A worthy project, John Croft.
My purpose is get the most recognized/recognizable person or crew and plane to represent the entire group — to put it another way the most representative plane, person, crew for this (and every) group of the 15th Air Force.
Barring any famous people like Paul Tibbets (my father's group representative, which could have just as easily been Jimmy Doolittle) —
Who would your group have voted to represent them as a whole?
_______ I have a hard time believing the original members of the 455th Bombardment Group of the 15 Army Air Force would regard (even retrospectively) George McGovern as even remotely notable. Far more likely to have won collective acclaim as most notable, most memorable, most "worthy" and representative was the cool and courageous founding Group Leader, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth A. Cool.
_______ "Given the criteria Mr. McGovern is probably best choice for the 455th . . . ," saith one of the others.
_______ I think not. Senator McGovern is notable only as a politician upon whom one writer chose to dwell in writing a book about B-24s. Focusing attention on Senator McGovern in the 455th quite easily could engender the same sort of resentment that the 455th Bombardment Group may have felt in the '40s, when Hollywood and the Press gave some the impression that the only "notable" bomber was the B-17.
_______ If the most notable plane in the 455th is, as some have suggested,
BestWeDu, then one might consider its most distinguished pilot as notable too: the daring and dauntless Group Commander, Lt. Col. Kenneth A. Cool.
_______ But who am I to say, after all? I was but eight months old at the time he was leading my uncle into battle up there.
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