Thursday, May 31, 2012

World War II Database Review of Fogg in the Cockpit


A new review of Fogg in the Cockpit featured on World War II Database
  
Fogg in the Cockpit
Author: Richard Fogg and Janet Fogg
ISBN: 978-1-61200-004-6
Reviewer: C. Peter Chen
Review Date: 11 May 2012

Full Title: Fogg in the Cockpit: Howard Fogg-Master Railroad Artist, World War II Fighter Pilot

When Howard Fogg graduated from an Ivy League college in 1938 and then an art school in 1939, he, with professional interest in art and a hobby in locomotives, probably did not think of himself as a warrior even though war had already broken out in Asia and the European tensions escalated. Drafted into the military in 1941, he ended up becoming a fighter pilot flying P-47 Thunderbolt and later P-51 Mustang fighters. Fogg in the Cockpit, posthumously published in 2011, was a collection of Fogg's war time diary entries that gave the readers a glimpse into the life of an American pilot in the European theater of war, penned by this Renaissance Man of sorts whose mind was geared toward the arts as much as tuned to identifying friend or foe in a dogfight.

What I thought was valuable, if a bit inconsequential, was the very fact that Fogg did not always focus on the war. He did mention how impressed he was when he first flew a P-51 Mustang fighter and how tough it was to notice when one of his comrades failed to return to the airfield after a mission, but it was the little things that gave me an insight, trivial things that sometimes others often did not bother to note. The diarist dutifully noted when the weather was poor, which kept his squadron on the ground, wasting time presenting each other with mock medals or simply chatting the boredom away. While he talked about the nerve wracking experiences of flying through anti-aircraft bursts, he spent an equal amount of time talking about the movies he had seen, restaurants he had visited, and the different models of trains he had traveled aboard and painted. Some of the facts were, admittedly, mundane and mattered little in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless, this book provided a personal perspective on a war that was often written so facelessly.

Throughout the book, editors Richard Fogg and Janet Fogg, the diarist's children, inserted various elements to enhance the readers' experience. I had particularly enjoyed the generous additions of period photographs, many of which seemed to be coming from the archives of the Fogg family and various veterans' associations, thus infrequently seen by outsiders like myself. At the end of certain entries, the editors had inserted major events of the European War on those particular days; while the intention of providing the larger picture was clear, I felt that these facts failed to plug Howard Fogg into the overall landscape of the war, thus these additions formed a distraction from the diary entries, especially that most of the them the world events did not seem to factor into the mindset of the diarist. Finally, for those who appreciate locomotive art and perhaps knew Fogg as a professional artist, a small collection of paintings printed in color in the final pages of the book might be of interest.

Memoirs and diaries, by definition, could not be considered works of history, but books such as Fogg in the Cockpit contained valuable insight on the reactions and thoughts of individuals who lived through and experienced the war, providing us the little pieces of hints that, collectively, told of how and why history was shaped.


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Let Us Never Forget

During its 17 months of operation there were 13,455 sorties flown by the pilots of the 359th Fighter Group. Following are just a few of those pilots.

The 368th Fighter Squadron:
Lt. John C. Allen, Killed in Action
Lt. Carl M. Anderson, Prisoner of War
Lt. David B. Archibald, Prisoner of War
Lt. Merle G. Aunspaugh, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Arlen R. Baldridge, Killed in Action
Lt. Louis E. Barnett, Missing in Action
Lt. Merle B. Barth, Missing in Action
Lt. Clifford L. Bartlett, Killed in Action
Lt. Robert V. Beaupre, Killed in Action
Lt. Geroge H. Blackburn, Killed in Action
Capt. Wayne N. Bolefahr, Killed in Action
Lt. Raymond L. Botsford, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Ray A. Boyd Jr., Prisoner of War
Lt. Cecil R. Brown, Killed in Action
Maj. Wayne R. Brown, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Emer H. Cater, Killed in Action
Lt. Willis J. Cherry, Prisoner of War
Lt. Albert A. Cowie, Prisoner of War
Lt. Richard H. Daniels, Killed in Action
Lt. David P. Dunmire, Missing in Action
Lt. Clifton Enoch Jr., Missing in Action
Capt. Charles E. Ettlesen, Killed in Action
Lt. James J. Ferris III, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Roy C. Garrett, Prisoner of War
Lt. James H. Haas, Prisoner of War
Lt. Benjamin M. Hagen III, Prisoner of War
Lt. John W. Herb, Killed in Action
Lt. Lester W. Hovden, Killed in Action
Lt. Clyde M. Hudelson Jr., Killed in Action
Lt. Edward J. Hyland, Killed in Action
F/O John H. Klug Jr., Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. John F. Lauesen, Killed in Action
Lt. Graham Lupton, Prisoner of War
Lt. Douglas A. MacLean, Killed in Action
Lt. Antony D. Maiorano, Prisoner of War
Lt. John S. Marcinkiewicz, Prisoner of War
Lt. James W. McCormack, Killed in Action
Capt. Thomas J. McGeever, Killed in Action
Capt. Charles E. Mosse, Prisoner of War
Lt. Donald L. Murphy, Missing in Action
Lt. Paul E. Olson, Prisoner of War
Lt. James R. Pino, Prisoner of War
Lt. William R. Simmons, Killed in Action
Lt. James B. Smith, Prisoner of War
Lt. Henry L. Thompson, Missing While Training
Lt. Col. Albert R. Tyrrell, Prisoner of War


The 369th Fighter Squadron:
Lt. Lawrence A. Bearden, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Robert J. Booth, Prisoner of War
Lt. Richard H. Broach, Prisoner of War
Lt. Charles R. Bruening, Missing in Action
Lt. Lowell W. Brundage, Killed in Action
Lt. Harold R. Burt, Killed in Action
Lt. Clifford E. Carter, Missing in Action, assumed KIA
Lt. Cecil W. Crawford, Missing in Action
Lt. Grover C. Deen, Prisoner of War
Lt. George M. Givan, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Maurice N. Haines, Prisoner of War
Lt. LeRoy D. Hess Jr., Prisoner of War
Lt. Kenneth L. Hobson, Prisoner of War
Lt. Frank W. Holliday, Missing in Action, assumed KIA
Maj. James A. Howard, Killed in Action
Lt. John E. Hughes, Missing in Action, assumed KIA
Lt. James F. Hutton, Missing in Action
Lt. Russell H. Jenner, Killed in Action
Lt. Howard A. Linderer, Prisoner of War
Lt. Russell E. Masters, Missing in Action
Capt. Harry L. Matthew, Prisoner of War
Lt. Paul. E. McCluskey, Killed in Action
Lt. Donald S. Melrose, Missing in Action
Lt. Lawrence F. Meyer, Missing in Action
Lt. Myron C. Morrill Jr., Missing in Action
Lt. James R. Parsons Jr., Killed in Flying Accident
Maj. Edwin F. Pezda, Prisoner of War
Capt Robert L. Pherson, Killed in Action
Lt. Homer L. Rodeheaver, Killed in Action
Lt. Stanley E. Sackett, Killed in Action
Lt. Robert B. Sander, Killed in Action
Capt. Karl K. Shearer, Killed in Action
Lt. Edwin L. Sjoblad, Missing in Action
Lt. Charles E. Stubblefield, Missing in Action
Lt. Ferris C. Suttle, Killed in Action
Lt. Edward J. Thorne, Prisoner of War


The 370th Fighter Squadron:
Capt. Benjamin H. Albertson, Prisoner of War
Capt. Carey H. Brown, Killed in Flying Accident
Capt. James E. Buckley, Killed in Action
Lt. Dick D. Connelly, Killed in Action
Lt. Alexander M. Cosmos, Killed in Flying Accident
Lt. Elmer N. Dunlap, Prisoner of War
Lt. Howard E. Grimes, Killed in Action
Lt. Lynn W. Hair, Killed in Action
Lt. Harold D. Hollis, Killed in Action
Lt. Cyril W. Jones Jr., Killed in Action
Lt. John E. Kerns, Missing in Action
Lt. Ralph E. Kibler Jr., Killed in Action
Capt. Washington D. Lyon, Missing in Action
Lt. Edward J. Maslow, Prisoner of War
Lt. Jack E. McCoskey, Prisoner of War
Lt. Garland J. McGregor, Killed in Action
Lt. Wallace C. Murray, Missing in Action
Lt. Albert T. Niccolai, Missing in Action, assumed KIA
F/O James J. O’Shea, Missing in Action
Lt. Malcom C. Paulette, Killed in Action
Lt. Alan C. Porter. Killed in Action
F/O Luther C. Reese, Missing in Action
Lt. Gordon M. Shortness, Missing in Action
Lt. Joseph E. Shupe, Missing in Action
Lt. Robert W. Siltamaki, Prisoner of War
Lt. Stanley F. Stegnerski, Missing in Action
Lt. Howard E. Steussey, Prisoner of War
Lt. Paul E. Sundheim, Prisoner of War
Lt. Earl W. Thomas Jr., Killed in Action
Lt. William N. Tucker Jr., Killed in Action
Lt. Benjamin J. Vos Jr., Missing in Action
Lt. Frank E. Westall Jr., Killed in Action
F/O Walter W. Wiley, Prisoner of War
Lt. Bennie F. White, Missing in Action
Lt. Theophalus A Williams, Killed in Action
Lt. Lawrence A. Ziska, Killed in Flying Accident

and
Lt. Col. James V. Wilson, Prisoner of War





Thursday, May 17, 2012

Book Trailers: Fogg in the Cockpit and Soliloquy



Fogg in the Cockpit
by Richard and Janet Fogg
Book Trailer:



Soliloquy
by Janet Fogg
Book Trailer:


Thursday, May 10, 2012

The lady and the Pennsy ("What size slip do you wear?")

We thought you might be interested to learn more about Howard's wife, Margot Dethier Fogg, and in December 1982, Trains Magazine published this article in which Margot describes how, in 1942, she became the first female Pennsylvania Railroad ticket seller in New York City.










Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Boulder Rotary Club Newsletter Excerpt


BOULDER ROTARY'S CybeRIB
April 27, 2012
Boulder Rotary's web site is http://www.BoulderRotary.org

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FOGGY, I REMEMBER YOU WELL

Many of our long time club members have the fondest memories of the late Howard Fogg, who for many years was a regular presence at our meetings. Foggy was a premier graphic artist, specializing in more than lifelike portraits of steam locomotives and the trains they pulled behind. Yes, portraits: his paintings were more than simply pictures. You can see several of them firsthand on permanent display at the Leanin' Tree Museum in Gunbarrel - it's worth a special trip.

Foggy didn't make a fuss about what he had done before coming to Boulder and setting up his studio. So many will not know until now that during World War II Captain Howard Fogg was assigned to the 359th Fighter Group and flew 76 combat missions in P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs between October 1943 to September 1944.

Foggy's son Richard and daughter-in-law Janet have published a book about those WWII years. It's titled "Fogg in the Cockpit." The book is based on a diary Foggy kept, supplemented by other contemporaneous materials from official sources. It's illustrated with some two dozen color plates of Howard's paintings.

You can obtain the book through your regular bookseller, or on line through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. But first take a look at the webblog page Richard and Janet have developed to tell the story of the book. And, by the way, there are links on the web page that will take you to several on-line booksellers, just to make it easier. Here's the link to Fogg in the Cockpit: http://fogginthecockpit.blogspot.com/

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The CybeRIB is compiled by Ted Manning from information and reports provided by many...

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The club Web site, http://www.BoulderRotary.org contains information for club members and visitors.