Information on Grandpa (15th,97th bg, 341st)

Hello,
 
 I am new to this site and im not sure if this post is in the right area or not.  I am seeking informaiton on my Grandpa his name is John Daniels also known as "Jack", he was from Raritan, New Jersey.  I will throw as much information out as possible and if anyone has any icite or information please let me know.  Also if I can help somebody in there quest please let me know, as I have numerous documents I came across in my Grandpas Footlocker.  He was a B-17 pilot 2nd Lt. and from the documents i've found he served in the 15th, 5th wing, 97th bomb group, 341st squadron.  He served from June 27 1944-March 11 1946.  I'm not sure which field he was stationed at but My family says it was in Italy.  In his discharge papers it talks about him doing combat missions in Linz, Austria, Padua, and Italy, also some later missions in support of the 5th and 8th armies.  I also came along a lengthy roster of various crews listing names and crew numbers it showed his crew number as #9479 and also lists the members in his crew.  I also have a picture of him and his crew but it is the opposite side of the nose art and name, but does have a big number on the side beign 7111, im not sure if that means anything as far as serial numbers.  I vaguely remember his airplane being named possibly "naughty lady" or even "babe".  It was very hard for my Grandpa to talk about experiences in the war but 2 storys stick out in my mind where they were on a mission and one of the engines was shot out and they had to fall out of formation and were escorted back by "little friends"?  Also where they were on a mission and fighter planes destroyed the radio and killed a crew member.  I also remember my Grandma telling me that there were some black people that were segregated on base but my grandpa still ate and conversed with them sometimes.  Again if anyone has information to relay please do so, and let me know if I can help someone in there quest as I said I came across quite a few documents.  I will also try to post a couple of pictures I found.  Two of which are on missions one with some enemy fighters in the distance, and the other they are going through flak, then the other one is of my Grandpa sitting in some sort of jeep looking vehicle on base.  Thank You, any information is appreciated.
 
Kort Nyland
 

Kort...Your grandfather was at Amendola Army Air Field....in the complex of former German Air fields east of Foggis...which is almost due east of Naples....only on the Adriatic side.

If you can find, on a map, the east coast of Italy and the town of Manfredonia....Amendola is about 2-3 miles west....also, you can access Google Earth, and Amendola now shows as an important improved air port.

I will send you a Private Message with a lady's name who can put you in contact with a representative of the 97th BG.

I was stationed at Tortorella Air Field, about 2 miles west of Amendola.

Jim :-)

I attempted to send you a Private Message and it was refused. 
  
I can put you in contact  with a person from the 97th BG, however, I cannot do so, until you accept Private Messages, as the person does not wish the email address to be published .
 
The purpose of the Private Message is to allow YOUR email address to remain private.
 
I can only help you ,if you help me.
 
Jim :-)
 
Jim :-)

Jim,

Not to get on a side track from Kort's question but you once told me which base my father was stationed at in Italy. Was he at the Amendola base also? I have photos of him and his fellow crew mates on R&R at a beach somewhere and that seems likely he would have been there, but I forgot what you told me previously and I can't seem to find the post where you told me.

TIA,

Kim...Yes, BOTH the 2nd and 97th BG's were stationed at Amendola.
 
Jim :-)

Hi JIm,
 
I just have to tell you how very impressed I am with how helpful and knowledgable you are with inquiries on the Forum.  Your attention to everyone's filings really does illuminate history for so many of us.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and your collegues at the 99th BG Reunion last October.  Thanks so much for your attention to the Forum!
 
Margaret

Suspect your photo of the crew in front of the B-17G was taken during crew training in the US -- maybe at Alexandria, LA.  It is my understanding that by late 44, once crews arrived in Italy, they were broken up and did not fly combat missions as a crew.

TJM...Not quite true....some perhaps....we flew a new B-17 to Italy, and stayed intact as a crew with the 99th BG. We arrived in December 3, 1944 in Italy.

Some later arrival crews, did not fly at all,as the crews who had flown missions were given priority. However. I did not hear of any crews that were broken up.

There were 10 new 99th BG crews who were selected for B-29s and were shipped directly to the B-29 program at the enc of the war.

JIm :-)