The 388th BG library has collected a wealth of information. Various 388th historians through the years have collected and sorted this data.
The library holds all of types of data that help tell the many part of the 388th story.The data
takes many forms such as articles, photos, books, logs, memoirs, audio, video etc.
Folders
There is a lot of information in the form of small scraps such as emails, letters, obituaries, reports etc. These have been organized into folders
Combat Crews These folders contain information about the individuals who made up the combat crews.
Crashes Each crash has its own story that continues today. There is information about the actual crash, the stories of escape and capture, and the information about excavating the crash sites.
Missions The National Archives houses the 388th Mission folders which contain a wealth of information including reports, maps, crew interrogations, orders, crew loading lists etc. Our folders contain copies of some of this information.
Primary Text Sources
MACR Missing Air Crew Report were created anytime a crew member was killed or became missing. These are usually associated with crashes. We have digital copies of the MACRs associated with the 388th.
Load Lists Before each flight the pilot would list all of the crew members. The National Archives has all of these for the combat flights. We have digital copies of all 8,000+ of these.
Official Papers AFHRS has the official papers for the 388th which include daily and special orders, monthly reports by various groups etc. We started collecting digital copies of these.
Secondary Text Sources
Books The library has about 40 books that refer to 388th. The books range from being entirely about the 388th to giving just a brief mention. These all all listed on the website.
Newsletters A wealth of information is contained in the 388th BG Association Newsletters. We have a complete collection of those. The 388th Information website lists all of these under Sources.
Manuscripts Many veterans have documented their experiences in manuscripts of 1 to 200 pages. We have a large collection of these. Some are published but most are not. Some of these are just the simples mission logs that crew members. The 388th Information website lists all of these under
Photos
There are over 2000 photos in our collection. In many cases we have an actual photo and in other cases we have only a digital copy.
Aircraft Most of these appear on the aircraft's page on the website.
Portraits Most of these appear on the individual's page on the website.
Combat Crews Most of these appear on the crew's page on the website.
Recreation A variety of photos capture life on base in sports, parties, dancing etc.
VIP A variety of VIP's visited the base including Jimmie Doolittle, Glenn Miller and Dinah Shore.
Media
Audio Mostly recorded accounts of veterans talking about their experiences.
Video Mostly recorded accounts of veterans talking about their experiences.
Film 30 minutes of raw movie film from the National Archives taken in Poltava, Russia in June 1944
