As a cornerstone of the United States Eighth Air Force during World War II, the Second Air Division played a pivotal role in the Allied air campaign from its bases across East Anglia, England.
This website, www.secondairdivision.org, is dedicated to documenting the history of the 2nd Air Division and acts as a research hub and tribute, ensuring the division's extraordinary history and sacrifices are never forgotten.
Preserving a Legacy of Valor
The site serves a diverse global community, including descendants and military historians, by providing a centralized location to explore the division's fighter and bomb group histories, and to preserve the legacy of the 7,559 service members who lost their lives while serving in the division.
Comprehensive Group Histories
Each group's history provides detailed records, including:
The Roll of Honor
In addition to unit histories, the site features the revised Second Air Division Roll of Honor, which adds 731 names and commemorates the 7,559 personnel lost during World War II.
It also chronicles the American Library Roll of Honor in Norwich, England, tracing its beginning with the Memorial Trust's founding in 1945 to its rededication in 2021.
Each of the 7,559 name entries includes:
Overseas Burials
The alphabetical listing of all overseas burials of the Second Air Division—part of the U.S. Eighth Army Air Force stationed in England during World War II stand as a profound, lasting tribute to the immense sacrifices made during the strategic air campaign over Europe. Flying dangerous daylight bombing missions in B-24 Liberators and escorting them in fighters, thousands of airmen lost their lives far from home. Following the war, surviving families faced the deeply personal choice of whether to repatriate their loved ones' remains to the United States or leave them resting permanently in military cemeteries abroad. For a significant portion of families, the decision was made to let these brave servicemen rest in honored peace alongside their fallen crewmates and brothers-in-arms on foreign soil.
These sacred grounds feature sweeping lawns marked by pristine white marble crosses and Stars of David, organized with absolute precision to honor each individual's ultimate sacrifice. Beyond the graves themselves, these cemeteries feature emotional "Walls of the Missing" (On Wall) to permanently commemorate the countless airmen whose bodies were never recovered from the deep waters of the North Sea or the rugged terrain of continental Europe, ensuring that their bravery is never forgotten by the nations they helped liberate.
Purpose and Significance
The site is more than just a historical ledger; it is an active tool for genealogy and academic research. It ensures that the "friendly invasion" of American flyers into the English countryside remains a documented and accessible chapter of history.
Note: The physical counterpart to this site-the Memorial Library in Norwich-was established in 1945 by the airmen themselves as a living memorial. This website is not affiliated with the library and only serves as a digital extension.
FIGHTER/BOMB GROUP HISTORIES
The histories of the Bomb/Fighter groups were assembled from Artificial Intelligence (AI) queries and publicly available material searched from selected internet sites related to the 8th US Army Air Force and 2nd Air Division groups. These histories were developed to provide an overview of the operational period of the bomb/fighter groups of the 2nd Air Division from the time of entry into the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) through Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
Each history contains an overview of the group missions, the squadrons which make up the group, the stations (bases) used initially in the USA and up to VE Day in the ETO, identification of commanding officers, the campaigns in which the group participated, unit/group citations and awards, and a link to currently known websites of the group memorial associations.
My father never talked much about his time in the service. I've only relatively recently come to understand he was part of the 2nd Air Division of the 8th US Army Air Force during 1944. I've always felt somewhat of a void in me because I had never served my country in the armed forces. I very much appreciated this opportunity to do something (even as small as it is) to perpetuate and honor those who served from the Greatest Generation.
I feel we certainly owe a debt of grateful remembrance to all those who served, but most of all to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. My father returned to the USA after completing 35 combat missions and went on to live a blessed and fulfilled life. Those honored in this book did not have that opportunity.
John Jurczak
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
FIGHTER/BOMB GROUP HONOR ROLLS
In early 2005, Belton Wolf, a board member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society (8th AFHS), learned that St. Paul’s Cathedral in London was interested in digitizing its Roll of Honor. To facilitate this effort, the 8th AFHS voted to fund the digitization project. Shortly thereafter, Belton Wolf rotated off the 8th AFHS board, and I was designated to oversee the disbursement of funds and serve as the primary liaison between the 8th AFHS and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
In 2008, I discovered that the St. Paul’s Roll of Honor pages had not actually been digitized, but instead had only been copied as JPG images. In addition, many names from other branches of the armed services had been mixed in with the 8th Army Air Force names.
Several members of the 392nd Bomb Group Memorial Association spent over a year researching the original sources and copies of the documents used to publish the original Roll of Honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Because this Roll of Honor had been commissioned by President Eisenhower, we conducted an extensive search of his presidential library, as well as the papers of Trygve Rovelstad housed at the University of Illinois Archives.
Eventually, through one of our group’s connections at the Pentagon, we were able to obtain paper copies of St. Paul’s Roll of Honor from the National Army Museum in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Through connections I had with the chaplain at the state prison in Atmore, Alabama, arrangements were made for several carefully selected inmates to digitize all 22,000-plus 8th Army Air Force names. Additional inmates then double-checked the accuracy of the resulting data entered into an Excel file.
Using this list, I published the 8th Air Force Roll of Honor, along with a display stand that the 8th Air Force Historical Society used to place the Honor Rolls in more than 25 libraries and museums throughout the United States and Europe. This list also served as the primary source used by the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler, Georgia, for its initial Roll of Honor. Since then, the museum has added names from additional sources, which I also used.
Following the rededication of the American Library’s 2nd Air Division Roll of Honor in Norwich, England, on September 28, 2021, I began reviewing the names associated with the 392nd Bomb Group and discovered that 62 names were missing. Because I believe we owe a debt of grateful remembrance to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I reviewed the other Second Air Division bomb and fighter group Roll of Honor sources. In doing so, I found similar omissions, along with countless spelling errors.
With encouragement from several friends associated with the Second Air Division, I began the process of cataloging the missing names, correcting misspellings, and adding group affiliations and dates of death. The American Library and the Mighty Eighth Museum provided the initial primary information. The sources used for obtaining, comparing, correcting, and documenting this information include:
St. Paul's Roll of Honor, London, England
American Library in Norwich, England
Mighty Eighth Museum in Pooler, GA
Bomber and fighter group associations
American Air Museum in Britain
National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Fold3.com casualty listings and MACRs
Findagrave.com website
Bits and Pieces Combat Chronology
Bits and Pieces Roll of Honor
HonorStates.org website
Several 2nd AD Researchers
Special thanks go to Riccard Parsonson, Vivian Rogers-Price, John McCarnish, James Clarey, Chris Clark, Bill Curtis, Skye James, Harold Jansen, Tim McCann, Marjorie Shiers, Mara Truslow, and many others who helped identify names and complete the Eighth Army Air Force Second Air Division Roll of Honor.
The completed listings contain an additional 731 names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving with the 2nd Air Division and whose names are not currently included on the Norwich American Library’s Roll of Honor. I have also added each individual’s recorded date of death and the bomb or fighter group with which they served.
There are many different standards used for Rolls of Honor. Some list only combat-related deaths, some include accidental deaths, and others include only those who died while stationed in England or assigned to a specific group. This Roll of Honor includes any death in the line of duty—combat-related or otherwise—while serving in a Second Air Division bomb or fighter group during World War II.
I have exhausted all available resources to make this Honor Roll as complete and accurate as possible. However, like all World War II Rolls of Honor and records from which I have gathered names, no source has been entirely free of errors or omissions.
The list presented here likely still contains some mistakes and omissions. It is my hope that future researchers will continue identifying and correcting them so these individuals may receive the remembrance they deserve.
I dedicate my research and efforts to preserve the history of the Second Air Division to my father, 1st Lt. Dallas O. Books, KIA March 18, 1944, a pilot with the 392nd Bomb Group.
Bob Books
Pensacola, Florida
