Since we had such an interesting discussion about this yesterday…. In 1944, my dad was in the 456th Bomb Group, 745th Squadron, 15th Air Force, based out of Italy (near Foggia). He flew missions over Germany (Munich), Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Greece, Hungary. In this photo, he’s the second man from the right in the front row.
See a larger version of this photograph on the 456th Bomb Group website here, where they list all the crew members’ names. (My dad is Ross W. Dye–some of you might remember that I wrote several of my early Precious Gems under the name Suzanne Dye, my maiden name.) There are more pictures of crews and planes on that page, too. All the planes have fun names–the “Miss Laid” is my favorite!:mrgreen:
From the heroic to the ridiculous……. :guitar:
Can there BE enough cute pictures of cats? I DON’T THINK SO. Check out Stuff On My Cat (courtesy CherylS–thank you, Cheryl!), and Cats In Sinks, compliments of another friend!
Buttercup liked them.:yes:
And now for the “Get Caught Reading Suzanne” contest!
I’ll be putting up a page on my site soon with the photos, but for now, check out the gorgeous CherylS reading The Beast Within (while doing laundry, no less!) and the beautiful reader diva Alyssa reading Her Man to Remember!
Everyone who sent me a picture will automatically receive an autographed copy of Operation: Baby. The drawing winner for the totebag is ::drum roll:: CherylS! Still want to send me a photo of you reading one of my books? Send me one! I’ll send you an autographed book and put your picture up on my website! :yes:
Michelle says:
I just love old photographs. Thanks for sharing the ones of your dad. :guitar:
On September 1, 2005 at 6:26 am
Cheryl S. says:
Love the picture of your dad’s crew, Suzanne! Yippee on the totebag win! I am SOOOOO lucky! :bananadance:
On September 1, 2005 at 7:34 am
Mik says:
Oh dang. I forgot about the contest! I gotta get on that.
And my daddy was with the 12th and 15th Air Corps, 97th Air Group, 350th Squadron of Bombardment Group. He flew 50 missions over Africa and Italy. 😎
On September 1, 2005 at 8:59 am
Estella Kissell says:
Anytime is a good time to read one of your books!! No matter what you’re doing.:bananadance:
On September 1, 2005 at 9:26 am
Toni Anderson says:
I sat next to Alyssa at Suzanne Brockmann’s Reno do. She’s lovely 🙂
On September 1, 2005 at 9:35 am
kacey says:
Oh, cool pic of your dad. And I love the get caught photos. Can’t wait to see more of them!
On September 1, 2005 at 9:59 am
Jill says:
Cool pic of your dad!
On September 1, 2005 at 10:29 am
Beth says:
loves all the pics. Speaking of the plane names. i just saw one on that site… how’d you like to ride “Purple Shaft”? lol
On September 1, 2005 at 10:40 am
Mary says:
I love old photos. My father had 25,000 hours in a DC 3. He was one of the first pilots into Japan after the war. I have some great photos. I miss him. Enjoy your father.
On September 1, 2005 at 10:45 am
Eve says:
Great pic of your dad. And no, there can never be enough cute cat photos:grin:
The problem with caretakers is that we are constantly letting deadlines slide by (I’m always paying my ebills the day after they’re due), so, of course I forgot about the contest. I’ll try to get a photo to you. Thanks for letting us send them anyway.
On September 1, 2005 at 10:45 am
Sonja (from HCRW) says:
Anyone want some free kitties? Come look at my blog. 🙂
On September 1, 2005 at 11:12 am
Kelly says:
LOL, great contest, Suzanne!!
On September 1, 2005 at 11:47 am
Melissa Marsh says:
Ooh, I LOVE WWII photos! I focused on a regional aspect of WWII for my master’s thesis.
I’d love to hear your dad’s stories of the war. Hope you have a wonderful time while he’s here. Oh yeah – that is so NEAT that you are able to trace your family history so far back!
On September 1, 2005 at 12:04 pm
Teresa says:
Love the photos! I always enjoy looking at old photographs. They always make me wonder about the people in them.
On September 1, 2005 at 12:15 pm
Tori says:
Cool pics! I love old photos, too. Some day I should put some of my family’s up. Some are hysterically funny. 🙂
On September 1, 2005 at 2:10 pm
ruby55 says:
I love old photos too. I don’t know if there are any of my grandfather in WWI around but he sure took a lot of them in WWII. I have his albums which also include little picture folders of places he visited. At one point, my mother wanted to throw them away. So I rescued them. It’s fun to see him on the ships or on shore (he was in the German navy).
My father still actually rode a horse in WWII. He named it Margit–he didn’t want to call it outright Margot after my mother, to whom he was engaged at the time. As mentioned, he was on the eastern front. He ran away from Russian firing squads at least twice. He figured he could stand there and let them shoot him; he could run and get shot; or he could run and escape. He did the latter and since he was a good long-distance runner, he walked and ran most of the way from close to Stalingrad to Romania, which was friendly to Germany and then on to Germany. I don’t know all the details because, as also mentioned, he never talked about it. He might have now if he were still alive.
So enjoy your dad while you can. Mine died at 65. My grandfather, of navy fame, died at age 83 but he never talked much about the war either. My mother and grandmother were so glad when he was drafted again because at least they didn’t have to worry about his going to prison or being shot for maligning the Fuehrer. He was a Socialist–an arch-enemy for Hitler.:twisted:
On September 1, 2005 at 3:19 pm
Danica says:
cool pics! I love old pictures.
And I can’t believe I forgot to send a picture!
On September 1, 2005 at 5:26 pm
Amy K. says:
Love all the pictures, but especially the one of your dad. What a hero!
On September 1, 2005 at 11:25 pm
Alyssa says:
Oh, my heavens. I love the Phoney Express II photo. What a fun name!
Waving to Toni while I’m here. Hi, Toni! :wave:
On September 2, 2005 at 1:14 am