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ETO Jan'45 - May '45: 320th Bomber Group
 England
First Tactical
Air Force
443rd Bomber
Squadron
Air Medal, DUC
Photographs
Family in Service
(Under Construction)
Curtis Seiley
Carl
Seiley
Butch
Seiley
John
Seiley
A. M.
Seiley
Mark
Seiley
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Sources,
Links, and People
I have thoroughly enjoyed conducting
the research to build this site. This is a work in progress, and I
expect it to be for quite some time.
Beyond the original source material in
my family's possession, I have used a number of resources that have
proven excellent in learning about the range of topics this site merely
touches upon. I have listed these below and encourage you to check
them out if you have not already done so. Since first launching this
site in 2003, I have also had the privilege of meeting or corresponding
with a number of wonderful people who have helped me fill in some blanks.
Books & Documents
 World
War II Military Records
A Family Historian's Guide
by Debra Johnson Knox
Want to research a WWII veteran's service, but not sure where to start?
This book is a
reasonably priced, excellent place to start. A guide to everything
from obtaining records, to determining awards and medals received and
where burials occurred. (Book cover at left).
Books by Victor C.
Tannehill
No other author has covered the First Tactical Air Force and the 320th Bomb
Group history better than this guy. See
320thbg.org for a
convenient list of his
books. Some of these are hard to find, or expensive, or both.
I found a couple of some of them on eBay for a good price, but it took a while.
eBay allows you to set up searches for items you want, and you will be
emailed when a matching list is posted.
Unit War Diaries
A trip to AFHRA in Montgomery,
AL (see below) in July 2003 afforded me the
chance to photocopy (from microfilm) the war diaries for both the 320th
Bomb Group and 443rd Bomb Squadrons for the periods 1 January to 30 June and
1 January to 31 August 1945 respectively. These are the day to day
reports of the units' activities and operations during the time, as
recorded by the unit historians whose job it was to track this, and now
declassified. They are fascinating historical records that reference
not only daily targets and missions, but staff activities such as which
movies were shown, the level of morale, promotions and awards, etc.
If you are interested in a copy of either (or both) I can copy and bind
them for you for the cost of printing, binding, and postage. A
voluntary donation to
the 320th Reunion Association would be much appreciated if you are
able.
Alternatively you can purchase copies of the original microfilms from AFHRA.
Mission Reports
Records were kept by 320th Bombardment
Group Headquarters for each mission flown by the group. These
records go far beyond the very brief references in the war diaries to the
missions, and detail every aspect of the mission including lead pilot, air
observations, enemy air encounters, flak, casualties, target, route,
weather, bombing results, formation, runway lineup, ship numbers, flight
time, and crew for each ship for each mission. I purchased a copy of
320th mission reports on CD covering August 1944 through May 1945 while
attending the 320th Bomb Group
Reunion Association in August 2003.
These were painstakingly scanned from the original documents at the
National Archives by Franz and Mary Reisdorf.
This is how I know dad was still flying with his
Lake Charles buddies until the end of
the war, and in which aircraft. Many of these mission reports are
being converted to PDF for
download here. Alternatively, if you would like your own copy of
the CDs, please
contact me. All I ask is that you cover the cost of media and
shipping, plus a donation to the 320th reunion association if you
are able.
Links
320th Bomb Group Web Site
There simply is no better site on the 320th than this one. A must visit
site for anyone interested in the 320th Bomb Group, or just the B-26.
Dr. Franz Reisdorf has done a
tremendous
job in honor of his grandfather and other members of the 320th. The
only website I am aware of devoted specifically to the 320th. Make
sure to also check out the information there about the
320th Reunion
Association.
Air Force Historical Research Agency
 AFHRA
is home to the world's largest and most valuable organized collection on
military aviation. Except for classified or otherwise restricted
documents, the Agency's collection is open to the public. If you
have the chance to visit there, make sure you contact them in advance to
make arrangements, otherwise they may not allow you on the base (almost
happened to me!). Alternatively you can request copies of relevant
microfilm from them for about $30 a pop.
B26.com
A
memorial to martin b-26 marauder flight and ground crews, encouraging the
exchange of personal stories, diaries, documents, and photographs.
Very nice bulletin board, robust links page of B26
related sites, and other
information.
U.S.
National Archives & Records Administration
The NARA is an
independent Federal agency that preserves our nation's
history and oversees the management of all Federal records. NARA's
34 facilities hold about 2.9 million cubic feet of original textual
materials—more than 8 billion pieces of paper from the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government.
You may request military
service records from NARA by
completing form SF-180 for the person you are researching.
If you are a veteran or next-of-kin of a deceased veteran, you may now use
vetrecs.archives.gov to order copies of military records. I did
this for my father and received a copy of his "Enlisted Record and Report
of Separation" which included some fantastic information including medals
awarded, battles and campaigns, duration of service, date and place of
induction, service schools attended, military specialty, etc. You
can see an example of the kind of valuable data that can be gleaned from a
separation record by looking at this
example.
People
Not done with this section yet......
By far the best part
about researching World War II is meeting the people that lived it.
While many vets are reluctant to share their experiences (for a range of
reasons), I find that once they understand you want to find out about your
relatives, they are wonderful at helping. These are a few of those
people I have had the privilege of having contact with, and wish to thank
them for their kind help.
Jack Mercer,
320th BG, 443rd BS.
Ray
Janer, 320th BG, 441st BS.
Ralph Woolf, Secretary, 320th Bomb
Group Reunion Association.
Nevin F.
Price, Secretary, 397th Bomb Group Association.
Bob Graham, 320th BG, 443rd BS.
Al Kaiser, 320th BG, 441st BS.
Bernie Bland, 397th BG, 597th BS.
Edward Purtz, 320th BG, 443rd BS.
John Lenkiewicz, 320th BG, 443rd BS.
Phil Langman, 320th BG, 441st BS.
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M. Seiley. All rights reserved
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