Lot 1047

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Description:

WORLD WAR II 94th BOMB GROUP OFFICER LETTER GROUP
Superb-content letter grouping between C. RALPH FLETCHER and his wife, VIRGINIA FLETCHER (nee Van Fossan), consisting of over 140 war-date A.L.S.'s, T.L.S.'s, V-Mail, and other correspondence (33 T.L.S.'s, 65 A.L.S.'s, 10 V-Mail sent by Ralph, with 27 A.L.S.'s and 2 V-Mail sent by Virginia). Fletcher, an architect who led the design of Geddes' Futurama exhibit for the 1940 New York World's Fair, entered the Army Air Corps in April, 1942 as an intelligence officer. Fletcher served as the S-2 of a B-17 "Flying Fortress" Squadron (94th BG/410th BS) led by Bolling Rawlinson. The 94th led many of World War II's most famous bombing campaigns, including the Aug. 17, 1943 raid on Regensberg, Brunswick on Jan. 11, 1944, Big Week and Operation OVERLORD, and won several Distinguished Unit Citations in the process.

This enormous collection of letters includes many topics, but its highlight is most definitely Fletcher's period as an officer with the 94th when stationed with the RAF at Bury St. Edmonds conducting the most crucial bombing runs in the European campaign. Fletcher's tour begins with typical excitement and bravado (July 20, 1943): "...The Piccadilly Commandos are members of the oldest trade known to man...One of the boys lost 30 pounds one night...If we are going to win this war we ahd better quit being gentlemen and fight an all out war...." (Aug. 2, 1943): "...I'm awfully sorry I can't mention any of the targets where we've been... All I can say is read your daily paper-- that's us...". Fletcher's tone changes shortly after Regensberg (Aug. 22, 1943): "...The 410 has suffered extremely heavy losses-- mostly during the first months' operations... I received a letter from one of our pilots' mother... he was instantly killed by 20mm as his ship went out of control and dived towards earth..." (Sept. 11, 1943): "...A B-26 just crashed on the field...at least three boys are dead..." (Sept. 24, 1943): "...By the time this is in the mail it will be no military secret that the RAF is going over in force. I've never seen anything like it... I hope the Germans don't do to us what our boys did today. Right smack in the button. Nor one bomb outside the target area... our boys have done at least two perfect jobs for which there is a rumor that we're going to get citations... Key Harrison has returned, having been shot down in France on July 14th..." (Sept. 30, 1943): "...We lost three crews on our last job. Two ships blew up in midair in the vicinity of the target..." Fletcher describes his role in the Oct. 9, 1943 bombings of Hanover, Hamburg, and Berlin: "...I wonder what the German people, and particularly Hitler, thought as they went to bed last night... October 9th will go down in history... I briefed that one and began- 'your target is 100 Germans per acre'...The German admissions regarding Hamburg are most gratifying to my bloodthirsty soul. They claim the fires were so tremendous... resulting in the death of 20,000... It was because they didn't have the guts to throw their own leaders out that we have to do it for them-- and they hard way too...". In an Oct. 17, 1943 letter detailing all his previous missions, Fletcher again discusses the Aug., 1943 Regensberg-Schweinfurt raid: "...Schweinfurt cost America 96 crews and planes--almost 1000 men...we feel certain that reports about German secret service being tipped off are true... this was a good practical lesson, but painful..." These losses at times turn Fletcher's letters hard and cold (Nov. 8, 1943): "...I doubt if the Germans can take much more. The time is ripe for invasion. And I would like to see that most inhuman of all weapons used-- gas. I'm all for letting Germany know that we can be bastards and will-- so don't start another one..." (Nov. 12, 1943): "...I saw my first German plane shot down... we saw the anti-aircraft get him at about 25,000 feet, approximately 15 miles away. When he was hit there was a flash and we went straight down. When he hit the ground the whole sky was lighted up..." Fletcher spends several letters discussing the heroic actions of his friends Jabez Churchill and William Cely, who won the DSC for their role in the bombing of Brunswick on Jan. 11, 1944: (Jan. 25, 1944) "...I've never seen such a riddled ship. Five of the crew thought there wasn't a chance and bailed out over enemy territory... How they got back is a mystery to everyone, including Cely and Churchill. They are both in for the DSC..." (Mar. 24, 1944) "...We have been awarded the Unit Citation for 'gallantry in action'... So we have moved up into the ranks of the immortals. The award was made for action during the raid in which Cely and Churchill became so famous..." An exhausted Fletcher also writes immediately after the conclusion of Big Week (Feb. 26, 1944): "...Last week was one of the most successful weeks of bombing in the war... which means that we were all busier than the proverbial cat..."
Overall an excellent representation of the period's history, and highly suitable for museums and universities. The Fletchers' letters span a period beginning in 1938 when they were courting through 1944, and cover topics from the war, to politics, to the New Deal, to life at home.

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May 14, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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