303rdBG.com Mission Statement

Mission Statement
The Mission and Purposes of the www.303rdBG.com are to:

Keep the memory and the legacy of the 303rd Bomb Group (H) alive for present and future generations, and preserve the history of the 303rd Bombardment Group (H)'s contribution to World War II.
Provide a resource for 303rd Bombardment Group (H) members, family, friends and others to research 303rd Bomb Group personnel, aircraft and accomplishments.
Provide a means for 303rd Bombardment Group (H) members, family and friends to locate missing comrades, contact each other and maintain and develop friendships.
Memorialize and perpetuate the memory of 303rd Bombardment Group (H) members lost during World War II, as well as those who have since passed away.
Provide a resource for schools and other educational institutions to learn about the WWII air war and the experiences of the men involved in preserving our democracy.

Dedication

Gary and Susan

This website was conceived in response to the question posed by Ed Miller, "We should be doing much more for the 303rd BGA. Do you have any suggestions?" It was a loaded question, and I took the bait and volunteered myself for this project. When I designed the Thunderbird Web Page, a website of this magnitude was the farthest thing from my mind.

My father, Vern L. Moncur, was the first pilot of the B-17G Thunderbird as a member of the 303rd Bombardment Group (H), 359th Bombardment Squadron. Though that was before I was born, I saw how his experiences changed his life and ours. I grew up in a home without a driveway . . . it was the "runway." The patch of cement next to the runway where we played basketball was the "ramp." I was an adult before I knew "ramp" was an aviation term. Almost all our family rides were to the airport, a tradition that has carried on to my family.

Dad's experiences as a B-17 pilot were not spoken of often in our home. His love of the B-17 was matched only by my mother's hatred of it. The war was even more difficult for her than it was for him. Mom would read the newspaper headlines about B-17s being shot down and airmen being killed and captured. She would worry and fret for two weeks until she got a letter dated after the date of the article . . . then she would go through the same thing again and again. Also, while Dad was flying combat, she lost a baby. My oldest brother, Vaun, was born and died during Dad's combat.

Although I have always loved airplanes and go to every airshow possible, my real love of the B-17 and her crews started in September 1984, just four months before Dad died. At a local airshow, Dad, my 11 year old son Matthew and I climbed through the Commorative Air Force's B-17 Sentimental Journey. Dad, with his voice quivering, showed us the controls and said, "I'm sure I could take her off, but would have a heck of a time getting back down." The tears in his eyes and the love he had for the B-17 are still etched in my mind and in my son's mind as well.

May this web page be a lasting memory to all of the dedicated airmen and support personnel who carried the 303rd Bombardment Group (H) to its highest level: to those who gave their lives; to those who spent time in prisoner of war camps; to those who evaded capture; and to those fortunate enough to return home.

We owe our freedom to them all. We shall never forget . . .

Gary L. Moncur

Meet the 303rdBG.com Website Team
The Faces Behind The Screen

Gary L. Moncur

Gary L. Moncur - Director / Designer / Webmaster

I am a proud son of 359th BS Pilot Vern L. Moncur, first pilot of the famous B-17G Thunderbird. Dad's love of his crew, the 303rd Bomb Group and the B-17 rubbed off on me, but it didn't stick until after he had passed away. With only a 30 minute html lesson from our son, I learned how to design webpages, one page at a time. Both B17Thunderbird.com and 303rdBG.com are hand-coded, without the help of the newer "Word Processor" design methods. What started out as an attempt to display Dad's mission journal online, turned into a life-changing experience. The website is just as exciting to me today as it was the first day it went online, in January of 1998. This project has led to countless new friends worldwide. Some have become just like family. Without the love and support of my wife and sweetheart Susan, none of this would have been possible. The credit for the extensive history of the 303rd BG belongs to the men who made it, both on the ground and in the air. The credit for our online content belongs to hundreds of contributors, but especially to Harry Gobrecht and Ed Miller. I'm just the guy that put it all together.

Harry D. Gobrecht

Harry D. Gobrecht - Historian Emeritus

Harry was a 358th BS Pilot who brings extensive credentials to the Website Team. He is known worldwide as the premier 303rd BG Historian, serving in that position for the 303rd BGA for twelve years. He collected and cataloged the massive 303rd BGA Archives, now available to everyone in the Gobrecht Family, 303rd Bombardment Group (H) Research Center at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum. He was named 303rd BGA Historian Emeritus in 2004. Harry is also the author of the historic book Might in Flight, which provided the core information for this website as well as The Molesworth Story CD-ROM. Harry is responsible for the website content on numerous pages and for the detailed research on many of the individual crew pages. His contributions to the website are too numerous to mention. Without his skills and dedication, this website might not exist at all. In addition to 303rd BGA Historian, Harry has served in many 303rd BGA positions, including 303rd BGA President. Be sure to see the Gobrecht Crew page and his impressive biography.

Edgar C. Miller

Edgar C. Miller - Personnel Rosters

Ed was a CoPilot and Pilot in the 360th BS. It was Ed who started the ball rolling for this massive website. His challenge in 1997 to "do more for the 303rd Bomb Group" was the spark that ignited this website project. Ed painstakingly compiled the personnel rosters, over 9000 names, that are a huge part of this website. Ed is a genealogist who has written numerous family history books. It is fitting that thousands of visitors have found our website by searching for their family names. Ed developed the 1st Edition of the historic CD-ROM The Molesworth Story, which led to the 2nd Edition. Over 2000 copies of The Molesworth Story are now in homes and libraries. He has served in many capacities in the 303rd BG for many years, including Membership Chairman and President.

Following Ed's official service in the 303rd Bomb Group (H) Association, he took it upon himself to complete the 303rd rosters he began years earlier. In 2008 Ed completed his massive project. The 3-volume collection now resides in the Joint Analytic Center at Molesworth, England and the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Pooler, Georgia. Details of his roster project are here. Please look over Ed's biography and the Thomas Crew and Miller Crew pages.

William E. Jones III

William E. Jones, III - 303rd-Talk Moderator

Bill is the son of 360th BS pilot William E. Jones, Jr. He is a retired chemist, born on an AAF training base during the war when his father was a flight instructor -- prior to his 303rd Bomb Group service. Like many veterans, Bill's father didn't talk much about the war. For the past few years, Bill has been trying to learn as much as possible about his father's wartime experiences. During that time he has become quite an expert on the 303rd BG. Bill also maintains a website honoring his father and those who served with him. We had corresponded for years when I asked Bill to join our Website Team. He has been a very valuable addition and keeps a close eye on our 303rd-Talk Forum. If you haven't joined, you might want to give it a try. There is a great camaraderie among the members and some very interesting 303rd BG related discussions.

Mark C. Forlow

Mark C. Forlow - Photograph Consultant

Mark is a VP at EMI Music in the Jazz and Classics division based in New York City. Mark has a BA in History from Marist College and now resides with his wife Joan and son Matthew in Cold Spring, New York in the beautiful Hudson Highlands. He is a World War II enthusiast and collects original photography and memorabilia from the period. His collection includes about 200 original photos related to the 303rd Bomb Group. Mark has contributed many of these photos to the 303rd website and has helped to identify many of the men in these photographs, as well as in photos already on the site. Mark has a keen eye and a unique ability to recognize men he has seen before in photographs. When we find a new photograph without the men identified, we turn to Mark for his expertise.