as part of conversations within the 389th Bomb Group Yahoo discussion group
389thBG Yahoo discussion group.
The following memories were contributed by Earl Zimmerman
as part of conversations within the
389th Bomb Group Yahoo discussion group
389thBG Yahoo discussion group.
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When you get to Norwich go to the main library, its next to the city hall, and tell them you would like to visit Hethel and they will get in touch with our guys at the Hethel chapel, or perhaps Tony North will be there and they will arrange for you to see Hethel and meet some of the ones who know the history of Hethel. Mrs Frances Davies is a Board member of our memorial, I know her personally, she might be on hand and will make arrangements for you..... The Green Dragon in Wymondham is open also the World's End Pub in Mulbarton. If you can, arrange to be there at lunch time and enjoy the food.... in any case if you have time, while in Norwich, drop by the tea shop in Upper Goat Lane and have a Devonshire Split and a cup of tea for me. Sorry, we never had a name for our plane. We washed out our new D Model in a mid-air and our next plane didn't have a name and we didn't have it long enough to give it one. The plane we took to Ploesti was Lt. Robert Schwellinger's plane. He was in the hospital the day before and we were assigned to his plane but he got out on the 1st of August in time to make the mission and flew co-pilot in his own plane. We left it in Izmir. We needed a break from the powdered eggs and dehydrated potatoes, etc, so decided to go to Turkey and have some fresh melons, pasta (cake) and dondruma (ice cream). After six months of living high on the hog we decided to escape and get back into combat. They gave me time off to get married....If you have time, the Cathedral is within walking distance from the Library, drop in and look for Saint Mary's in the Marsh Chapel. We were married there on 24 March, 45 as the planes flew over with the paratroopers and gliders headed for the drop zone just across the Rhine River. Earl
Both the Green Dragon in Wymondham and the Worlds End in Mulbarton frequented by enlisted men. The Bell Hotel in Norwich you might call the Officer's hangout. Now and then you might find a Second John, a lost navigator, mixing it up with the other sexes,,, like gunners etc. The Bishop's Palace, on the grounds of the Cathedral was turned over to the Red Cross and enlisted men could get room and board at a small price, if I recall. You had to pay for your chow. Each base had Liberty Runs into Norwich each night, a rough ride in the blackout in six bys, and if you missed the return trip it was hike back to your base as almost impossible to get a taxi...gas rationing you know. Some of the guys would bike into Norwich, about nine miles, but the trip back in the blackout a dangerous ride. Many of the lads, half stoned, wound up in the ditches alongside the road and frequently into the hedges, ouch, and looked like a candidate for the Purple Heart by the time they got back to Hethel. rough way to go and no credit for a mission.... Earl
try to catch up with your sqdn. after losing time on the ground....have mercy. Get one of the first pilots out there to tell you how he flew the low left and the leader made a tight left turn in formation....Ive seen them put down flaps and almost have to bail out and head back home because you almost reach the stalling speed and with a full bomb load, Katy bar the door....
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Read Earl Zimmerman's comments on the 389th Bomb Group nick name, Sky Scorpions.
The crew chiefs like to have their planes on the hardstand where they had their nice little shack built out of packing crates...
I sometimes wonder how we got the group lined up for takeoff. Now and then one of the klutsy pilots will wander off the taxi strip and wind up knee deep in the mud and mess up the well executed plan for the mission....