319th Bombardment Group Reunion Association

The 319th Bombardment Group (Medium) was activated on June 26, 1942 at Barksdale Field in Louisiana, where they trained with B-26 Marauders. The bomb group spent most of the war under the command of the 12th Air Force and consisted of four bombardment squadrons: 437th, 438th, 439th, and 440th. They were ordered to combat in Tunisia, North Africa in November 1942 and began running bombing missions to disable enemy transportation of supplies and troops. After North Africa, they moved north to Italy for bombing runs into Sicily, Anzio, and Cassino while based in Sardinia and Corsica. In November of 1944, the bomb group switched over from B-26 Marauders to B-25s. After January 1945, the 319th Bombardment Group was reconstituted as Light under the command of the 7th Air Force and was stationed in Okinawa, flying A-26s to Japan and China. They returned stateside November and December of 1945.

The 319th Bombardment Group Reunion Association was initiated by Harold Oyster in 1974 with the help of his wife, Esther, after previously sharing reunions with the 57th Bomb Wing. The initial group consisted of nine veterans and their respective wives including Bob Ketterer, Ted Light, Bob Downey, Thomas Griffin, Bob Beynon, Joe Mawhorr, Gene Simonsen, and Jim Coan. Esther Oyster (Queneau) became the 319th Bombardment Group historian and has been essential in organizing and preserving the association's materials. Janet L. Hunnicutt was the conference reporter from 1974-1984, recording board minutes and speeches during meetings and reunions.

The group grew and established contact between veterans of the 319th Bombardment Group through Harold Oyster's newsletter, The 319th Flyer, eventually obtaining a roster of 1,700 members in 1980. In 1976, Harold and Esther Oyster published the book, The 319th in Action, which compiled the daily movements of the 319th Bombardment Group during World War II using many of the recorded notes by William Monroe Jr., the original bomb group historian. In 1977, the 319th Bombardment Group Reunion Association had enough members to hold its first solo reunion in Shreveport, Louisiana. Among the attendees were the first elected president, Charles Brewton, and the other officers, including Roy Rogers, T.O. Rowell, Edgar L. Pewitt, Jim McAshan, Roger Rhodarmer, and A.L. DeBella. Over the years, the association focused on several important personages in the group, including Randy Holzapple, the famed group commander during the war, Donald "Deke" Slayton, a NASA astronaut, William Monroe, writer and news correspondent, and Justice Lewis F. Powell, supreme court justice. The organization continued for twenty-five years and held their last reunion in September 1999 at Savannah, Georgia.

From the guide to the B-26 Marauder Archives, 319th Bombardment Group Reunion Association Collection, 1934-2001, (Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron)