On this date the 492nd had its toughest battle during the war resulting in the loss of 14 planes on which 76 men were killed and 63 more became POWs. There are a lot of men to remember. Today I'm thinking of Ernest Booth, the engineer on the Abbott Crew 609. His entire crew was killed over the Baltic Sea near Rugden Island.

Ernie's life is a tragic story yet inspirational. He was born in Louisiana to a very young mother. While still an infant his father ran out and was never heard from again. A couple of years later his mother died. He was taken in by his grandparents who owned a small farm. He hadn't even started school yet when his grandfather died. His grandmother, Della Winslow, was forced to sell the farm and move to Zolle, Louisiana, where she found work. If you thought things couldn't get worse, all of this was followed by the Great Depression.

After graduating from high school, Ernie went to the panhandle of Florida to learn a skill in the shipyards. This was one of FDR's programs. Upon completing the courses he got a job there. While working, he met and fell in love with Nita Thompson from Milledgeville, Georgia. They got engaged but decided to wait until the war was over before getting married.

Ernie entered service on 12 March 1942 at Ft Lauderdale, Florida. He was trained as an engineer on a B-25 crew. His crew had finished their training and went to Herrington, Kansas, so they could be processed to one of the theaters. But somewhere near Herrington their plane crashed. Ernie was injured and spent a few months in the hospital recovering.

He was deemed fit for duty about the same time the 492nd came through Herrington on their way to England. The engineer on the Abbott Crew 609 was grounded for medical reasons and Ernie took his place. This is how he got into the 492nd.

On 19 June 44, Ernie's cousin, Leon Booth, wrote him a V-mail. Leon was in the infantry fighting in Italy. He hadn't had time to write Ernie before but now with Rome secured he found a little time to relax. Or perhaps it was a preminition. In his letter he said... "Well I won't say I'm glad you are over because you wanted it so bad, because I'm not. But that is a dangerous game you are playing. Please be careful... "

Ernie never got the letter because the next morning he was killed. It would be a few weeks before Nita would learn of his death from his grandmother. Della got a box with all of Ernie's personal stuff. Included was the letter from Leon and a couple of unopened letters from Nita (written after he was killed). The Booth family still has these letters. They are still sealed. They hope to someday find Nita and/or her family and return them.

As you can see, Ernie was dealt some lousy cards in life. Yet he was upbeat, cheerful and optimistic. A glass-half-full type of guy, he overcame all his setbacks and emegred a better man. That is until he ran into the Luftwaffe. His body never found, and he listed on the Wall of Missing at Cambridge.

The families of Ernie's cousins honor him as their personal hero killed in action. But they remember him most for his character. Perhaps the real story is Zelda, for she was truly a remarkable woman. Aside from raising Ernie, she had her other children too. She produced a wonderful family of God-fearing Christians. This family is very patriotic, as serving in our military is their family tradition.

Ernie was just one of our 76 killed that day. There are 75 more stories and 75 more men to remember. I'd like to hear these stories.

Here's a direct link to the 492nd Mission 34 page.