Greetings everyone,

Don't forget Scott started this site as a labor of love for those who served in the US Air Corp, the Air Force and their families. So many have been blessed and helped by this site and the folks who come here.

This link should be filled with thank you and well dones. We will never be able to pay the debit of appreciation we all owe this fine man.

Many friends, servicemen and their families have been brought together as the result of this site.

I personally met three men who served in the Pacific with my father in the 42 Squadron the 11 BG H. In addition I was able to speak to all three men by telephone. this past year.

God bless you Scott and your site, and THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE!

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

I've found the feedback on this Forum, as it relates to individual research
topics, to be exceedingly faster and more comprehensive than many of the
more traditional research facilities in the 'snail mail' category.

A bonus feature of the AAF  Forum is that any given query may well lead
into related, relevant subject matter.

Many thanks for your outstanding efforts Scott.

Bob

I agree with the many that use your site, we owe you more than what words can express. I have ask many questiions on this site and have received many answers to them that I never would have found anywhere else on the internet. Thank you for your many many hours of work and thought that you put into this site for all of us to use and enjoy. A wonderful tribute to the Army Airforces of the United States of America.  Phillip

Let me add my note of appreciation for this site. It has been invaluable to me since I joined it!

Roger Myers

Son of Sgt. William Myers (6/8/42 to 8/20/46) 
Illinois Reserve Militia, Co. H, 4th Regiment
Burtonwood Base, England
89th Infantry Div  
106th Div (Detach F, 6951 OH Guard Bn)
69th Amphibian Tractor Bn 

I know some of the members have found things they might have done another way or need correcting with the new format. 

We are all a works in the progress.

What Scott has done here at his own expense took hours and hours of hard work and devotion to a cause. Let us not forget that and lets not forget to thank him. There are always bugs in the most detailed of programs, but they can be worked on and in time changed or corrected.

But what Scott has done here is truly A LABOR OF LOVE, and not for himself, but for all those who lives have enriched by this site.
I still marvel at the letters from teenagers from Europe who have adopted an Airman's grave who never returned home to their loved ones.  Many many times I have shared these letters of compassion and devotion to other veterans who did not know this was being done either.

Take a minute and enjoy all the right things with the site, and there are a million of them.
 
Again Scott well done in any language and on any day. It is an outstanding work of programing in both the site and in your heart.
 
God bless and keep you strong.

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

Scott,
I am remiss if in error. I believe you began this forum in honor/memory of a loved one, grand dad in the 8th AAF ?. I stand to be corrected if wrong. I have been here under two different user IDs since the early 04s. This forum has been invaluable to me in the research of my brother inlaws demise as a P-51 pilot in the 15th AAF and also an education that money cant buy; the input from the guys that had been there, done that, Peters, Teaters, Horowitz, Gilbert, Bill Runnels, Sam, JonJac, Dodd, God help me, some names escape this 81 gray mattered brain. Also the countless family members posting the exploits of their family members/friends whether in the air or the time they spent as POWs. Great input from Ken, he was'nt there, but his dad was. I have made a few friends on this forum and I have irked many more. It was not with malicious intent, it was the result of one of my major short comings, not a very diplomatic individual. Scott, one thing I have learned in 30 yrs in the high tech industry is that, anything spewed from a computer is only as good as the programer, you dont have to hold a candle to anyone. Your program is a winner. 
God bless you mate, fair seas and smooth sailing, John

Fair Winds and following seas.
John, (GM 3/C USS Frost DE 144)

Kin to LT. John W. Farnkopf
15th AAF, 52 FG, 4th FS; Madna, Italy
MIA 11/11/44 remains found 12/8/53

I wholeheartedly agree that Scott's site is a fantastic resource and a fantastic community to be connected to.  One of the best on the web, and I have and will continue to point people toward this site.  I know my research into my uncles has definitely benefited from this resource, and I wouldn't know nearly as much as I know today without it.

If I appear to have criticized Scott, it wasn't out of any intentional disrespect.  The opposite I would argue, as I don't want to see anything detract or lessen the usability of this site for all who might utilize it.  I too have worked in high tech, including the administration of web servers and the coding of web pages, so I know what is involved and the work Scott has done to maintain this resource.  I've always started from the standpoint of simplicity and making sure everyone can read content, as otherwise what is the point of putting something on the web in the first place.  Scott has largely achieved that, and I am grateful.

Thanks, Scott, for continuing to provide this site.

Kevin Anderson

My deepest "Thanks" to Scott as well .... thru Scott's efforts here and the 381st website, I was able to find out many of the missing pieces of my cousin's service with the 381st.  In addition, personal contacts with members of his original crew including meeting the tailgunner at the 381st Reunion here in Dayton.

Being contact by Bob Gilbert, a contributor to this site, whose crew along with my cousins were housed in the same Nissan hut.  Thru Bob I learned of my cousing personal 8mm movies and after locating them we were able to have them transferred to VHS and DVD.  Not only our families history but able to send them out to comrades of Frank and Bob who served with them in the 381st.

All due to the great efforts of Scott Burris ...  he has my salute as well as my hat's off to him and his time spent so that many others can save the history of "our greatest generation" .... God Bless!

Jerry
S/Sgt. USAF Radio Operator '52-'56
C-119 "Flying Boxcar"

cousin of T/Sgt. Frank Hrehocik RO/Gunner
381st BG - 533rd BS

381st BGMA LTM

Volunteer - National Museum of the US Air Force

I made contact with three Airmen who my father trained in the summer of 1943 to go back into the Pacific by coming to Scott's site.

Last fall I spoke to the three of them by phone, it was something I know would have never happened except for this site.

Now I have made contact with 4 families of four crew members who died on the last flight of the 42 Sq. 11 BG H on February 1, 1943. My father served with them in the earliest days of the War in the Pacific. One member sent me a photo of his cousin standing with my father at the beach each with one arm over the other.

I met a lady who my father flew with her cousin around Hawaii as a Gunner after the Attack on 12/7/1941 searching for Japanese and more possible attacks. She too sent me photos of my father with their crew that we never had.

All this came about by coming here to Scott's site. If we started adding up all the relationships this site has been responsible for bringing together who knows what the total would be.  

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

Thanks for all the kind words.   I don't take critism of changes to our software personally.  I know how much the forum means to other people and that not being able to use it the way someone is used to is naturally upsetting.

And yes, it's true that armyairforces.com grew out of my own research into my grandfather's death (381st BG, 4/19/44) and early experiments with the "world wide web" back in 1993.  Things really started rolling in 1998 when I started an email list called "HeavyBombers."

Those really were the good old days. 

This fall the web site will celebrate its 10 year anniversary.

Scott Burris, 381st BGMA LTM
ArmyAirForces.com

Well then Congratulations and well done on 10 years of service to the Air Services!

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

Scott,
As one of the dinosaurs on this site, I salute you for all your efforts in maintaining and keeping it going. I enjoy answering questions using only my sparse diary and memory. I'm grateful since it proves that I don't have Alsheimers.

Jules Horowitz, B-17 pilot, 99th BG, 50 missions/sorties
My tour was from 7/19/43-2/13/44

Scott,

many thanks also from me.
I take this site not only as a source of great information but also as a meeting point of the people of different nations and age. I also got to know few people here and we stayed in touch since that...THANX

Roman Susil
Zlin, Czech Republic

...a friend of Joe Owsianik, a former left waist gunner from B-17G ''Tail End Charlie" from 2ndBG,20th Sqdn, that was forced to bail out on Aug. 29th, 1944 over my country.

Ditto!  This site has been such a wealth of info and the contacts made over the years invaluable.  I get several requests each week from folks seeking info about their family members/veterans, sometimes regarding theaters other than the CBI (folks are just looking for ANY contact that may be able to point them in the right direction).  I always point them to this site due to the wealth of knowledge available here and to the reference materials here as well.  There is only 1 CBI-related magazine left in publication and that is due to fade into the sunset next year (most likely).  So this site is going to be more and more valuable in the coming years.  God bless, Scott, and keep it up!

Gary

CBI Unit Lineages & History
http://www.cbi-history.com/

I would like to extend my own thanks to Scott for creating this wonderful site and express my most sincere appreciation for the work that goes into such an undertaking.  This site has been a great help to me with a project regarding my father that I’ve been working on.
 
Thank you.

Jeanie B 

Proud Kriegie Kid of:
Carl L. Potter, Sr.
Ex-POW #106404, Stalag XVII B, Barracks 29A
306^th Bomb Group (H), 369^th squadron, the Fightn’ Bitin’
Waist Gunner in B-17 #42-30730, "Dearly Beloved"

Thanks, and "Charlie Mike."

CPT(VT) W.P. Sullivan
SGHQ - G-3 Special Projects
Camp Johnson, VT

___‹(•¿•)›____
Kilroy was here

Scott,  Having had a small part in the "Beta Project" to migrate to this new rendition of the Site,  I can appreciate the outstanding job which you have done!  Now that I see the final project "tweeked," I am enjoying it even more!!!
What I find most important is the fact that this Site provides a "tool" to research and learn so as to better pass on the fading memories of the most signifcant event of the 20th Century!  I, we, salute you!  Best Regards!  Steven

Best Regards!
Steven P. Puhl
Willow Run Historian  (RET.)  
Home of 8685 Ford B-24 Liberators
Life Member: Yankee Air Museum