The men and the accomplishments of the 340th Bomb Group deserve to be remembered for many generations to come. The courage, commitment and skill of the men who made up that unit won decorations and citations for the group and made a significant contribution to victory over a massive threat to western civilization.
However, the same can also be said for the other groups in the 57th Bomb Wing as well as numerous other Air Force, infantry and Navy units. Over time the coming generations will lose sight of individual incidents that happened in these diverse units. Their admiration for the accomplishments of the US Army in general will remain, but individual histories will be lost except to historians and W.W.II enthusiasts.
I believe that the 340th BG is uniquely positioned to resist that trend. The reason will be its association with Joseph Heller's novel, “Catch-22.”
War is the most intense of human activities. The proximity of death magnifies every emotion. Fear, hate, love, lust, compassion and aggression find their extreme expression during wartime. If not the emotions of the men directly involved in the conflict, then in the emotions of the parents, children, wives and lovers of the men who are in harm's way.
Novelists gravitate to wartime themes and settings. There are hundreds or thousands of novels that have touched upon the subject and used war as the background of their characters. However, when one takes a close look at truly first class world literature, we find that the number of really 'great' works of art which are also classified as war novels resolves to a relatively short list.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction.
2. The Real People and Fictional Characters of Catch-22.
3. Mitchell B-25 Medium Bombers.
4. Life in Camp.
5. The Bomb Run.
6. Intimate Moments.
7. The Combat Missions.
8. The Mission Limit.
9. Heller and the Boys of the 340th.
10. Conclusions.
11. References.
12. Appendix A – Joseph Heller's Combat Missions.
13. Appendix B – Map of Joseph Heller's Combat Targets.
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