LOVELOCK - Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 28, 16 World War II veterans from the 464th Bombardment Group and their families made John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks their 31st reunion headquarters. Attendees will be coming from all over the U.S. to attend the five-day reunion. The 464th Bomb Group members will visit historic Virginia City, Lake Tahoe and the Harrah's Automobile Museum during their stay in the Reno-Sparks area.
The 464th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on the morning of Aug. 1, 1943, at Wendover Air Field, Utah.
They were assigned to the 55th Bombardment Wing in the 15th Air Force. They flew B-24 Liberators from a permanent base located in Pantanella, Italy, from March 1943 until May 1945. Many of the missions they flew were to critical targets like Blechhammer, Germany and Ploesti, Romania. Missions to these two targets were responsible for great losses for the Group as well as for the United States Army Air Corps.
Author Mike Hill and 464th Bombardment Group Historian, Betty Karle, interviewed the Group veterans in order to chronicle the Group activities from their activation in 1943 to de-activation in 1945. "The 464th Bomb Group in WWII" was published as a result of that collaboration. The Group Web site located at www.zplace2b.com/464th features free information and research materials about the 464th Bomb Group. The information offered for download includes the Group's Narrative Mission Reports (NMRs), Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs), WWII mission photos and other documentation specific to the 464th Bombardment Group.
The 464th Bomb Group's annual reunions are a time for camaraderie and for story telling.
"It's important that we tell our stories. There are too few of us left ... if we don't tell our stories they will be lost to history," 464th Bomb Group Association President George Krynovich said. Krynovich commented that he thinks that these annual reunions help lift morale and give the remaining Group veterans something to look forward to.
John R. Gottschalk, a Lovelock native, served with the 464th Bomb Group in the 776th Squadron. He served as a radar navigator ("mickey man") in the infancy of that technology. Gottschalk flew in the lead ship or on lone wolf missions. He was highly decorated for his service during WWII. He also owned a ranching operation in Lovelock up until the time of his death in 2003.
In honor of her father's memory, the daughter of John Gottschalk, Carolyn Espil, and her husband have volunteered to be this year's 464th Bomb Group reunion hosts. Assisting the Espils with reunion arrangements are George Krynovich (779th Sq.), Aurora, Colo.; Art and Elise Rawlings (779th Sq.), Joelton, Tenn.; Tony Schneider (776th Sq.), York, Pa., and Kathy Parker, Premier Events and Designs, Reno.
The last 464th Bombardment Group reunion was held in Huntsville, Ala. This reunion is the second to be held in Nevada and the first one to be held in the Reno-Sparks area.
[[In-content Ad]]
