In my first installment of the story of World War II missing in action bombardier 2nd Lt. Russell Godde last month we followed Russell’s experience in North Africa.

Russell was a member of the Pyramiders flyingB-24Ds – serial # 42-61483, 415th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group (Heavy)

Russell was lost over Ploiesti, Romania, Aug. 1, 1943, in one of the 17 B-24s lost on that mission over the target.

When I ended part one, I left you the readers with the information up to the point on that Aug. 1 morning when his B-24, the Yen Tu, lifted off the desert floor and headed off with a date with destiny in the Romanian countryside.

The story of the Ploiesti Raid has been told many times over and I myself I have shared much speculation as to how that mission played out for Russell from the crew reports that were shared during mission debriefings about the demise of the Yen Tu and what may have happened to the crew.

But this time, having some personal aspects to reflect on, I believe the best way to share the mission in a unique way, and thanks to permission from the family, I will let the letters from the War Department tell the story as it played out for over a year. These letters were the last line of hope between the family and a lost son and brother, and it unfortunately was not going to end up with any type of closure from the military and leaving a family with more questions than answers.

The government did its best during the time when thousands of these type letters were being sent to homes across America, but it did little to ease the pain of the family that had no answers to a loved one’s demise.

Now from a closed footlocker, seen for the first time by the public since the 1940s, here is the correspondence that one American family was burdened with to make sense of it all.

And yes, there will be a part three to this series next month and with that we will not be able to bring closure, but we will share this second to the last chapter of the legacy of Russell Godde and how his final resting place in an unmarked grave somewhere in the world may bring some much-needed understanding of what the significance is of a Black MIA/POW flag)

For now Bob out …