collision
while with the 402nd Fighter Squadron with the 370th Fighter Group, which was
flying missions over France in preparation for D-Day. He was flying a P-38J, Serial No. 42-68064
when the collision occurred near White Parish, Pepper Bx. R, England. He is buried at the ABMC
Cemetery in New Chesterton, Cambridge, England.
[]
11. John
D. Kassos – It is most likely that John D. Kassos was in fact John G.
Kassos who enlisted on 17 Feb 1941 in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet
in Texas. At the time of enlistment, he
was a 21 year old single salesmen who had completed two years of college. [] It is also possible that he was the “John
Kassas born 30 April 1920 in Dallas,
Texas. [] On 1 Feb 1942, he was flying a P-39D, Serial
No. 40-2991, as part of the 4th Pursuit Squadron of the 52nd Pursuit Group and
crash landed due to a mechanical failure at Selfridge Field, MI. [] Unfortunately, on 23 Aug 1942, he would die
in a ground collision near Melgerdi Field, Iceland while flying a P-39D, Serial
No. 41-6827, as part of the 33 Fighter Squadron of the IBC. [] Melgerdi Field was renamed Kassos field by he
fellow American comrades. []
12. T/5th
George S. L. Bartholomaeus – Enlisted as a private on 24 Mar 1942 at
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
at the age of 32. He was single without
any dependents. He was born in Missouri in 1910, had
three years of college, and worked as a commercial artist. [] He may be the son of a George Bartholomaeus
who was the publisher of a Warrentown, Missouri
newspaper and appointed to the staff of U.S. Senator Selden Spencer in 1919. [] In 1930, his family was living in Kansas City, Missouri
where his father was the Director of the Board of Health. While 19, there was no occupation listed for
George. [] He married Yvonne Nadine Deffenbaugh in
October 1944. []
He died in April 1971. []
www.findagrave.com,
Memorial No. 56764072, Manila Cemetery – Major, entered service from
Massachusetts; and, www.findagrave.com,
Memorial No. 21558031, Edgell Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum, Framingham,
Middlesex, Massachusetts; and also, Ancestry.com, National Archives and Records
Administration, World War II and Korean
Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000.
Original data: National Archives
and Records Administration, Register, World
War II Dead Interred in American Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil and World
War II and Korea Missing or Lost or Buried at Sea. Washington,
DC: National Archives and Records Administration.
Ancestry.com. 1930
United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc,
2002. Original data: United States of America,
Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls, Roll 131,
Page 7B, ED 1145.
1930 Census, .
T626, 2,667 rolls, Roll 131, Page 7B, ED 1145.
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census
[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Original data: United
States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth
Census of the United States,
1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls, Roll 1202, Page 140B, ED 229.