1Lt Fred J. Eisert and his crew arrived at Horsham St. Faith on September 11, 1944, just as the group was coming off of combat operations for a month in order to ferry gasoline to Patton’s army in France. The crew flew their first mission on October 5, 1944 to Paderborn, Germany, and their last on April 25, 1945 to Bad Reichenhall, the last Eighth Air Force mission of the war. The crew’s entire combat tour consisted of targets in Germany, including one trip to Berlin, and five missions to Magdeburg, four of which were flown consecutively. Eisert flew five missions as squadron lead and one (April 25, 1945) as deputy group lead. The crew received a commendation for their efforts on the March 19, 1945 mission to Leipheim. They led the second squadron over the target, and bombardier 1Lt Edouard Jacques achieved “Excellent” bombing results with his drop. Most of the crew were transferred to the 70th Replacement Depot in May 1945 and then rotated back to the States.









The crew was originally assigned to the 755th Squadron, but was transferred to the 752nd Squadron on October 23, 1944. It was at this time that the group had decided the 755th Squadron was going to be filled with lead crews, so many of the crews in all squadrons were shuffled around. Eisert flew 13 missions with the 752nd during October and November. At the end of November the crew was evidently chosen for lead training and their missions ceased for one month. They were all transferred back into the 755th Squadron on December 20th with the exception of co-pilot Walter Schuch, whose seat would be occupied by a command pilot.