1 Reply Latest reply on Jan 28, 2020 2:07 PM by Hannah Bingham

    Seeking service records for John E Gollish

    Kathleen High Newbie
    Kathleen High Jan 28, 2020 7:29 AM

      Can I obtain Army AF service records for Lt. John E. Gollish (0780574)? He was a B-17 pilot and served with the 490th Bombardment Group, 849th Squadron, stationed at AAF base in Eye, England. He was awarded the DFC for an April 1945 bombing of the Skoda Armament Works in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. He returned his badly damaged plane (the "Bugs Bunny") and crew to base after its control cables were severed.

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        • Re: Seeking service records for John E Gollish
          Hannah Bingham Adventurer
          Hannah Bingham Expert Jan 28, 2020 2:07 PM (in response to Kathleen High)

          Dear Ms High,

           

          Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

           

          We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled World War II Combat Operations Reports, 1941 - 1946 in the Records of the Army Air Forces ( Record Group 18) that includes Mission Report [Target: Roudnice, Czechoslovakia] for April 17, 1945; Mission Report [Target: Kolin, Czechoslovakia] for April 18, 1945; and Mission Report [Target: Aussig, Czechoslovakia] for April 19, 1945 of the 490th Bombardment Group. For access to and/or copies of these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov. We were unable to locate specific records of the 849th Bomb Squadron.  Records of lower echelon units sometimes were incorporated into the files of the group.

           

          Additional historical and operational records of U.S. Army Air Force units have been microfilmed by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA). The National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) has custody of microfilm copies of these operational records. We searched the Air Force History index to the microfilm and located 4 file units of the 849th Bomb Squadron during WWII. Please read the brief Abstract to determine which records you are interested in and click on the specific PDF icon. In the PDF listing, the IRISREF is the microfilm reel number and note the FRAME and FRAMELST numbers for the location on the reel. If the reel number begins with A, B or C, please contact RDT2 via email at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to them.

           

          With regard to the Distinguished Flying Cross, Army Air Force records in the custody of the National Archives do not include general orders for your unit.  We suggest you contact the Air Force Historical Research Agency, 600 Chennault Circle, Building 1405, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL 36112-6424. The web site is https://www.afhra.af.mil/.

           

          We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!