T/Sgt. Oliver W. Bradford's Diary

Engineer, 603rd Squadron

Diary History

  1. Veteran/Position/Squadron/Crew:
    1. T/Sgt. Oliver W. Bradford
    2. B-17 Engineer
    3. 603rd Squadron
    4. Kenneth S. Hastings' Crew, Donald J. DeCleene's Crew, and Harold F. Spangler's Crew
  2. Original Diary Location:
     The handwritten original diary is presently with the Nuthampstead Airfield Museum, England.

    The diary came to us via Colin Campbell whose father was in 446th Bomb Group. He wrote that "A friend of ours recently gave me [Colin] this diary knowing my father flew with the 446th BG out of Flixton field. His father had gotten this diary at a garage sale years ago. I'd [Colin] like to donate it to the group if you have a library/museum."

    Colin then sent the diary in late December 2008 to Dave Jordan who scanned it shortly thereafter as a pdf file. The 398th Bomb Group Memorial Associations thanks Colin Campbell and his friend for their concern in making sure that Mr. Bradford's diary was not lost and is now part of the 398th History Archive.
  3. Copies at Key Repositories:
    1. 8th AF Heritage Museum in Savannah: No
    2. Hertfordshire Archives: No
    3. 398th's Lee Bradley: No
    4. 398th's Jack's Books: No
    5. Nuthampstead Airfield Museum, Nuthampstead, England: original
    6. 398th's Allen Ostrom: No
    7. 398th Web Site/Archive: electronic
  4. Period Covered:
     The diary covers missions between May 24, 1944 to April 7, 1945.
  5. When written:
     Most entries appear to have been written after each mission. However, in some cases different colored inks are used for the same day and appear to be in ball point pen, a pen not well available until after the war. It is hypothesized that some of these entries may have been written years later, perhaps after reminiscing with colleagues at 398th Reunions to recall various events. Colin Campbell (see above) noted that at one point Oliver Bradford calls the German offensive in Dec. '44, the Bulge. Colin notes indicated they didn't use that term until later after the battle. Thus it appears some entries were contemporaneous and others were added later.
  6. Transcriber to Electronic Text:
     The diary was transcribed by Eddie Ebbert.
  7. Contact Information:
     Comments or corrections about this diary can be sent to the 398th Comment Coordinator.
  8. Epilogue: