James S. Ross 97th Bomb Group

Our father, James S. Ross, was assigned to the 97^th Bomb Group out of Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas on April 24, 1942. Lt. Ross sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on the 4th of June 1942 and arrived in Clyde England on the 10th of June 1942 for duty with the Eighth Air Force. He was with the 97^th Bombardment (Heavy) Group, 342^nd Squadron, and entered combat in mid-August 1942 to 1 Aug 1943. The 97^th Bomb Group left Polebrook on the 18th of November 1942 for Hurn, prior to flying directly to North Africa and was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater.
 
James Ross finished his 50 missions on 12 July 1943 and returned to the United States on 4 August 1943 via C-54. Overseas for two years and three months, he participated in American theater patrol, 50 combat missions 375:75 Combat Hrs, B-17, (EAME) in the European Theater of Operations, and 28 combat missions, 414:25 Combat Hrs, B-29, Asiatic-Pacific in the Pacific theater.
 
After talking to quite a few of the people that served with the 97^th Bomb Group, I still have not been able to locate any aircraft or crews that James Ross flew with. I do have reason to believe that he was the pilot (Aircraft Commander) of the aircraft where 1^st Lt. Slaughter received his foot injury on mission #128 over Messina, Italy on 25 June 1943.
 
I also know that my father, James S. Ross, was also known as James E. Ross. Both of them have the same military serial number.
 
If anyone knows about any of his missions, personnel who served with him or aircraft that he might have flown, please let me know.

Paul...The 97th BG Association has disbanded. I have a contact with a widow of a Flt Engineer who infrms me that the person who might be able to answer your questions is indisposed and she has not heard anything from him recently.

This is all the 97th BG History book Venit Hora has to say about the 25 Jun 43 mission :

Mission #128 Messina Italy. 25 June 1943.

The last planes in formation experienced severe heavy flak of good accuracy andf concentratiln. About 25 e/a aircraft attacked formation.  3 destroyed,. 5 probable,and 1 damaged. 1Lt Slaughter received a foot injury. Confirmed e/a destroyed. T/SgtPaul A. Kreuger,T/T/G,MA-202; Sgt John R. Schwictenberg, W/G ME-109; T/Sgt Andrew PocxikT/T/GME-109.

The aircraft numbers are not given.

Jim :-)

James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions 99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45 M/Sgt USAF (Retired)

 My name is Thomas Ward. My grandfather is Harold E. Ward. He was part of the Army Air Corps. He did missions over North Africa. Just wanted to know if anybody knew him back then. There is a photo that I have been looking for on the internet. I don't think that it would be located anywhere, because I don't tthink Life Magazine had copyrights for it. He has the original picture as well as the photo thats on the cover of Life Magazine, from around 1942 or 1943. The picture was taken from his B-17 while in flight of another plane, that had the wing of a German fighter plane stuck in the tail of the B-17. I just thought that it was neat that he still had this picture and that magazine with that picture on the cover. Just wanted to know if anyone out there knew him and remembered this???

Thank you very much Jim.