Janice,

Here is some information on Col. Greening.

On April 18, 1942, then Captain Greening, piloting the Hari Kari-er, a B-25B Mitchell medium bomber equipped with the "Mark Twain" bombsight he designed, launched from the United States Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8), in the Doolittle Raid of Japan. He led a flight of three aircraft to bomb oil refineries, docks, warehouses and industrial areas of Yokohama. He and his crew survived the raid, reaching China in the area northeast of Quzhou before they ran out of gas and had to abandoned their aircraft.^[3] After the Doolittle raid, he went back to the war.

After he returned from China, Greening trained in the Martin B-26 Marauder. He was assigned to a base in North Africa, and flew 27 missions before being shot down over Italy on July 17, 1943 and taken prisoner.^[2] He escaped and evaded capture until early 1944, after which he was held at the Stalag Luft I POW camp for the duration of the war.

After the war, he continued on active duty in the Air Force until he died of an infection on March 29, 1957,^[2] at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland

1946 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MARSHALL FIELD & CO PRISONER OF WAR SHOW PRESS PHOTO

The Three men in this photo are Chicago, Illinois Marshall Field & Co Prisoner of War Show, Lt Ricci, Col Greening, Lt Alexander. Dated 1946.

Hi Janice, you might have come across a photo for sale regarding the exhibit. It included a Lt. Ricci, Col Greening, and Lt. Alexander, dated March 12, 1946 from The Times (described as a Chicago newspaper). If you haven't already, you might want to contact the Chicago History Museum or the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago when they reopen. The Chicago History Museum has a Marshall Field's collection (https://www.chicagohistory.org/marshall-field-company-collection/ ). Hope this is of some help. joan

Hi Janice

Welcome to History Hub

Found this online.

Greening, Colonel Charles Ross (1914-1957) - HistoryLink.org

includes biography, photos, pow photo.

After the war Greening came home to Tacoma for another visit with his mother and then traveled to a Montana lodge with his wife. Ross and Dorothy Greening then went to Washington, D.C., where the major proposed a prisoner-of-war exhibit to the Army Air Force. The exhibit would include crafts and artifacts that Greening had shipped back from his POW camp. It was approved and Major Greening became the commanding officer of the project. The "Army Air Force POW Exposition" opened in New York City on October 1, 1945. It toured the United States and a portion of it is on permanent display at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

Images from the POW exhibit and Ross Greening's life can be seen in a beautifully illustrated biography Not As Briefed: From the Doolittle Raid to a German Stalag. Following the prisoner-of-war exhibit, Ross Greening began a Cold War air force career that included jet training at Panama City, Florida; air command duties; and, in November 1949, duty with the Aeronautical Chart Service. In 1954 Greening served as U.S. Air Attache in Australia and New Zealand. He died of an infection in 1957 while on active duty.

FYI....The book mentioned in the above article "Not As Briefed: From the Doolittle Raid to a German Stalag"

can be purchased at several websites or you can check your local library for a copy.

Alice Lane

Research Volunteer

Dear Ms. Goldman,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Business and Finance Files Related to Merchandise Mart, 1945-1974 in the Personal Papers of Joseph P. Kennedy that includes some publicity material for exhibits and events held at the Merchandise Mart, which was a building Kennedy purchased from Marshall Field in 1945. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the John F. Kennedy Library (LP-JFK) at kennedy.library@nara.gov for information about and access to these records.

We also located the series Records of Arizona Field Agents, 1936-1968 in the Records of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (Record Group 435) that includes three files related to an exhibit at Marshall Fields in the 1940s that may be useful for your research. These records have been digitized and can be viewed online in the Catalog. Please contact the National Archives at Riverside (RW-RS) at riverside.archives@nara.gov for further information about these records.

Then, we searched the National Archives Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the series World War II Prisoners of War Data File, 12/7/1941-11/19/1946 in the Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General (Record Group 389). We identified one file for Lt. Col. Charles R. Greening who was a prisoner in Stalag Luft I.

For more information about Colonel Ross Greening & Stalag Luft I, we searched the Catalog and identified the series European Name Index to the Series "Case Files, 1944-1949" in the Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army) that includes an index card for “Greening, Lt. Col.” on image 980 this file. The case file for the number 100-420 Stalag Luft I (Barth, Germany) on the index card is located in boxes 28-29 of the series Persons and Places Dossiers Files, 1945-1948 in Record Group 153. The index has been digitized and may be viewed online via the Catalog; the other records have not been digitized. For information about and access to them, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) at archives2reference@nara.gov.

If you would like to learn more about Col. Ross Greening, we suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and prior to 1958 and for officers of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after June 1917 and prior to 1958 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO  63138-1002. Veterans and their next of kin also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from LP-JFK, RW-RS, and RDT2. Also, the NPRC is closed except for emergencies. Currently, NPRC will continue servicing requests ONLY associated with medical treatments, burials, and homeless veterans seeking admittance to a homeless shelter. If your request is urgent, please see Emergency Requests and Deadlines. Please refrain from submitting non-emergency requests such as replacement medals, administrative corrections, or records research until NPRC returns to pre-COVID staffing levels.  Please check archives.gov/veterans for updates to the NPRC operating hours and status. We apologize for any inconvenience.

In addition, the online Department Store Museum offers information about Marshall Field & Company, Chicago, including a booklet the store published in 1946. You may also find some useful information by historians like Jan Whitaker and Michael Lisicky, who study The History of Department Stores.

Next, we searched SNAC (Social Networks and Archival Context) and identified 19 archival collections related to Marshall Field & Company, and we located multiple archival collections related to Marshall Field & Company via WorldCat as well.

Plus, the Library of Congress has numerous records related to Marshall Field's in their holdings. You may wish to contact them for further assistance. 

Finally, the Chicago History Museum has some information online about The Marshall Field & Company Collection that may be of interest to you; we suggest you contact them with any questions you may have about their collections. Another description of that collection by the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art can be found here: Federated Department Stores' Records of Marshall Field & Company.

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