In the early 1970’s I found a suitcase full of WWII photos in my grandparents’ basement. Forty years later those photos started me on a journey to understand my grandfather’s experiences as a soldier serving in the 330th Air Service Group (ASG) in WWII. Like many of the men of the 330th ASG, he served in both the United States and on Saipan. As I learned more about his service, it became apparent that if you were a Marine or soldier who fought for Saipan, or a member of a B-29 aircrew who flew from the island, there was a lot of information available to tell your story. However, if you were one of the thousands of servicemen in the ASGs on Saipan (or most anywhere else too), there was almost nothing written about your story. I decided to change that.
Over the past ten years I have:
- Obtained 12,000 pages of historical records from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA; Maxwell AFB, AL) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA; Washington, DC, St. Louis, MO, and San Bruno, CA.)
- Developed a library of over 150 relevant books and publications, as well as gathered hundreds of other documents to support my research.
- Amassed a collection of a few thousand photos.
- Provided the content for the Air Service Group exhibit at the B-29 Museum in Pratt, KS.
- And, most significantly, I have had the incredible opportunity to speak with two dozen surviving members of the 330th ASG and another 80 families of men who had passed away.
When I spoke with each of the men or their families, I told them that my goal was to prepare a book to tell the stories of the officers and enlisted men of the 330th ASG. And, if that was beyond me, to at least establish a website sharing those stories. Although it has been 10 years since I started, it is still my goal to complete the book and work on it progresses. For example, last year I finally finished reviewing about 9500 pages of Morning Reports obtained from NARA in 2016. And the relevant information from them has been entered into the database I am using to compile and organize the material for the book.
Even though I still plan to complete the book, I have decided to prepare this website too. The goals of the website are to:
- Support completing the book.
- And, while still working on the book, begin to share what I have learned.
One of those things I learned is that my grandfather did not tell the whole truth about his experiences in the 330th ASG. When asked, he would simply tell people that, “The Marines made it safe, and I just went and did my job.” You will see, as I have, that this was not completely true.
Some thoughts to consider when viewing this website:
The name of the 330th Air Service Group and its subordinate units changed several times over the life of the unit. To minimize confusion, in most cases I will use the final name of the unit throughout the site, even if that name was not the unit’s formal designation at that time. A history of the changing unit designations can be found on the Unit History page.
Similarly, when referring to an individual’s rank, I will use their most senior rank if I am referring to them generally. However, where discussing a person at a specific time, I will use their rank at that moment.
This website focuses on people and events associated with a world war. In war, there are moments of self-sacrifice, courage, and even heroism that are rightfully respected and celebrated. Much of this website does exactly that. Fundamentally though, World War II was industrial-scale violence. It was blood, death, deprivation, fear, stench, pain, and anguish. Some of the content on this website reflects this aspect of war too. Some people may find this material disturbing.
Lastly, understanding some of the material will be enhanced if the reader has a basic understanding of the general structure of the Army during WWII, and of other things, such as the rank structure. Information about these can be found in the Resources section of the website.