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This page is dedicated to Paul B. Davis and the entire B-24 crew 108
Some data:
- 8th Air Force, Nickname, "The Mighty Eight"
- 2nd Division
- 20th Combat Bombardment Wing, Wing Callsign "Pinestreet/Bigbear"
- 448th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Motto: "Destroy"
- 715th Squadron
- Crew Number 108 (Replacement Crew: April 2, 1945)
- B-24 Serial Number: 42-50767
- Name: "Wazzle Dazzle"
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| The pictures on this webpage were collected and sent by David Foster, Knoxville, Tennessee |
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| 1) Paul B. Davis |
2) Replacement Crew 108 8th Army Air Force 448th BG 715th Sq
This is the B-24 crew. James "Munk" Muenker, the bombedier, was the youngest on the crew at 20 years of age. William Whetsell and Paul B. Davis were 27 years of age. Peterson was removed from the crew before the first mission. William Sloan the ball turrent gunner was nicknamed "Shorty", he was under regulation height to be a gunner, but got a waiver. He had to put a back pack on to prop himself up to aim the gun. James said he saw him in photo in Life Magazine in the early fifties as an architect. |
3) B-24 Crew, Back Side
On the backside of the crew photo above each crew member wrote his name, address, and crew position/rank. Paul's address is not listed since it was his copy. |
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| 4) Seething, UK Air Field and Barracks1 |
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| 5) Fighters.jpg |
6) Wazzle Dazzle
The B-24, named Wazzel Dazzel, belonging to the 448th BG based out of Seething, Norfolk, UK. The Wazzel Dazzel is listed as being 42-50767 belonging to 715th Sqn. This information is taken from Wally Forman's book, B-24 Nose Art Directory. |
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| 7) Wazzel Dazzel |
8) WWII ETO B-24 Nose Art. Wazzel Dazzel
The bomber nose art is a stork delivering a bomb, because three members of the crew were expecting babies at the same time, one of the being David's cousin. |
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| 9) Pilot Bill Whetsell |
10) Co-pilot James Pop Beadling
Co-pilot James W. "Pop" Beadling. Beadling was the oldest crew member, he was 30 years of age. James W. Beadling passed away in 1994 and is in the national cemetery in Denver, Colorado. |
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| 11) Paul B. Davis (center) |
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| 12) Paul B. Davis (right) |
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| 13) Paul B. Davis (top) |
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| 14) WWII ETO B-24 Crew & Barracks |
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| 15) WWII ETO B-24 Crew 108 |
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| 16) WWII ETO B-24 Crew in Jeep |
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| 17) WWII ETO Paul B. Davis & Barracks |
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| 18) Unknown1 |
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| 19) Unknown2 |
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| 20) WWII B-24 Bomber Formation |
21) Hit Bomber
An american bomber hit and breaking apart. |
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| 22) A.S.C. Pilot Log |
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| 23) Log Book Pg. 1 |
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| 24) Aviation Cadet Examining Board |
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| 25) Crew 108 Letter of Commendation |
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| 26) Crew 108 Letter of Commendation |
The following photos were taken in 1945 when they flew what were called Trolley Missions. These were selected routes that were organized to take the ground crew guys on a flight over Europe so they could see what the Combat crews did during missions and to see the results. Most of them were low level over cities and towns to see the destruction caused. Some landed and allowed the guys to go on 'Field trips' as such to places like Duisburg etc.
After VE day the B-17s did a flyover of Germany and the next day the B-24s did. The ground crews were taken on the flyovers to see what the bombers had done. That was when James "Pop" Beadling took the photos. They flew into Belgium at 500 feet over some very large slag heaps, then turned east to Remagen and the Rhine River, then followed the Rhine to Cologne and circled the cathedral. |
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| 27) Unidentified Cathedral |
28) WW II ETO German POWs in Pens
POW holding pen for German prisoners |
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| 29) WWII bombed rail yard |
30) WWII ETO Remagen Bridge VE B-24 Flyover
The Remagen bridge after it colapsed |
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| 31) WWII ETO Unknown City |
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| 32) Cologne, area around square Neumarkt |
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| 33) The Cologne city districts Mülheim (background) and Riehl (foreground) with the destroyed Rhine river bridge "Mülheimer Brücke" |
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| 34) WWII Certificate of Appreciation |
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| 35) Patch | 36) Patch | 37) Patch |
The crew members
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Rank/Name |
Crew Position |
Serial Number |
Birth and Death Date |
Last Know Address in 1944 |
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2nd Lt.William O.Whetsell |
Pilot |
0835306 |
Deceased, Marietta, Ohio. |
Kingwood, West Virginia |
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F/O James Beadling |
Co-Pilot |
T133671 |
06/08/1916 - 02/071994, Littleton, CO. |
RR1 Oxford, Ohio |
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2nd Lt. Lawrence C.Taylor |
Navigator |
02069157 |
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809 East Johnson St., Clinton, Illinois |
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2nd Lt. James E. Muenker |
Bombardier |
0785206 |
Living 2005 |
524 N. 27th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska |
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Cpl Roy H. Bassler |
Tail Gunner |
31328988 |
1/19/1919-5/21/2002, Dummerston, Vermont. |
13 Jefferson St., Norwalk, Connecticut |
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Cpl Paul B. Davis |
Engineer Gunner |
14159877 |
Deceased 1986, Knoxville, TN. |
Knoxville, Tennessee |
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Cpl William T. Hall Jr. |
WG |
18242578 |
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5325 Philips, Dallas, Texas |
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Cpl Robert S. Peterson |
Nose Gunner
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11139116
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201 Pleasant Weymouth, Massachusetts |
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Cpl Robert W. Putney |
Radio Operator |
36645347 |
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Eva, Oklahoma |
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Cpl William A. Sloan Jr. |
Armorer and Ball Gunner |
34657359 |
Deceased, 1979, Knoxville, TN. |
413 S. McDuffree(?), Anderson, South Carolina |
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