# Hail and well met!



## Astaldo711 (Sep 11, 2009)

I wanted to find a good resource for military aircraft of WW2 so I searched for WW2 Aircraft and this was the first website that came up! Very nice! I've been interested in WW2 aviation for most of my life. My dad was in the 8th AF during WW2. Never too clear on his position though. He had a stroke when I was very young and couldn't communicate very well. I know he was a tech sergeant and had to do with communications. I do recall him showing me a picture of a plane in flight. It was a small, grainy black and white picture and there where what appeared to be tracers all around it. He said he took the picture when he was on a B-17 as the radio man. My older sister said the closest my dad got to the enemy was a german cow. He passed away in '97 so I'll never now for sure.
I used to build models but now it's mostly books and flight sims. I absolutely love WW2 aviation!


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## diddyriddick (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome aboard, A! Looking forward to your posts.


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## DBII (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome. Can you post the photo? 

DBII


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## Messy1 (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome aboard! Nice to meet you.


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 11, 2009)

DBII said:


> Welcome. Can you post the photo?
> 
> DBII



Alas, no. It was many years ago and have no idea where it might be. I have some odds n' ends of his but not that picture.


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## Messy1 (Sep 11, 2009)

Post what you can. Any photos are always welcome!


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 11, 2009)

Thanks for the warm welcome! The pics I have are basically just my dad in his uniform overseas. If that's okay I'll try and upload some.


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## Lucky13 (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome to the family mate!


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## Airframes (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome from England.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.


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## v2 (Sep 11, 2009)

Welcome and greetings from Poland!


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 11, 2009)

Wow! There's a regular League of Nations here, huh?


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## GrauGeist (Sep 11, 2009)

Astaldo711 said:


> Wow! There's a regular League of Nations here, huh?


Yep...and we haven't had the guys from down under check in yet!

Welcome to the forums!


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## vikingBerserker (Sep 11, 2009)

Astaldo711 said:


> Wow! There's a regular League of Nations here, huh?



Yea, but our moderators actually get things done. 

Welcome aboard!


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 11, 2009)

I just wanted to upload a couple of images of my dad who served in the 8th AF during WW2. I don't know where to post so I put them here. Sorry if I'm wrong. His base was High Wycombe (not sure of spelling) attached to a B-17 squadron. He absolutely loved England and Scotland but never got a chance to go back.


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## KMeyrick (Sep 12, 2009)

welcome to the sight.

Try looking for the 8th airforce website to see if they have a searchable database.

this is the one from the 15th airforce. Try typing in his name and see if anything comes up. Sometimes squadrons would be attached to other groups for missions.

Maybe the 8th has something like this you could use to find out more info. The people here are great. If you can come up with more info or even the photo of that plane- people here could help put pieces together.


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## seesul (Sep 12, 2009)

Astaldo,
can you post or send me a PM with your father´s name? I know one guy who´s in touch with 8th USAAF historian.
Where do you live in NJ? Got a friend in So. Plainfield. He´s former 15th USAAF member.
And welcome aboard and greeting from the Czech Republic!


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## Vic Balshaw (Sep 12, 2009)

Astaldo711 said:


> Wow! There's a regular League of Nations here, huh?


G'day, greetings and welcome from the land of Oz.


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## B-17engineer (Sep 12, 2009)

Hello A. What part of New Jersey are you from. 

The New Jersey members just keep coming and coming 8) 

Welcome!


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## wheelsup_cavu (Sep 12, 2009)

Welcome to the forum. 8)


Wheels


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## Gnomey (Sep 12, 2009)

Welcome.


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## Heinz (Sep 12, 2009)

G'day, welcome to the forum.


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## Wayne Little (Sep 13, 2009)

G'day mate welcome from another Aussie!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Sep 13, 2009)

Welcome to the forum Astaldo.


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## RabidAlien (Sep 14, 2009)

Welcome aboard! If you have any other information (names, unit numbers, plane names/numbers he might've mentioned/written down, dates, missions, etc), there are quite a few research-hounds here with "friends" in high places who can help you find more about your Dad and his involvement in the War. Also, have you tried getting in touch with the VA to get a copy of his records?


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## jamierd (Sep 14, 2009)

welcome to the forum


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks to all for the warm reception!
I'm from NW New Jersey - Highland Lakes about 10 minutes from Mountain Creek if anyone knows the area. It's pretty rural - bears and deer and such.
My dad was stationed in High Wycombe in England from 41-45 I believe. His name was Russel Louis Hompesch. I think at that time he was living in Bloomfield, NJ. 
I went to the 8th AF website but couldn't find any info. I sent them an email so I'll see.
Part of the problem trying to find info on him is that most of my relatives have passed on. My mom, his sister, all my grandparents. My one brother passed away, the other doesn't know, my one sister had a stroke and not too communicative and the other doesn't have too much history on him. 
Thanks for all the help!


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## Thorlifter (Sep 14, 2009)

Welcome to the site


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## RabidAlien (Sep 14, 2009)

Have you tried requesting records from the military? Might take awhile (hey...they're the gov't!), but its worth a shot:

How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service (DD Form 214, DD-214, DD214

GovMilitaryRecords.com - Comprehensive Online Military and Army Records Searches

GovtRegistry.com-Instant Access to 100's of Millions of Records and Resources


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks for the links. I tried the first one earlier today so I'll see if anything comes of it. The other two are pay sites which are unfortunately not an option for me.
I'm going to try and find some of his old paperwork.


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## B-17engineer (Sep 14, 2009)

I live in North West Jersey too. In Hunderton County


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 14, 2009)

Another rural area. Whenever we get bad weather in the winter, it seems like it's always Sussex, Warren and Hunderton counties.


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## B-17engineer (Sep 14, 2009)

..... I live in Tewksbury....about 25minutes from the Pennsylvania boarder.


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 14, 2009)

I found some of my dad's old papers. I found a little New Testament book of Psalms and in it is his social and service number. He must have joined right after Pearl Harbor because it shows it was given to him by the chaplain in Jan of '42.
I'm going to upload a couple of images. One is a picture of him at work and the other is a letter from Eisenhower announcing the end of the war in Europe.


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 14, 2009)

This is a picture of a pamphlet I found. It's a short review of how far the 8th came from the beginning of the war. In the back is a little note on how to keep your guns from freezing.


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## RabidAlien (Sep 15, 2009)

Nice finds there! Yeah, sorry 'bout the last two sites, I was at work and just posted the first two that looked promising.

How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service (DD Form 214, DD-214, DD214


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## Astaldo711 (Sep 15, 2009)

I filled that one out, thanks. Just waiting to hear from them.


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