War Stories

Why I Attend Squadron Reunions 
  by: Bill Wilson, 76th Armament 


Much has been written with justifiable pride concerning the pilots of the 76th, especially their heroics in combat. While reunions still graphically indicate their cohesiveness, there is an element of ground crew that enjoys the prestige of knowing where they came from and just what they accomplished.

There are probably very few people who could not justifiably say the 76th, a follower of the A.V.G., was not one of the most prestigious Fighter Squadrons in World War II. Remember back in '42 when the 23rd held all of China together. To me the Vanguard was all the more remarkable considering the nucleus of the administrative and technical personnel were mostly transfers from another group.

When the squadron was formed very few non-coms were transferred into the 76th. Would you as a C.O. or Section Chief transfer what you considered the best? So into the 76th came these un-ranked young men with little or no experience, but a healthy desire to do their best with a few beat-up P-40B's, and very little in the way of tools or equipment. Remember Rasmussen (Line Chief) and McKinney (Armament Chief), stay overs from the A.V.G., and their contribution. Remember standing on the old Studebaker flatbed on the way to pre-flight in the early morning darkness from Hostel #3?

Remember our pride in Lingling and Hengyany in the summer of '43 and Suichwan on Thanksgiving Day.

Most of these men stayed in China through the evacuation of our eastern bases. Their pride in doing a job well made them a credit to the Air Corp.

At a reunion in Orlando a few years ago General Holloway asked "How did we get all these fine men in one place at one time?" I really don't know the answer to the question, but this I do know. Our pilots were the best, but it was a once in a lifetime association with the very best ground crew ever that made the tough days in China bearable for all of us.

Bill Wilson - August 1994