SUCCESS
While visiting with Mr. Stokes, he told me about the 2nd Air Division Association. This was the association for all of the B-24 bomb groups of the 8th Air Force.
During World War Two, the 8th Air Force was subdivided into three Air Divisions. The 1st and the 3rd Air Divisions were composed of Bomb Groups that flew B-17s, while the 2nd Air Division was made up of Bomb Groups that flew the B-24. The 453rd Bomb Group was a member of the 2nd Air Division. After the war many Bomb Groups formed reunion associations, but the 2nd Air Division decided to form their reunion organizaiton on a division rather than a group level.
After my return home from Mr. Stokes' place, I joined the 2nd Air Division Association as an associate member. I felt this would be my best chance of finding one of Joe's surviving crew members. Mr. Stokes had told me that some men had searched for years and had not been able to contact any of their old crew members, but I had to try.
Not long after I joined the association I received a roster of members in the mail. I went to the 453rd section and was overwhelmed by the numbers of men listed there. My financial situation would not allow me to call each and every one, so I decided to call only the men listed as living in Connecticut. My reasoning was that in the service men from the same state have a tendency to stick together.
The first two men that I called were very kind but were in different squadrons from Joe so they did not know him. They both wished me luck and one of them even said to me, "You know, some guys search for years and never find anyone from their crew." This depressed me somewhat but I thought I would keep trying.
The next man on the roster that I wanted to call had an unpronounceable last name and I was afraid of making a fool of myself, so I skipped him and went to the next man. The next fellow was one James Donatello from Lyme, Connecticut. Ah! A fellow Italian. I dialed the number and a man answered. I asked for Mr. Donatello and the voice at the other end informed me that I was already speaking to him. As I had done with the other calls I asked him if he was in the 453rd Bomb Group in World War 2. He said that he was. I then asked if he was in the 732nd Squadron. He did not seem to hear me and said, "No! I told you the 453rd." At this point I figured that I would just cut to the chase and I said, "Does the name Joseph De Cusati mean anything to you?" Jim's reply was, "Yeah. He was the radio operator on my plane!" I could not believe what I heard and was so excited that I really don't remember the chronology of the conversation but I will relate all that I did learn. |
