Lt. William J. Ferrante's Diary

Navigator, 603rd Squadron

Diary History

1. Veteran/Position/Squadron/Crew:
   1. Lt. William J. Ferrante
   2. B-17 Navigator
   3. 603rd Squadron
   4. Mark Magnan's Crew while in Training and for Missions before September 1, 1944.
   5. Jack Lee's Crew after September 1, 1944.
2. Original Diary Location:
   The handwritten original diary is presumed to be located with the Ferrante family.
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. 398th's Dave Jordan: electronic
   6. 398th's Allen Ostrom: No
   7. 398th Web Site/Archive: electronic
4. Period Covered:
   The diary covers missions between September 1, 1944 to December 9, 1944. However, Lt. William J. Ferrante trained and flew before September 1, 1944 with Mark Magnan's Crew.
5. When written:
   Thought to be written after each mission.
6. Transcriber to Electronic Text:
   The diary was transcribed by Jeff Vicha, grandson of Ray Vicha who was Right Waist Gunner on the same crew who had obtained the diary from Tom Lee, Jack Lee's son. In February 2009, Jeff contacted Dave Jordan about having the diary on the 398th pages.
7. Contact Information:
   Comments or corrections about this diary can be sent to the 398th Comment Coordinator.
8. Epilogue: