Recommended Books

Explore Related Books: Dive Deeper into the 458th Bomb Group’s History

Discover a curated selection of captivating books that offer unique perspectives and in-depth insights into the heroic exploits of the 458th Bomb Group. From firsthand accounts to meticulous research, these books provide a comprehensive understanding of the group’s contributions and the challenges they faced during World War II. Immerse yourself in their remarkable stories and honor their bravery by exploring these compelling works.

458th Bombardment Group
George A. Reynolds

George Reynolds was the younger brother of Sgt Jerry Reynolds, a gunner on Lt Harold B. Dane’s crew in the 755th Squadron.  Jerry survived the war but was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1947.  George, himself an Air Force veteran and author, became the 458th Bomb Group’s historian beginning in the 1970’s and continuing until his passing in 2005.  He produced four volumes, each adding to the previous work. These volumes include, brief synopsis of the group, mission calendar’s, brief notes on each mission, history of AZON, many pictures, and more.

Hardcover 1974
11x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
Volume I  – 64 pages

458th Bombardment Group II
George A. Reynolds

George Reynolds was the younger brother of Sgt Jerry Reynolds, a gunner on Lt Harold B. Dane’s crew in the 755th Squadron. Jerry survived the war but was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1947. George, himself an Air Force veteran and author, became the 458th Bomb Group’s historian beginning in the 1970’s and continuing until his passing in 2005. He produced four volumes, each adding to the previous work. These volumes include, brief synopsis of the group, mission calendar’s, brief notes on each mission, history of AZON, many pictures, and more.

Hardcover 1979
11x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
Volume II – 72 pages

458th Bombardment Group III
George A. Reynolds

George Reynolds was the younger brother of Sgt Jerry Reynolds, a gunner on Lt Harold B. Dane’s crew in the 755th Squadron. Jerry survived the war but was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1947. George, himself an Air Force veteran and author, became the 458th Bomb Group’s historian beginning in the 1970’s and continuing until his passing in 2005. He produced four volumes, each adding to the previous work. These volumes include, brief synopsis of the group, mission calendar’s, brief notes on each mission, history of AZON, many pictures, and more.

Hardcover 1988
11x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
Volume III – 88 pages

458th Bombardment Group IV
George A. Reynolds

George Reynolds was the younger brother of Sgt Jerry Reynolds, a gunner on Lt Harold B. Dane’s crew in the 755th Squadron. Jerry survived the war but was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1947. George, himself an Air Force veteran and author, became the 458th Bomb Group’s historian beginning in the 1970’s and continuing until his passing in 2005. He produced four volumes, each adding to the previous work. These volumes include, brief synopsis of the group, mission calendar’s, brief notes on each mission, history of AZON, many pictures, and more.

Hardcover 1998
11x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
Volume IV – 88 pages

The 458th Bomb Group in Norfolk
Peter Bodle and Mike Bailey

A very fine pictorial history of the group in booklet form. Also includes some original color artwork by Mike Bailey.

Paperback 2007
8.1 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
60 pages

The Air War Remembered Letters to Chris
Ed Sealy

Lt Ed Sealy, a pilot in the 753rd Squadron, has compiled several letters written to his grandson Chris about his time in the USAAF.  Assigned to the group in late summer 1944, Sealy and crew flew 35 missions, completed their combat tour in April 1945.

Paperback 2009
8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
103 pages

The Day We Bombed Switzerland
Jackson Granholm

This is the story of the author’s military service spent flying aerial bombing combat over Europe in the 8th USAAF stationed in England. The book describes operational events, and the horrors of massive daylight bombing raids over Germany and its occupied territories, from D-Day until the end of World War II in Europe. The attack on neutral Swiss territory, described in the book, was one of several during World II by American bomber formations caused by navigational error. These events were never reported in the American press, and their attendant records, such as that of the court-martial, described in the book were classified as top secret for many years.

Jackson Granholm was a navigator in the 755BS and eventually became the Group Navigator

Hardcover 2000
9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
256 pages

Folded Wings of the 458th Bombardment Group
George A. Reynolds

George Reynolds self-published booklet chronicling several incidents involving crews and aircraft in the 458th.

Paperback Booklet
11 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
34 pages

In Search of Lady Jane
Richard Clements

An incredibly detailed account of the 2Lt Ralph J. Dooley crew and their tragic accident in November 1944, when they crashed in Norwich during a practice flight.  Nine crew members perished when their B-24 named Lady Jane hit the steeple of St. Philip’s Church in Norwich and crashed in a rail yard.

Paperback 1998 6 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches  44 pages

Liberators Over Norwich: The 458th Bomb Group (H), 8th USAAF at Horsham St Faith – 1944-1945
Ron Mackay, Mike Bailey, and Darin Scorza

Complete history of the 458th Bombardment Group from training in Tonopah, NV in 1943 through the surrender of Germany in 1945.  Compiled from official records and reports this narrative is the most comprehensive history on the group available.  Over 400 black and white and color photographs, many of them published here for the first time.  Also included are several original color side views of the group’s Liberators painted especially for this book by British aviation artist Mike Bailey.  Appendices include full mission, casualty, and detailed aircraft lists.

Hardcover 2010
11.3 x 8.75 x 1.3 inches
304 pages

Never Give Up On a Kid
David E. Hennessy

Drafted into the Army Air Corps at age nineteen, Emilio DaBramo served as a Radio Operator on a B-24 bomber during WWII. Fly along with the crew [of Lt Frank C Fuson] on their 31 missions over German occupied Europe. The exploits of the crew are well documented, including the disastrous carpet bombing raid at St. Lo, France and the heretofore untold story of the air delivery of 700,000 gallons of fuel to General Patton’s Third Army tanks in France during Operation Cobra. Re-live their crash landing in France after being shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over Cologne, Germany.  In 1945 Emilio DaBramo enrolled at Cortland State Teachers College under the WWII G.I. Bill. Read about the social and educational challenges that faced the veterans, the college administrators and professors after the WWII veterans arrived on campus.

Paperback 2012
9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
358 pages

Rhapsody In Junk: A Daughter’s Return To Germany To Finish Her Father’s Story
Marilyn Jeffers Walton

Lt Thomas Jeffers, bombardier, arrived at the 458th Bomb Group at the end of May 1944.  Less than three weeks later, he and his crew were shot down on their third mission.  He spent the remainder of his war in Stalag Luft III.  His daughter, Marilyn Walton has recreated an incredible account of his time in the USAAF, from training through liberation at Mooseburg.  She also documents the journey that she undertook to trace her father’s footsteps on the long march in the winter of 1945.

Paperback 2007
9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
508 pages

Thirty Missions to Marie
Arthur G. Capaldi

This is a true story that follows Captain Edouard J. Jacques, a WWII Bombardier and Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, and his crew from childhood through thirty bombing missions over Germany with the 755th Squadron, 458 Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force from 1944 through 1945. It’s a remembrance of ordinary men doing extraordinary feats in their quest to defeat the seemingly invincible Third Reich. Included in their stories are those they left behind — their wives, girlfriends, and family. Through interviews, their stories are told, and it is apparent that while not similar in background or culture, they were similar in their strength of character and love of country. Those who are no longer with us had their stories told by those interviewed. The history of the battle for Europe, 1944-1945, is told in detail.

Paperback – November 2016
5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
308 pages

Second In Line Second To None: A Photographic History of the 2nd Air Division
Ron Mackay, Mike Bailey, Steve Adams

The B-24 Liberator equipped organization that evolved from its original 2nd Bomb Wing status to a Divisional level commenced operations out of East Anglia in late 1942. Over the ensuing two-and-a-half years it prosecuted the Daylight Bombing Offensive in company with its 1st and 3rd AD contemporaries. Its crews moreover not only operated over central Europe, but in addition flew detachment operations out of North Africa that included the specific and costly assault on the Ploesti oil complex. The title of this book succinctly sums up the importance of the Division s presence within the 8th Air Force structure and the part it played in hammering the life out of the industrial and military infrastructures sustaining Hitler s Third Reich.

Hardcover June 2014
304 Pages

Liberator Album: B-24’s of the 2nd Air Division USAAF
Mike Bailey with Tony North

This is an in-depth study of the 2nd Air Division and its exploits, compiled from both U.S. and U.K. sources. It is an unparalleled collection of wartime photos and paintings showing the many color schemes. For military and aviation enthusiasts. Strong appeal to modelers, all WWII veterans–especially those who served in the 2nd Air Division and their families.

Hardcover 1998
11.5 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
192 pages

Night Of The Intruders: First-hand accounts chronicling the slaughter of homeward bound USAAF Mission 311
Ian McLachlan

65 years on, this dramatic account details USAAF mission 311 to Hamm on 22 April 1944 when American bombers suffered their highest ever losses to German intruders. This book describes the ferocious action over Europe, and the carnage and confusion over England, revealing the facts behind what went tragically wrong. Marks the 50th anniversary of East Anglia’s fiercest ever night air-battle, a bloodbath still remembered with horror and disbelief on both sides of the Atlantic. Features eye-witness accounts, published here for the first time, of the disastrous 8th Air Force mission when some 150 bomber aircrew failed to return from Europe, and 14 fighters were lost. Describes the subsequent carnage over East Anglia when German fighters, hidden by friendly radar echoes, followed the Americans home, attacking 20 bombers and killing or wounding more than 60 aircrew. Written by a successful 8th Air Force author and packed with human interest stories, the book chronicles all the raid’s events including RAF and German losses in combat. Covers many famous USAAF, RAF and Luftwaffe units, serving a wide veteran and enthusiast market.

The 458th lost three aircraft on this date: one over Germany, and two over Norwich. Several 458th crews are very well documented in this fine book.

Hardcover 1994
9.5 x 6.8 x 1 inches
224 pages

Out of Barbed Wire, Into a Nazi Death March
Marie Kramer

S/Sgt Richard J. Shearer, radio operator on Lt William Klumeyer’s crew in the 755th Squadron, and two other 8th Air Force crewmen relate the stories of being shot down and time spent in German POW camps.

Paperback 1995
9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
147 pages

Target Berlin Mission 250: 6 March 1944
Jeffrey Ethell and Dr. Alfred Price

On March 6, 1944, the Americans launched their first large-scale daylight raid on Berlin, the capital of Hitler’s Reich. The price they paid for their audacity was high: sixty-nine heavy bombers and eleven escort fighters failed to return, the highest number in any raid mounted by the 8th Air Force. This account of the mission is a compellingly readable, skillfully researched, minute-by- minute description. It is also the first book on the subject to look at events from the perspective of both sides, drawing on material from over 160 USAAF personnel, Luftwaffe pilots, civilians, and German flak gunners. 

The 458th lost five Liberators on this raid, the highest one day loss for the group in the war.  Several 458th crews are mentioned.

Paperback 2002
9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
256 pages

Home By Christmas – The Story of US 8th/15th Air Force Airmen at War
Martin W. Bowman

Several stories of airmen shot down over Germany.  Lt Robert Ferrell, navigator on Lt William Klusmeyer’s crew in the 755BS, tells an incredible story of his final mission and incarceration.

Hardcover 1987
9.5 x 8 x 0.8 inches
159 pages

Scott Nelson has done two fine paintings based on 458th crews.  See the Klumeyer Crew Page and the Kenyon Crew Page

Scott is a small farmer/rancher, living just a few miles north of the Cannonball river and Standing Rock Indian Reservation in south west North Dakota. He lives on the farm homesteaded by his Grandfather in 1908 with his wife and two children.

Scott is a self taught artist, he started drawing as a small child as soon as he learned to hold a pencil. Scott works with pen and ink, water color, acrylic wash, and oils. His subjects are mostly western, contemporary and Historical. Scott has illustrated several books and has been published in a number of magazines. He has contributed artwork to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Chronicle.

Several years ago, out of a deep respect for the World War Two Generation and a lifelong interest in W W II aircraft, Scott started interviewing veteran aviators and illustrating their stories on canvas. As of the spring of 07 Scott has completed 13 large oil paintings and a number of smaller water colors. The paintings are all based on real events occurring during the war. The veterans inspect the finished painting and suggest if there needs to be any changes. When the painting meets to their satisfaction, they sign the painting to authenticate it.  These paintings have been donated to the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot ND, where they can be seen on display.  www.dakotaterritoryairmuseum.com

For the past several years, several of these original paintings were on display in conjunction with the North Dakota WW II Exibit at the Heritage Center, ND Capital Grounds, Bismarck ND.

Of the thirteen oil paintings, 6 have been made into limited edition prints, 350 signed and numbered, 50 artists proofs with remarqes. The veterans have graciously signed most of their respective prints.