97th BG 342nd BS "Hustlin Hussy"

Hello all, my name is Noah and I have been on here (unregistered looking through posts for many months) and I figured it was now time to register and start asking questions, as I've seen it help so many others and I'm at a crossroads on my research
 
Been doing a lot of attempts to research my grandfather's service while in WWII. Looking all over the internet and through photos of him that my grandmother still has.

Prior to him dying back in 1998, I asked him about the war...of which he wasn't big on saying much of anything. He told me about being almost shot down one day and having to fly back with one engine out and his buddy beside him losing his life.  My grandfather was a waist gunner/radio operator and part of the 97th Bombardment Group, I recently found paperwork that shows he was part of the 342nd BS.  

I know he flew 53 missions on his B-17 called the "Hustlin Hussy" and was stationed in N. Africa (among other places, I actually have a list of all his places he was stationed and on what day/year) but yet as I scour the internet I can barely find anything about his actual plane (lots of discrepancies though, I have seen every image the internet has to offer and its not his plane).  I have tried for years to locate info on his past and what he did for this country and our current life to this day. I look around often at a lot of older folks and realize what a different time they lived in and what was truly sacrificed back in the day for what we currently have to this day...its a shame more don't recognize this and hold our older generation with more respect. It makes me sick to be honest and furthermore why I've lost respect more and more for the younger generation of people. People whom have no idea what true sacrifices were made back in the day when the world was at war.  
 
I found a bunch of his medals, personal notebooks, war papers, newspaper clippings, and more. Confirmed what I found from my online research...he was part of the 15th AF which then he became the 97th BG, 342nd BS, his name is Harry W. Locke.
 
I have attached a small image I took the other day going through some of his stuff (the radio operator patch is upside down).  He has lots of oak leaf clusters, he has a handful of aerial medals, and ribbons that confirm the places he told me he went, etc...

Hoping someone can shed more light and maybe tell me something that I have not been able to find, especially about the crew and plane as there is so little info on his unit and plane.  I have newspaper clippings and war papers but it appears nothing prudent exists online and if it does its a discrepancy from what his paperwork reads (i.e. many list the Hustlin Hussy as going down and being lost with its crew...this is not his plane he was on, he told me the plane went on to fly 200+ missions and was retired.  I also have a newspaper clipping advising of this).  I own the book "Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski" and my grandfather attended a 50 year reunion back in Colorado where he got another book on the 97th BG.  I have not read these books 100% but have yet to find any info in them as well.  I just want to learn more on my grandfather whom is a hero to me, along with more info on his crew and plane...its just so odd to me that nothing is online about this crew that flew 53 missions.  
 
Thanks,
Noah
 

Thanks for the response...I'm aware of this plane you speak of but my grandfather's plane was called: Hustlin Hussy (my spelling is correct), not this Huslin Huzzy you reference.

I have never been able to locate his tail number or nose art. I know the nose art was a girl (like many).

I have looked through all my grandfather's photos and there is none of his plane anymore. Per newspaper article, his plane was decommissioned, not shot down.

This conflicting info online is what brought me here...


Thanks,
Noah

Thanks for the reply Nick.  The clarification is very helpful on my end.  
 
I know it was possible that numbers and art got changed and all this info is 70+ years old (before computer records) so it could be nothing more than a mix up in historical facts and/or simply info on his crew/plane don't exist anymore....meerly memories that were told to me prior to his passing (this is the part that makes me sad).  Its hard for me to grasp how my grandpa flew 53 missions, was part of the largest BG and yet his BS has very little info out there on them (along with conflicting info).  Just wanting to learn more and frustrated that there is virtually nothing to associate him with, other than the paperwork my grandma has (of which he threw out a lot of stuff prior to passing away).  I know lots of guys flew 50+ missions but from what I read, most did not...I could be wrong but I read most were 20 or so missions, but I could be wrong.
 
The image you attached I have also seen on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/97th_Operations_Group
Here is the image on that page of the Huslin' Huzzy (which reads as part of the 8th AF): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/97thbombgroup-8af.jpg
 
 
Thanks,
Noah

Noah,
 
As you have reviewed the forum for some time, you have most likely come across this thread:  http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?high=&m=220884&mpage=1#220898 which is not very encouraging with regard to records of surviving air crews for the units of the 97th BG.
 
A search of the attendees of the 50 year reunion may be a last resort and then try to make contact with next of kin of survivors for info on your Grandfather. This would undoubtedly be a long road.     
 
Scott

Noah,
Sorry here is the intended thread: http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?high=&m=217326&mpage=1#220764 to many windows open at once.     
Scott

Noah,
As you already know searching for an aircraft by name is problematic at best. This name was used on many types of aircraft in many theaters. In the newspaper article that you have about the aircraft being decommissioned in the States; does it state at which airfield this occurred, there were several fields used for this purpose after the war and if known may narrow the search for this aircraft. In the info you have are there any photos of his B-17 as this too would narrow the field in determining what model B-17 he crewed on.
 
This site contains a very long list of B-17G’s but does show those lost and those returned to the States. This is a long shot, but without knowing the s/n of his aircraft this may be the only way to zero in on the possibilities: http://cgibin.rcn.com/jeremy.k/cgi-bin/gzUsafSearch.pl?target=&content=B-17G  
 
The lack of WW II veterans talking about their war experiences is very common as with all war veterans. The only way I found out about my Dad’s service was during holiday gatherings when he and his six brothers also veterans would get together and talk. For me these were overheard commentaries that I was not part of because of my youth. When asked later in life about some of these events Dad had little comment, as in; if you were not there or part of the “Club” so to speak you would never understand. It is a shame that so much oral history was lost in this way, but once the war was over it was time to get back to the task at hand “Life” and there seemed little room for reminiscing about events many wished to forget.    
 
Scott

Noah...I am not sure that there is an answer to your question as to why there is so little written about the 97th.
Some 8th AF BGs kept meticulous records and saved them for history.

There is a possibility that the war time conditions had something to do with record keeping....My own bomb group,...the 99th, does not have any records of it's  first 100 missions.

Some of the 8th AF bomb groups flew from well designed former RAF bases, that were turned over to the USAAF, while others were not so lucky.
 
The primative conditions that the 97th encontered in N. Africa, after the move to the Mederreanean, were close to bare existence....getting used to dry and dusty conditions, along with frequent dust storms,that damaged engines,requiring more frequent engine changes,having to set up a landing field in a barren area, living in puptents, digging foxholes for protection from enemy aircraft bombing.

Living in N.Africa was far different from life in England...where at least the language was similar, versus living in a country where the language and customs were competely foreign, may have something to be considered. I think the war was a lot closer for those in N. Africa than in England...at least as far as the ground personnel were concerned.

To an aircrew, when you are flying, and fighting the enemy, the war was pretty much the same,worldwide, whether flying from England, the Mediterranean, India, China, or in the Pacific.
 
When hostilities ceased, some of the units had little thought for history...as well as some mothers back home, when the returning sons came home...some mothers , ....if not most, .....threw away the souveneirs that were brought home...they were sick of the war.
 
This is what happened to my enlisted fellow gunners...I kept my record of my trip oveseas,and my missions....and I sent copies to the other gunners....My records differ from the so-called "Official" records, in that, my records do not agree fully with the official records.

The existing history books were written well after the war was over, when a several veterans,  decided to form an Association, and asked for photos,and stories....some never heard of the Associations and so, the history books in some instances are very thin...the 97th Book "Venit Hora-The Hour Has Come" has a total of 250 pages...while the 2nd Bomb Group, has TWO books each 500 pages,and the 376th Bomb Group (B-24) has over 600 pages.
 
I hope this long winded explanation explains in part the reason why some histories are sparse,  while others are very detailed in the compilation of their respective histories.
 
Even so, most of those books have very little in the way of stories from the ground personnel.
 
Jim :-)
 

Noah...There is one website that has to do with the 97th BG...
 
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
 
Jim

Noah...The B-17s of the 5th Wing were stationed at former German fields in the Foggia, area....The 2nd and 97th were at Amendola...(it is currently a NATO base), that was located about two miles west of the small fishing village of Manfredonia, on the west coast of the Adriatic...which was an arm of the Mediterreanean.

My base Tortorella, was about 2 1/2 miles further west toward Foggia, and about 8 miles east of Foggia.
 
Foggia Main was the HQ for the 5th Wing and had a Hospital.
The 2nd and 97th were at Amendola
The 99th was at Tortorella,and was also HQ for the RAF 205 Group
The 301st was at Lucera
The 463red was at Celone
The 483rd was at Sterperone.
 
The 301st, 463rd and 483rd were all north of Foggia, but within about 25-30 miles.
 
There  were a couple of B-24 BGs in the Foggia area,with most down the east coast of Italy,and down to the toe of the boot of Italy...with 15th AF HQ at Bari.
 
There were six B-17 BGS and 15 B-24 BGs in the 15th AF.
 
Jim:-)

Noah,
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th AF's were all stateside training organizations.  He would likely have been in the 2nd AF during his training.  He would then have been part of the 12th AF while the 97th was in Africa, and then part of the 15th AF when the 5th Wing moved up to Italy.
You said you knew he flew 53 missions and have his notebooks.  Do the notebooks list his missions with any info?  Many of the men noted the plane they flew on by the last three digits of its serial number.
Also, I have never heard of a B-17 that completed 200 missions so if you have an article about the plane being on tour it would be interesting to see.
Marty