European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 a the stars and stripes thursday May 28, 1992returning aviators take off on memory Laden Mission by Meridith Winder . Bureau Raf Mildenhall England a As if making a pilgrimage to a holy shrine scores of american veterans have returned to England to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the . Military in Europe. Some world War ii veterans turned up at Raf Mildenhall s air fete 92 last weekend to watch the Aerial displays and get another look at some of the aircraft flown during the War. Quot we bought our airline tickets Back in november a said Abner Musser a Lead Bombardier on a b-24 Liberator who flew with the 445th bombardments amps Jim Derti Eim Russ Journigan compares his world War i i Era flight jacket with the modern Day version worn by capt. Mace Carpenter at Raf Mildenhall England. Group during the War. Quot we were anxious to come Musser of Buck pa., said that he and his brother who flew b-17s with the 401st bombardment group in world War ii also visited England five years ago. Said Abner Musser of his brother Quot he wanted to come Back and see where they cracked up. They crashed on Takeoff and he wanted to see the Hole in the ground. Its still a i have missed this a said Veteran Robert Conrad who was a navigator on the b-24 Liberator with the 445th bombardment group. He added that if he and his wife could change their airline tickets they would stay Quot two to three weeks instead of one. But the England they Sec in 1992 has changed since the 1940s. A i prefer the old England a said Mario Grano of Framingham mass. Quot the England of the War years was More civilized with Law and order playing a Strong Grano who served in the casualty division at Headquarters european theater operations in London also liked the country a distinct English Ness in the old Days. He said that it Wasny tas much of a melting pot of people As it is now. But Robert Conrad of Sunbury pa., sees one dramatic improvement since world War ii. A i done to know what they used to do to the Coffee but it was awful to drink a said Conrad. Quot i think it used to have a lot of Chicory in it. I Learned to really like drinking Tea Back Grano and Malcolm Magid have Strong emotional reasons for wanting to come Back. Both married English women. A my wife is buried Here a Grano said. A also anything that has a bearing or historical value for my time Here is an attraction to me. In a Here recreating and living the Days of my Magid a Miami native who Calls Atlanta Home was a co Pilot on b-17s and a member of the a a original Hellas Angels also known As the 303rd bombardment group. A i flew my first Mission in november 1944 and finished in april 1945,�?� Magid said. A i asked for a Transfer about three weeks before the end of the War for me so that i could marry an English Magid met his wife Iris in London at a supper club while celebrating his radio operators 21st birthday. The couple will celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary june 23. Musser Conrad and Magid saw limited action while stationed in England because they entered the War Sas Jim Otohei Malcolm Magid Clad in his second lieutenants uniform stands with his wife Iris whom he met in England shortly before world War ii ended. Comparatively late. On the average the Trio spent a Little More than two years there. But Mussery a stay was not totally action free. A we were on one Mission Over Germany when we got attacked by a Messerschmidt 262,�?� Musser said. A it was a lot faster than i thought it would be. We got a few hits from it but managed to make it Granos Job involved the aftermath of fighting but it Wasny to easy work. A dealing with the families of people missing in action or killed is a very sensitive subject a Grano said. A the families reacted different ways sometimes not believing what you Are telling one family member whom Grano had to Contact personally was the wife of famed musician Glenn Miller. A it Wasny to the Best Job but somebody had to do it a Grano said of his task. A All the veterans agreed that this trip to England was Worth it. A a it a great to be alive at 74 years and get a Chance to March Down some of the old paths a Grano angered by bomber Harris statue Dresden Germany a British warplanes pounded German cities into rubble and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians during world War ii. Today Many germans Are angered by a statue ionizing the Man who masterminded the attacks. After More than eight months of controversy Queen Mother Elizabeth is to unveil in London on sunday a privately financed Monument to sir Arthur Harris chief of the Royal air forces bomber come in world War ii. 1 he dispute Over the statue has Given germans a rare Opportunity to dramatize their own wartime suffering. Quot what Harris did is genocide a said Helmut von Bargen a 65-year-old Mason and German War Veteran from a Hamburg suburb. His wife Jutta vented her anger perhaps in terms non germans would consider exaggerated. Quot then we could just As Well set up a statue to Hitler a she said during a visit to Dresden the Eastern City that a synonymous with the deadly fury of the three year air Campaign. When britons Honor the late commander on sunday germans in Cologne will hold an ecumenical prayer service for the War dead including the 55,573 British airmen killed carrying out the bombing runs. At the same time Dresden residents will Lay a Wreath to victims of War in another gesture of reconciliation. Harris headed the bomber come from 1942, when Britain could do Little in Europe except attack from the air. Yet the carpet bombing raids on German cities faced Strong criticism at Home and Harris was denied the Post Victory and sent storm like winds whipping through the City. Some estimates say More than 100,000 people died in the joint .-British raids. Another British raid that same month wiped out one Quarter of the population in the southwestern City of Pforzheim. Quot Twenty thousand people dead in 20 bomber Harris organized and commanded one of the most murderous actions of the world War the carpet bombing of German cities according to a firestorm _ a a Der Spiegel German newsmagazine tutors bestowed on other military leaders. It is estimated that the Allied bombing attacks including Many British Royal air Force night raids killed Between 500,000 and 593,000 German civilians and destroyed nearly 3.4 million dwellings. Cologne Hamburg Wurzburg and Berlin were among the approximately 60 cities hit. The firebombing of Dresden in february 1945, less than three months before the War ended wiped out the City Center minutes Isnit bad work to put it really crassly a City spokesman Michael Stroh Mayer said. Pforzheim mayor Joachim Becker led the Campaign against the statue of Harris enlisting support from other targeted cities but the protests went unheeded. A to put it simply they won the War a Dresden mayor Herbert Wagner said. Germans concede that Hitler was the undisputed aggressor whose own Luftwaffe first targeted innocent civilians. Yet despite German guilt they argue its inappropriate to erect monuments to people like Harris in 1992. A bomber Harris organized and commanded one of the most murderous actions of the world War a the carpet bombing of German cities according to a firestorm strategy a the influential newsmagazine Der Spiegel wrote in a recent Issue. Many people disagree with the German protests arguing that Harris and the British leadership did what was needed to win the War against the nazis third Reich. Harris Veteran fliers have ignored the German objections in paying for the statute of Harris outside London a St. Clement Danes the Royal air Force memorial Church. Harris died in 1984. A we done to need German permission for it a said Douglas Radcliffe a wartime bomber radio operator and Secretary of the bomber command association. A the group paid $181,000 for the 9-foot Bronze statue. A forty Odd years later in the cold Light of Day you can say that he Harris have done it a said 39-year-old British businessman Stephen Bull during a visit to Dresden. A but at the time it was War and he did no to know it was ending
