Dear Mr. Christensen,

Yesterday I was helping my mother get ready to move and we were going through some old papers. I found a letter from you written in 1993. She said she never replied to you. Now eight years have passed and I sincerely hope this letter finds you and finds you well.

The subject of your letter to Mary Lipper was the 389th BG and the possible involvement of my father Lipper, Ralph I. O-854725. I don't know if you are still interested in information on this subject. I am.

I can tell you this much. The 1st Lt. Ralph Lipper you were asking about was my father. He was with the 44th BG, 67th BS as Assistant Engineering Officer and later with the 44th BG HQ as Group Engineering Officer. He completed the war with the rank of Major and stayed on with the USAF Reserves (442nd TCW) while a professor in Engineering at Kansas State University. He retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of Colonel. Ralph Lipper passed away on Dec. 31, 1989.

Your letter is of particular interest to me. I believe he was temporarily assigned to the 389th BG but I haven't been able to positively confirm this. I knew he was assigned temporary duty with some other group but I wasn't sure which. I read in the histories that the 389th arrived in England without the ground crews so it makes sense. His notes for this period of time say: to Sta 114 on TDY (Africa). In his things I found a photo in the September, 1981 issue of the Second Air Division Association Journal. The photo is with an article called Hethel Highlights by Earl Zimmerman. This photo shows an unidentified group of men standing with Capt. Kenneth Caldwell in front of the B-24 named Scorpion. One of the men is definitely Ralph Lipper.
I am very much interested in your list of passengers aboard the returning aircraft. I'm also interested in reading anything you have written. It isn't easy to find writings by or about those involved in the ground crews. If you did write that piece on the maintenance in the desert, I'd love to read it.

Another interest I have in your story is that my father-in-law was a waist gunner in the 564th BS of the 389th BG. Unfortunately the two men never met or had an opportunity to share any of their common experiences. My father-in-law arrived in England with the 389th BG and returned home after his 25 missions. He flew in the B-24 named Ole Irish. His name is Donald Pierce and he lives very close to you in Elmira, NY.

I am in the process of putting together some information with photos, history, statistics, and stories of the 389th BG for the family of Don Pierce. I am doing it on my computer and will print it on a disc for access by computer. The children and grandchildren of Mr. Pierce don't know much of his war record and Don will not speak much of it. He is a very quiet man anyhow. It is doubly difficult for me to work with him at this distance since I am in Oregon. Anything you are willing to share regarding the 389th BG is greatly appreciated.

Whether you respond to this letter from me or not, I want to thank you for your great and brave contribution to the free people of this world and to me. I have read some of the stories from members of the heavy bomber crews in the European theatre and I see that the experience was unique and remarkable. It may have been what had to be done but still it took remarkable young men to do it.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Fred W. Lipper

The following was posted on the389thBG Yahoo discussion group.by Chris Gregg (group moderator)

"Chris folded his wings in the spring of 2002. Chris (Christensen that is) was a wealth of 389th BG and B-24 knowledge, and was great about sharing his recollections and stories with us on the Operation Tidal Wave (Ploesti) list. He was with the group from June 1943 until July 1944 as a co-pilot, a pilot, and assistant engineering officer. His name shows up on official crew lists and engineering reports spanning most of the groups most difficult missions (Rome, Ploesti, Wiener-Neustadt, Ludwigshafen, Big Week, Berlin), and some of its most recognizable aircraft (Blonds Away, The Green Dragon, 743 O-, 619 N+, The Flying Greenhouse, & Pistol Packin' Mama). He even flew as a special weather observer for the Second Air Division during the initial D-Day landings, sending back weather reports from above and below the clouds every 30 minutes beginning in the middle of the night. I am certain that he would have loved to be a part of these discussions, and to know that so many second and third generation friends and relatives were this interested in the 389th BG."

-Christopher Gregg, 389thBG Yahoo discussion group