PERRY GARLAND MAGGARD son of RILEY CULLEN MAGGARD and CALLIE BOOKOUT was born 05 February 1921 in Pope County, Arkansas, and died 24 July 2000 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He married (1) JUANITA MARTIN. He married (2) EFFIE UNKNOWN.
Perry Garland
B. 2-5-1921
D. 1-17-2000
Buried at the VA Cemetery in Little Rock, AR
I have in possession a copy of letter in scrapbook:
Re-Written here for clearer reading.
Headquarters Fourteenth Air Force
A.P.O., 287, c/o Postmaster
New York City, NY
Dated 22 Aug. 1945
General Orders} # 114
1. Under the provisions of War Department Circular No. 333, dated 22 Dec. 1943, the following named organization is cited for outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy:
308TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H)
Between 24 May 1944 and 28 April 1945 this group preyed relentlessly on the Japanese Sea shipping lanes between the Japanese homeland and her conquests throughout southern Asia and adjacent insular territories. During most of this period, this Group was the only organization among all the Allied forces in a position to conduct interdiction operations against this vital supply line. Operating from bases in China, the Group swept the East and South China Seas, the Straits of Formosa and Gulf of Tonkin through all kinds of weather, sinking and damaging nearly three-quarter of a million tons of vital Japanese shipping. They sunk 107 merchant vessels and sank 12 enemy naval vessels, including three cruisers and seven destroyers. They probably sank 29 vessels and damaged 48, for a total of 427,252 tons of shipping sunk, 102,765 tons probably sunk and 187,045 tons damaged. Pressed
by the constant need for economy of operations from air-supplied China, the Group forsook the usual high altitude style of bombing to attain accuracy and minimum expenditure of bombs. Heroically and deliberately the combat crews developed and employed low altitude tactics that brought their slow, heavy bombers down to within 400 feet of their targets during attacks. This exposed their aircraft to murderous fire from the armed merchantmen and naval ships they attacked. On a number of occasions, the crews carried out attacks at 400 feet over entire convoys of eight to twelve armed merchant and naval ships. Throughout the cited period the Group was forced to fly much of its own gasoline and bombs over the "Hump" (Himalayan Mountains) into China, and in the same period was forced to evacuate from three bases before the advance of enemy ground forces. For several months the Group launched its sea search missions from a base behind enemy lines in east China. the phenomenal achievements of the 308TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H) in it
interdiction of these vital enemy shipping lanes are the result of
extraordinary heroism, gallantry, determination and esprit de corps
demonstrated by the members of this organization. Their attainments are
consonant with the finest traditions of the American military service.
BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL STONE:
CLAYTON B. CLAASSEN
Colonel, G.S.C.
Chief of Staff
OFFICIAL:
/s/ Henry A. Beasley
HENRY A. BEASLEY
Lt. Col. A.G.D.
Adjutant General
A CERTIFIED TRUE COPY:
(Signed by)
HENRY H. SINK,
Captain, Air Corps
Submitted by: Roxie Maggard-O'Hagan