I would like to hear from any members of the 31st bomb Sq. who participated in the Balikpapan Bombing Raids in 1944. My Dad was a flight engineer on the 10 October 1944 raid. I am writing a Master's thesis on the Campaign and would appreciate any first hand info.

Hi Sheba
My Father was in the 72nd BS and also participated in the raids on Blikapan.
According to his Individual Flight Record that I salvaged from my Mother he also flew on the 10th of October, 1944. It was a crucial raid that was succesfull in crippling Japans oil supplies. According to my research it was the single largest mission for the 13th Air Force in World War 2.
Jim

Sarge7
  Sure would like to contact you on private email. My is Sheba@zianet.com. I am trying to get any primary source material from those raids and so far my few sources are drying up. Please contact me soon.
                                                                        Sheba

Sheba-
 
Log on to the Missing Air Crews site hosted by Pat Ranfranz:
 
www.missingaircrew.com
 
and select the tab labelled 307th Bomb Group (at the top of the page),
 
choose the "More" option in the View Mission Reports box at the top right hand corner,
 
go to the Late 1944-1945 choice near the bottom of the page, and select:
 
files 307bg_088 to 092 for the FO 387 outlining the assignments for Dumbo, submarines, fighters and bombers.
 
flies 307bg_161 to 163 for the Mission Report 307-379 describing the activities of the 307th BG(H), and
 
files 307bg_289 to 292 for the Supplemental Damage Report for the mission.
 
 
Hope this helps, let me know if you need more for your Thesis work.
 
 
 
Dan B. Odenweller

HI SARGE 7
   I ACCIDENTLY RAN ACROSS YOUR BLOG WHILE PERUSING 5TH BOMB GROUP POSTINGS. I WAS EXCITED TO READ OF SOMEONE WHO WAS CONNECTED WITH THE BALIKPAPAN RAIDS. I WAS A GROUND RADIO OPERATOR WHO MONITORED THOSE RAIDS AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS OVER THE YEAR AND A HALF I WAS WITH THE 394TH SQUADRON OF THE FIFTH BOMB GROUP, 13TH AIRFORCE. WHEN I READ YOUR COMMENTS I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO MY DIARY WHICH I KEPT THROUGHOUT MY AIRFORCE SERVICE AND I FOUND THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS REGARDING THAT RAID OF OCT 10, 1944.
   ON THIS RAID I HAD THE SPECIAL PRIVILEGE OF MONITORING THE RAID FOR THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 5TH BOMB GROUP IN HIS TENT AND MY NOTES TELL ME HE WAS SO HAPPY TO HAVE ME KEEPING HIM UP TO DATE THAT HE EVEN SERVED ME COFFEE, THAT IS QUITE A TREAT FOR A STAFF SARGENT.
   ON THIS RAID THE 5TH AIRFORCE PLANES WERE TO FOLLOW THE 13TH OVER THE TARGET BUT THINGS GOT MIXED UP AND THEY WENT IN FIRST AND LOST 3 PLANES WHILE THE 13TH LOST NONE. THE 13TH AIRFORCE FIGHTER PLANE ESCORT HAD A GREAT DAY WHEN THEIR P47'S AND P 38'S SHOT DOWN ALL BUT 4 TO 6 JAP INTERCEPTORS. THE RAID WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS WITH 80 % TO 85% OF BOMBS ON TARGET.
  WHEN OUR PLANES RETURNED TO BASE THEY HAD TROUBLE LANDING DUE TO LOW CEILING AND HAD ONE CRACK UP ON THE STRIP.
  THESE BALIKPAPAN RAIDS EARNED THE FIFTH BOMB GROUP ONE OF ITS PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATIONS--A VERY SPECIAL AWARD.
   IF I CAN HELP YOU WITH ANY OTHER INFORMATION PLEASE GET IN TOUCH. I ENJOY SHARING MY MEMORIES.
                      LEN
  

Dear Len   

Let me start by THANKING YOU for your service to our country and Many Thanks for helping to defend freedom from a fellow veteran.

Its awesome to read the trials and tribulations of our greatest generation, unfortunately I lost my Father years ago while i myself was on active duty.

As a "Cold War" veteran serving in Europe for 13 of my 20 years I had the opportunity to visit many famous and infamous  sites of World War 2.

The Normandy landing sites are the most vivid.
The concentration camp at Dachau, the most notorious.
Hitlers "eagles nest" , the most scenic.

And living in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down , PRICELESS.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us Len.

Sarge7

Len are you still out there ???
send me a line at sarge7@wowway.com

My uncle Sal was a radio operator on a b-24 at that time and I believe participated in that campaign.  Any questions send me a message, there is also one surviving member who is alive I could also get information from him.
 
                       Warmest Regards,
                                               Chris 

Hi Chris , Thanks for the message about your uncle.... What dates was he in the SWPA, Do you have his IFR ? What Squadron was he in?
Any names of crewmen that flew with him? Any pics you could e-mail me would be greatly appreciated!

    Well first off he was in the 5th bomb group 394 squadron 13th air force.
He departed by c54 hamilton ab ca feb 1944 for hawaii. by c87 thru Canton Island to 394Sq 5Bm Gp 13AF on Guadalcnal Feb 26 1944. He Flew around 43 missions and was relieved somtime in late 44 or early 45. his crew members were as follows;
  Barney H Clary, pilot; @Lt Hubert B Walker, Co-Pilot;2Lt Arthur Keedy, Navigator; 2Lt William Zurivitza, Bombardier; SSgt Ernest G Moodie, Ball Turret-Assistent Armorer, SSgt Salvatore Salato, Radio operator Waist Gunner; SSgt William Russel Bosley, Engineer-Top Turret; Sgt Rudolph Aguirre, Nose Turret-Armorer; Sgt Leland Rodgers, Tail Turret-Assistant Engineer and Sgt Daniel E Zengerle, Waist Gunner- Assistant Radio. If you would like to email me your number at Foodman88@optonline.net I could go into more detail and give you the number of Leland Rodgers its just him and my uncle left, his memory is far more vivid than my uncle's and on top of that he can talk for days.  If there is anything else dont hesitate to drop me a line.   Chris