 |
 |
|||
|
Further information can be seen at the Website of the 446th Bomb Group and at the Flixton Aviation Museum
|
|
The Boys from America in Bungay.The third instalment of a story about the 446th Bomb Group and their experiences in the Bungay area. This installment details the airbase and the men of the 446th today.If you missed the earlier installments, read them here - First - Second NowMore than half a century has gone by and though our numbers have dwindled, once each year these kids of the Great Depression who went to war and returned to start fresh lives meet to recall the days of the 446th. They come from Washington, Maine, Florida and California and all points in between. The members of the 446th Association return each year to renew old acquaintances. Former enlisted men and officers hug, mingle, toast and outdo each other with tales from the past. Many are accompanied by their wives who patiently sit through the activities and listen to stories about Station 125, life on the base and the missions they flew and one incident leads to another and another. Tales of past experiences, places, hardships and good times are the order of the day at each reunion. Events that can't forgotten. To help stimulate the stories, Fred Breuninger brings memorabilia of all types. The combat crews talk about missions, flak and fighters. The ground people talk about English weather, buzz bombs, the sweating out of planes and crews. We thought we had sublimated the memories of the war years ago, but some of the fellows are still attempting to come to grips with their memories of the war. Occasionally tears are shed for the friends we lost. Those who died in the prime of their youth will always be remembered by us. Our generation was conditioned to believe that crying was not the manly thing to do, but the ceremonies and the memories of the period and the losses weaken many strong men. Those memories are good, even after fifty years. We were patriots and our faith in our country was great, and we did things we never thought we'd do. Young men flying four-engine bombers over oceans, and against the enemy, being shot at and dying. There is an accuracy and acuity of recall that was dormant for many years. Stories that some of the fellows have written for this book prove that. We had peace of mind and then the fiftieth anniversary of D-day brought out things that were held in for years. The war did not seem so long ago, and for awhile the spotlight was on us. In 1990, '93, and again for the 50th Anniversary of D-day tours to England, Holland and France were conducted. As part of the trip a visit was made to the museum at Nijmagen where the story of the supply mission and battle are well documented. The tour stopped at St. Mere Eglise where on D-day one of the paratroopers was caught on a church steeple during the drop. Today, a dummy paratrooper hangs on the steeple in memory of his harrowing experience. Some of our fellows were aboard the QE2 for the D-day memorial services. The Britannia with the Queen aboard led the thousands of ships toward Cherbourg. Docking in Cherbourg they were greeted by hundreds of French people waving American flags and yelling "Thank you". They went to Utah and Omaha beaches where our forces landed. FLIXTON REVISITEDJohn Archer remembers as a teenager riding his bicycle to the end of the runway and watching our planes as they took off and when they returned. Today, he is the gentleman who has performed a great many acts of kindness for 446th visitors to Bungay. We are grateful for his contribution to this report on Station 125. When we left Station 125 in the Summer of 1945 it resembled a ghost town. After months of activity a quiet settled over the area and the base presented a desolate scene. The Royal Air Force reclaimed the base in July. A unit of the Royal Navy dubbed it H.M.S. Europa and took over part of the base to house its men. The mission of the RAF was to dispose of the hundreds of tons of bombs and armaments we left as well as those trucked in from other stations. Bombs straddled the runways in long neatly stacked rows. Fifty-caliber machine gun belts, dye-markers, parachute flares, rocket-heads, bomb fins and other military equipment were stored in the empty Nissen and Quonset huts. For many years Flixton was the only one of the Second Division bases to survive as it was during the war. The runways were used by crop dusting Piper Pawnees. A local parachute club had its headquarters there. Mini air shows were held to aid St. Mary's church fund for roof repairs. Children flew model planes off runways previously used by B-24s. Eventually it all reverted to its original use - farming. Jack Garrod, a well-known Flixton farmer reclaimed the land. In 1984 the base came under the hammer, and a local farmer paid a large sum for the acres of concrete and asphalt. The runways and hardstands were broken up and used in new road projects. However, even after more than fifty years there are still reminders that we were there. Over at Abbey Farm, where the headquarters building, briefing room and other support buildings were located there is little change. The farmer makes good use of the reinforced concrete buildings to store grain and farming equipment. A rusting practice bomb tops off a post located there. Away from the headquarters site, where the living quarters were located, several buildings remain. The former hospital is now a mink farm. The gym is overgrown with trees and bushes. Poultry houses have been erected around the perimeter. There is a plant for processing chickens in the area of the Officer's Club. Flixton Hall is
no more. The beautiful landmark became the victim of high taxes, and
has gone to decay. Hay is stored there and cows roam through the remains
of the manor house. In 1986 many members of the Group journeyed to Bungay and in a ceremony donated a new set of oak gates for St. Mary's church. These gates replaced the ones donated by the Group on leaving in 1945. On the gate is a plaque in memory of the men we lost. In recent years many of the fellows have returned with their wives and members of their families. Fred Breuninger and Dan Hutto made a pilgrimage. It was in mid-May and they found the fickle English weather had not changed - it was cold and windy. They found what was Station 125 divided into four farms. Three of the farmers were cooperative and gave them permission to roam at will. The fourth discouraged trespassers. They found a handful of decrepit buildings and a small portion of the main runway. Even so they felt very familiar with the surroundings. They visited the Headquarters site and what remained of the Ops building where they had worked. They also visited the spot where their Nissen hut stood in Site 10. They relived the 'good old days' as they walked the same road they had taken to the mess hall, but this time they ate at the Black Swan. So many of our friends at Bungay still think of us after so many years. John Archer, and his wife Loma, have been helpful greeting the people who return to see what Station 125 is like today. Fred and Dan visited Mrs. Dinky Payne who worked with the American Red Cross and recalls so many memories of the 446th and the fellows who served in it. She recalls the parties on the base for the children and how we tried to make things pleasant for them in a war-weary country. She also remembers the Christmas parties with Father Christmas handing out gifts and the joy it brought to them. We all remember the delicious pies she made -when apples were available. It reminded us of Mom's apple pies and home. Dinky felt, as we did, that she was a member of the Group, especially when she was present at the interrogations when the coffee and sandwiches were passed around. She recalled how she would occasionally go up to the line and watch the planes return from a mission, and often wondered how some of the planes made it back with so much flak damage. She found it hard to handle when some of the fellows failed to return, but didn't want her distress to show. Chaplain Gannon would buck her up by saying "Mrs. Dinky, a cup of coffee tastes much better with a smile, and you always have a lovely smile for my boys." It was the warm British people like Mrs. Dinky who made life more bearable for us so far from home. In 1982 she had the great honor of receiving the British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) awarded by the Queen for public service. A park in Bungay has been named for her. Each year at the military memorial services at the American cemetery in Cambridge John Archer places a 446th wreath in memory of our dead and missing. The Norfolk and Suffolk Air Museum is operated by Alan and Beryl Hague with a special section devoted to the 446th. Alan and friends take metal detectors and search the hedgerows, perimeter track and the area that was used to deposit scrap. They have unearthed hundreds of rounds of 50 caliber shells, dog tags, mess kits and food trays. There were oxygen bottles, steel nose caps from bombs, tool kits and manufacturers name plates from various B-24 components. Mike Bailey, the artist, known for B-24 art is a good friend of the Association. Alan Foster has been helpful making drawings of the Headquarters building and the Control Tower. Bungay, the quiet little town so rich in historic lore has changed. Growth has taken over in the form of new inhabitants, new homes and more traffic. All the result of progress. John reminds us the shouting, the laughing and probably the hitching that echoed across the fields and meadows of Flixton have long been silenced. Gone are the B-24s, but the sounds of the past, the throb of the Pratt & Whitney engines and the smell of gasoline drifting across the perimeter fence will never be forgotten. From the book "The 446th Revisited" by Ed Castens For more on the 446th Bomb Group, visit their official website at www.446bg.com By Steve Roat
www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
