1Lt Howard W. Slaton was one of the first pilots assigned to the 458th when it was formed in July 1943.  His was the first crew assigned to the 755th Squadron on July 29, 1943.  This crew trained with the group in the fall of 1943 and flew a 755th Squadron B-24 named Ole Satan to the ETO via the Southern Ferry Route in January 1944.  Unfortunately no photo of the original crew members from Tonopah has been found.

At the end of February 1944, the 458th flew two diversion missions to the Dutch Coast in support of the Eighth Air Force’s “Big Week”.  Crew 60 flew a B-24 named Little Lambsey Divey on the first of these missions on the 24th of February.  The crew’s first combat mission came on March 3rd when the group was assigned to bomb Berlin.  Slaton led the group with Major Bruno Feiling flying as command pilot. It is not known if Lt. Riesen, crew 60’s co-pilot, flew on this mission or not.  Due to severe weather over the Continent, the mission was recalled.  The group’s first combat loss occurred on this mission when 1Lt Frank L. Herzik and crew failed to return.  They were flying the B-24 that Slaton and crew had brought overseas, Ole Satan.

On March 6, 1944, the Eighth Air Force finally hit Berlin after several days of trying.  The 458th’s target that day was the Daimler-Benz Motor Werke at Genshagen, a suburb of Berlin. While Slaton did not fly this mission, it seems some of his crew did.  Lt. Lawrence Riesen and Sgt John Dembecki were both wounded in action on this mission.  It is not know with whom they flew.  Riesen was out of action for several weeks.  Dembecki returned to flying a bit sooner.

According to records, Slaton flew only two missions in March (on the 3rd and 9th) and did not resume flying until April 5th.  It is possible that the men received lead crew training at this time, but that is not certain.  One thing that is certain is that after the crew returned to flying they flew 24 lead missions, completing their combat tour in July 1944.

The crew flew B-24J 42-100407 Little Lambsey Divey on 25 of their 30 missions.  The two Swastika symbols on the nose denote two fighters shot down.  These were both ADDED TO THE NOSE AFTER THE April 29, 1944 mission to Berlin when, according to records:  "Today the target was the Friedrichstrasse Station in the heart of Berlin…  Capt. Slaton and crew 60 flew as deputy lead of the second section…  The German Air Force was up in force today and many violent air battles ensued.  In the final outcome of the battle 4 men of our squadron are officially credited with destroying an enemy plane apiece… S/Sgt Otto A. Sobanjo of Hibbing, Minn. is creditied with an Me 109, and S/Sgt Clarence E. Johnson of Douglas, Oklahoma is credited with an FW 190.  Each of the above men are awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to their Air Medal."

The crew underwent some personnel changes early on.  With Lt. Riesen wounded, his place was most likely taken by various command pilots when Slaton flew lead.  2Lt Albert F. Pogue, navigator and 2Lt Pasquale Collalto, bombardier, are believed to have flown with other crews.  Both of these men completed their tours with the 458th and were transferred to other bomb groups in June 1944.  Pogue went to the 466th Bomb Group at Attlebridge and Collalto was assigned to the 482nd at Alconbury.

Lt. Ross Messner was the original 755th Squadron bombardier.  He flew with Slaton on a number of missions, including the April 8, 1944 mission to Brunswick, Germany.  According to 755th Squadron records: “Flak was very heavy at many points along today’s route and many enemy fighters were sent up to attempt to disrupt our mission.  During the bomb run, the formation was attacked by enemy fighters and the ship flown by Capt. Slaton and crew was the recipient of a flak burst that severed the oxygen and hydraulic lines causing a serious fire in the tail section of the ship.  Lt. Messner was checking his bombs prior to their release at the time of the enemy attack and he immediately manned a waist gun as the waist gunner was in the nose turret.  In the excitement, the abandon ship bell was struck and the men in the rear of the ship prepared to jump, not realizing the ship was under control.  Lt. Messner prevented three gunners from bailing out and smothered the fire by beating it out with his hands.  Lt. Messner by his coolness and quick thinking undoubtedly saved the aircraft and enabled its crew to return to fight again another day.”  Records do not go into details, but it is believed that Lt. Messner received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this action.  Records do show that he received a DFC in May, one in July and a Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) to the DFC in August. 

Lt John I. Woodworth was originally assigned as navigator on Crew 75.  On his second mission on March 5, 1944, Lt. Woodworth’s eardrums were injured and he came off of combat flying for a week or so.  His crew finished up before him in June and he was transferred to Crew 60 to fill in as lead navigator where he completed his final nine missions with Captain Slaton as pilot.  John Wood worth supplied two of the crew photos on this page.  The picture of the crew with Little Lambsey Divey was taken on June 10, 1944 as the crew gathered to slow time all four engines after they had been changed.

Also flying as navigator was 1Lt Robert D. MacGeorge from 1Lt Robert Hannaman's Crew 65.  Captain Robert V. Whitlow took over this crew shortly after the group arrived in the ETO and Hannaman was assigned as the 755th Squadron Operations Officer.  Hannaman was flying as command pilot with the Perkinson crew on June 29, 1944 when he was shot down.  It is believed that MacGeorge was assigned to Slaton's crew as DR (Dead Reckoning) Navigator in the summer of 1944.  It is not known how many misisions he flew with this crew.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in August and returned back to the Zone of Interior that same month.

The enlisted men remained fairly intact throughout their combat tour.  With the exception of John Dembecki who was wounded on March 6th, records indicate that they flew and completed most of their missions at the same time and were awarded DFCs in August 1944.  Dembecki was not far behind, as he completed his tour in the same month.  All six enlisted were transferred to the 8th AF Replacement Depot in August 1944.