Samuel Talbot Johnson Jr., born December 23, 1922 in Orange, Virginia,  son of Ruth Virginia Carpenter Johnson and Samuel Talbot Johnson Sr. He answered the call to  serve his country in the Army Air Corps (later re-named the Air Force) during World War II. Sam operated the .50 caliber waist machine gun on a B-17 (nicknamed Flying Fortress) with the 305th Bomb Group (Heavy).For morale purposes the B-17s noses were  artistically designed by one of the crew, and the nose art of Sam's B-17 depicted  "Reich's Ruin."  Some were whimsy, such as "Ain't Misbehaving," "Lounge Lizard," "Bachelor's Delight," "In Like Flynn,"  or "Sizzlin,".   Sam's fellow airmen were  serious about their mission (Reich was a name given to the German Nazi regime).Being  a B-17 crewmember, each trained in a critical  job for the aerial bombing pursuits,   which was considered one of the most dangerous combat assignments of World War II since considerably more than half of the B-17  crews either died when their planes were shot down or  were  captured by the Germans and became prisoners of war.

Sam made bombing raids on a Flying Fortress  from November 1943 through May 1944.  Upon completion of 25  bombardment missions (sorties) over enemy occupied Europe,  the crew members  were given the option of returning  to the United States to be used as instructors to train the next groups going to either fight Germans in the Europe Theater of Operations or  the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.  In Sam's case, he returned to the U.S. to be first a gunnery instructor, later a small arms instructor and last a  firefighter as the war was ending in clear victory by the U.S. and allied forces.   He earned the rank of Staff  Sergeant, and was awarded very significant World War II combat military medals for valor including the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster  and Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.  The oak leaf cluster means more than one award of the same medal was earned. He didn't talk much about the "Reich's Ruin" throughout his life, and like so many World War II military men involved in heavy fighting, he just wanted to live the rest of his life in peace.

Because Sam rarely shared the details of World War II,  few knew of his valor.   Upon return to the United States from Europe, he vowed to never fly again.  He never wanted to leave Virginia and rarely left Stafford (after he retired he went on one hunting trip with buddies to Pennsylvania and became terribly homesick).  He never forgot how lucky he was to have survived World War II, and he felt ever so grateful to  have been given the opportunity to grow old with his beloved family.

Barbara Bryant, daughter, 2009

Crew Chief Clair Miller, joined the 305th Bomb Group at Salt Lake City. Clair wanted to be a pilot, however when he got to England his eye site wasnt good enough for flying, so he became the Crew Chief of the 366th Bomb Sqaudron, 305th Bomb Group. Whilst at station 105, one of the planes that Clair was crew chief  on was "Freckles" (Pictured Right), there is no information about the plane however after looking closely at the orignal photographs, it could have only been one aircraft, that being 42-39966 KY-S - named when she was lost August 3rd 1944, as V for Victor. Pete Filorimo, the first pilot of V for Victor and his men named their plane after a family they had lodged with in Spokane Washington State, during final combat training before coming to England. The name of the family was Mom and Pop Victor, so thats how they came about the name 'V for Victor'. Our  guess is another crew had this painted on the nose, or it could have been on there just before the Filorimo crew took her over.By the time 42-39966 was shot down 3rd August 1944, she was on her 50th mission.

Whist at Chelveston (Station 105) Clair met a local girl, Jackie Cook whos parents ran the ice cream parler in Rushden High Street. jackie later became Clairs wife.

At the End of the war, Clair and Jackie returend to the USA to live in Michigan, later having children living in Denva, Collarado.

My grandfather (William Betts, Rushden) first met Clair when out for a drive in his jeep, with markings of Wham- Bam, a 305th Bomb Group plane. When a car stopped him, this being Clair and jackie. My grandfather then got to know them and Clair told him about being a Chelveston.

Clair and Jackie would then return every year to visit family, in St Margarets Avenue, Rushden but to also keep in touch with my grandfather.

Fred H. Tate

1st Lieuenant

Serial Numer: 02 066 199

He was the Navigator of the plane, and a bachelor. A Southern boy from Memphis, Tennesse he was the oldest officer of the crew, at the age of 22. Seen as the wisest of the men, but he wasnt - espcially when it came to a game of poker. He was a funny character and a ladies' man.

While flying a night bombing mission in Texas, he was supposed to navigate us to a single illuminated target in the desert. He guided our crew through the night to a lit up area containing a number of lights on the ground, and the bombardier put the bomb right on the target. The next day there was an investigation concerning a crew that had dropped a training bomb on a small town near Amarillo, Texas Fortunately no casualties!

(Courtesy of Bill Donald)

Clive Bishop

Clive Bishop was a member of the 305th during WWII. He served as a gunner onboard the B-17, and was stationed at Chevelston. He was shot down on 4/11/44 while flying in B-17 42-31427 piloted by Lt. Calvin Vance (Some say it was 'Hip de ditty' and some say it was 'Stripped Ass Ape'). The crew were picked up by a fishing trawler and eventually rounded up and taken Stalag 17B, where he was kept until being liberated by Patton's 3rd army.

He is now 86 and is doing well.