Though you’re probably unfamiliar with the 307th Bomb Group, you may have heard of one of its members: Louis Zamperini, whose World War II survival story is the subject of the popular book Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, and the new film of the same title, directed by Angelina Jolie.
If Unbroken has sparked your interest about Zamperini’s life, Fold3’s 307th Bomb Group Records (part of our Contributed Military Group Records collection) gives you access to some fascinating documents related to his life.
- A three-part article from 1945 detailing Zamperini’s amazing story of survival (part 1, part 2, part 3)
- A special order from August 25, 1942, assigning Zamperini to bachelor officer quarters
- A list of Zamperini’s combat crew on October 19, 1942, from a special order for the 307th Bomb Group to move from Iowa to California
- A list of the crew members of Zamperini’s B-24D on October 24, 1942, from an operations order for the 307th Bomb Group to report to Hawaii
- A list of Air Force personnel captured by the Japanese
But, of course, these records of the 307th that Fold3 is helping to preserve go far beyond only Zamperini’s experiences. Serving in the Pacific, this decorated bomb group received two Distinguished Unit Citations and was also awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, not to mention the silver stars and other medals earned by individual members.
Records from this bomb group include newspaper articles and other publications, flight records, mission reports, personal accounts and letters, photos, service records, and unit records, just to name a few. The collection also includes historical memorabilia like WWII-era advertisements, comics, propaganda, and foreign currency.
So if you have family members who served in the 307th or are interested in learning more about Louis Zamperini, take a look at Fold3’s 307th Bomb Group Records. (You can also find additional records about Zamperini in other Fold3 collections by doing a search for his name from the search box). Or you may want to browse other contributed group records, like those of the 63rd, 70th, and 137th Infantry Divisions and the 497th and 500th Bomb Groups.
Thanks for this great web page. My Dad served in the 307th BG and 371st Bomb Squadron. I enjoyed reading a lot of the scanned documents. I found him mentioned on several pages. Sometimes we take our parents and grandparents history for granted until we have something monumental like a movie about the subject “wake us up”. I guess many of us have a “Louis Zamperini” in the family and we just need to research it a little bit in order to realize that our own family members did some amazing things.
Very interesting story about this bombardment group. My dad served as a bombardier on a B-24 in the 8th Air Force in England in 1944. I didn’t know that “Libs” were flown in the Pacific Theater so this is all new to me. I’m looking forward to seeing “Unbroken” when it plays in my hometown. There were so many “unsung heroes” for every bona fide hero like Louis Zamperini, and we owe them all a great deal.
Hi! My dad was also with the Mighty Eighth, 466 BG. Which BG was your dad?
My dad was also in the Mighty 8th! He piloted B-24s out of North Pickenham for the 492nd Bomb Group (859th Squadron).
The book is available on Amazon.com and is an excellent read for anyone interested in aviation. I look forward to seeing the movie, but will wait for the video as I’m too cheap to pay walk-in theater admission prices and too cranky to put up an ear-splitting sound system and audience commentary. The damn kids who run projectors these days must’ve had their hearing blown by the screeching and pounding amplfiers of a typical rock concert and assume eveyone else is as hearing impaired as they are. Me, my hearing was impaired at an early age by the roar and howl of the radial engines made by Pratt & Whitney. My kinda music,
My son & I saw Unbroken when it opened Christmas Day. It was what I’d call an old fashioned “good movie” w/o all the sex & graphic violence in movies made today. It was simply one serviceman’s true story of grit & determination to survive and to never quit no matter what. My hat is off to the makers of this great film and to the “Greatest Generation ” that saved the world in the World War 2 era.
The movie was amazing and moving. We saw it yesterday. And the sound system was not overly deafening the way it is in so many movies these days.
I’m old enough to appreciate these people who made America what it was – (I.e., Before Obama went to war against American exceptionalism. -) America is one of the greatest societies to evolve from mankind. I haven’t read Zamperini’s history yet – but I am familiar with other stories about the Liberators – and their crews. The first that comes to mind is “The Lady Be Good”… She got lost returning from a mission over Europe, and went down in Libya, North Africa… with its crew of other Zamperinis – Not so lucky, of course; but all, of the same American stock. I love these men – Unsung Hero’s, all.
Bless you! This IS an exceptional country!
There is a great amount of material on this website for Louis Zamperini’s 307th Bomb Group and I am hoping more Bomb Groups will continue to be added. I saw the movie “Unbroken” on Christmas and thought it did a good job of staying true to the book and telling his story. It will be a classic military war story movie; family friendly and not with an “ear-splitting sound” track but one everyone should go see. I have piloted a B-24 and fired a .50 cal. while inflight inside a bomber and thought the portrayal was realistic. I got interested in this when I talked to one of those “Greatest Generation,” my uncle who just turned 92 years old this month and found out he was a Bombardier like Louis Zamperini on the Liberator. My uncle, 1st Lt Lenny Baltzer was a bombardier for the 725th Squadron, 451st Bomb Group (H), 49th Bomb Wing, 15th Air Force in Italy. He was assigned to “Bomber Crew 369” and is written about in the book by the same title and authored by his famous aircraft commander, Lt. Col (retired) William Charles “Andy” Anderson (born 7 May 1920 died 16 May 2003). We are trying to find the whereabouts of his co-pilot named 1st Lt Leopold “Pat Murphy” who was born around 1922 probably from Ohio and 6’4” tall. Pat Murphy was last seen after the war at a military reunion in Ohio on Feb 1947 when they all got together for the last time. Lenny’s wish is to see his co-pilot one last time while he is still here on this earth and as we know Louis Zamperini passed this July. If anyone has any information please contact me Paul Baltzer at [email protected]
US Army Air Force,WW11.My Dad was in the 15th Air Force and I would like to find some info on it.
Thank you
Have you checked out their web site – http://www.15thaf.org?
Or this site – http://www.2ndbombgroup.org/15thairforce.htm.
Or this – http://liberatorcrew.com/13_Links.htm
Looking forward to seeing this movie. I was in 13thAAF 5th Bomb Group 23rd sqd
Flight eng.turet gunner 40 missions April 1944- May 1945 Lost entire crew over Truk naval base. Anyone remember Lt. William(Bill) Boltons crew Co pilot Cris Christionson,Bombadier Bill Riley,Navig.Louis Mosberg,eng.Jones,radio op Bigley
asst. eng Trotter,gunners Barrow,Satterfield,
Try any wartime Archives. (State Archives are good sources). Look for Army,Navy, etc., branches of services. Air Force wasn’t Air Force until after WWII.
Many, many local libraries also have books referencing the above named services. Many local communities have begun to collect WWII memorabilia.
Many librarians are knowledgeable about WWII. Try it, you might be
surprised to find how much you can dig up on the subject. These veterans are dying out very fast, and the families are looking for places to put their loved ones’ stories so that they will be preserved. Florida State University has a special WWII building, as well as many other colleges and universities.
You can also write off through your local library et al on a borrowing system if you find a book that is in an out-of-area library.
Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.
I will always bookmark your blog and definitely will come back very soon. I want to encourage you to continue your great writing,
have a nice holiday weekend!
I spent 13 months on Eniwetok which is in the Marshall Ilands. My time there was in 1957-58 which was eleven years after WW-!! ended however you could see tons of scrap left over from the war. Knowing the ocean around islands located in the area, I would say it was next to impossible to survive 47 days on a 6 foot life boat, but they did. I have the book and it was anexcellent reading.
My husband and me, both disabled veterans, went to the movie Unbroken on Christmas night. It was what I would call one of the best film’s I have watched portraying one man’s journey of survival and determination. It was a good old fashioned “family friendly movie” without all the profanity, sex & computer graphic violence in movies made today. My hat is off to Angelina Jolie in directing this film. I was saddened to see that Louis Zamperini had passed in July after the filming of this movie. What a wonderfully portrayal of the “greatest generation” to have fought in the WWII era.
Fold3 has been a valuable resource in my genealogical research for the military records of my ancestors, all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Thank you!
it was amazin that he servied the plane crash
I read Unbroken when I first heard of the book. I was especially interested in how he was determined to survive while floating on the raft, and his treatment while a POW. I look forward to seeing the movie now that it is showing in my area.
I did not marry until after WW II, but the man I married, Ralph R. Wheeler, reenlisted for the Philippine Islands in 1940, and his second enlistment was on Fort Drum, P. I. He was oin Corregidor when they were surrendered on May 6, 1942. He spent 40 months as POW in the P.I. and Japan. The men who were determined to get back home survived, but those who turned their faces to the wall and gave up, did not survive. I met many POWs while attending American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Conventions and reunions, but none of the POWs talked about their treatment. Many years after the war ended, and my husband had retired from the military, he sat down with a tape recorder and talked about his years in the military, including his time as a POW. Even then he talked very little about the harshest treatment handed out by the Japanese.
Thanks for Unbroken and Zamperinin’s story of what happened to the POWs.
My wife and I recently saw Unbroken. What a great story about a wonderful man and American Hero. My father was a pilot instructor stateside, before going to the Mighty Eighth (303BG, 427Sq) to fly out of East Anglia(Molesworth). He was shot down over Germany(2/16/45) on his next to last mission and became a POW (Stalag VIIA) until the end of the war. He was also on the Dresden run the day before, which revisionists (even like Ambrose, whom my father wrote to about it) like to contort. We lost dad last year.
At any rate, Hanks & Spielberg are currently working on their 3rd WWII Mini-series http://bit.ly/W4W97n , an adaptation (in part) on Donald L. Miller’s “Masters of the Air”, about the Mighty Eighth during the war. From my understanding, when I was in England in the summer of 2013, they were start filming early last year (2014) and start releasing at the end of this year (2015) or beginning of next year(2016). You can follow it more closely here.
In the meantime, go see Unbroken. You most definitely won’t regret it.
Sorry. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/Mastersoftheairfanpage