Tom's 89th Birthday Program

From the

Mighty 8th

To the

Magnificent 89th A Big Band Birthday Bash Annapolis, Maryland December 1, 2012

I flew with the Eighth Army Air Force out of Chelveston airbase in England in World War II. When Glenn Miller took the Army Air Force Band to England, they were billeted in London.

Because of the bombings on London, Miller was afraid some of his “boys” might be killed, so he moved the band members to the town of Bedford, north of London. Miller had his quarters in the small village of Milton Ernest where the Air Corps had taken over a mansion for non-flying Air Force personnel.

At a nearby American Eighth Army Air Force base, a flight crew got a new B-17 and decided to name the airplane “Moonlight Serenade,” Glenn Miller’s theme song. They asked Miller if he would attend the christening of the plane, which he did. A couple of weeks later, “Moonlight Serenade” went down in Germany.

A couple of months later, Glenn Miller left his quarters in Milton Ernest, just across the highway to the English airfield, Twinwoods, and boarded a small aircraft for Paris. And sadly, his plane disappeared while flying over the English Channel.

Each day during the war, a program aired on Armed Forces Radio at noon: “Concert for Chowhounds.” The program opened with Tommy Dorsey’s playing of “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” This became the theme song of our crew. We looked forward to hearing it each day when we were on a mission. We had our B-17 wired so each crew member could listen.

When a crew member keyed his mic, it would cut out the music so the intercom could be heard. On March 18, 1945, at noon, we were

Tom Creekmore stands second from right with his

25,000 feet over Berlin dropping our bombs. The intercom was so busy we didn’t hear much of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” that day.

Currently, I have a friend living in Holland who delivers flowers throughout Europe. In an e-mail recently, he told me that he would

crew in front of the B-17 bomber in 1945.

be gone for several days as he had to deliver a truckload of flowers to Berlin.

I e-mailed back, writing that when we went to Berlin we were not delivering flowers.

My favorite song from World War II is “There! I’ve Said It Again,� sung by Vaughn Monroe. While in England, I wrote the words in a small notebook I

carried at the time. After the war, I tore the page from the notebook, folded it, and carried it in my wallet for over 50 years, singing it from time to time. Some 15 years ago, I had it laminated and could no longer carry it in my wallet.

Tom Creekmore

Age 89, December 7, 2012

305th BG Tail Code

Thomas Lee Creekmore 305th Bomb Group 365th Bomb Squadron 8th Army Air Force

World War II

305th Bomb Group

365th Bomb Squadron

8th Army Air Force “The Mighty Eighth”

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