S/Sgt Sidney ("Sid") Rivers Ayres flew 50 missions as a tail gunner on a B-24.  He was a part of the 15th Army Air Force that operated in Italy.  His group, the 456th Bombardment Group (Heavy) bombed targets in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, and Romania.  He flew with the crew of Dave Ogden.  Sgt. Ayres was stationed most of his career at Cergnolia, Italy.  His photo is on Page 67 of "456th Bomb Group" book, by Turner Publishing Company {See References below} .  Also, Sgt. Ayres was called "Sid" while in the Army but at home he was always "Rivers".

   Rivers Ayres said he and a friend went to Detroit (or Chicago) and worked in an aircraft factory.  He said they made B-26's.  He commented that it was called the "Flying Coffin" and he hoped that name was not due to their workmanship.  He got homesick and quite work and returned to Mississippi.  He was immediately drafted into the Army.  Rivers' training eventually took him to Kansas where he was assigned to the crew of 1st Lt. David M. Ogden.
 

Photo of "Worry Bird"  Standing (L-R) -  Bill Coates- Co-pilot;  Jerry Baldwin- Navigator;                           Manny Liftshitz (changed name to Lawrence)- Bombadier;   Dave Ogden- Pilot Kneeling (L-R)  - Bob Laird-Top Turrent Gnr;   Sid Ayres-Tail Gnr                          Bill Hudson- Radio Op;   Bob Gill- Engineer;                           Tony Arpaia- Nose Gunner;  Eddie Ryan- Ball Turrent Gnr & Armorer .

   Captain Ogden's crew were assigned a B-24 that had a shark's mouth painted on the nose.  They left Kansas and flew to Italy with stops in Florida, Puerto Rica, Brazile, and North Africa.  Their aircraft was taken from them and they received another one.  Captain Ogden's crew flew two aircraft during their combat missions.  One aircraft was named "Worry Bird" and another was "Fat Stuff".  The 456th Bomb Group book says that David M. Ogden's plane was shot down while he and his crew were at rest camp in Capri.  This agrees with Sgt. Ayres' entry into his notebook that said their crew went to Capri for R&R between July 23 and August 2.  This could explain the second change of aircraft.
   Sgt. Ayres flew his first combat mission on May 18, 1944.  This target for this mission was oil refineries at Ploesti, Rumania.  This was not a easy target--or as they said, a "milk run".  This target was first bombed by American bombers on 12 June 1942.  The most famous raid was a low-level bombing attack on 1 August, 1943, which resulted in a large loss of aircraft. Ploesti oil fields were attacked several times over a year with the loss of 206 bombers and 2200 crewmembers. However, the 456th BG flew many missions without even seeing any enemy aircraft.  Luckily, by 1944, the German Luftwaffe defenses were weakened.
   The B-24 had the longest range of any American bomber.  Because of this, the crew were credited with 2 missions to some targets.  His last combat mission was on 3 September 1944.  Sid kept a souvenir of this mission: a safety pin from one of the bombs.
   Sgt Ayres returned to the US on October 28.  It appears that after all of that flying the Army thought it best that he return on a ship.  He continued to serve in Tonopah, Nevada, as well as places in Kansas and Washington.  He was discharged and finally arrived home on October 11, 1945.

     Sgt. Ayres was awarded the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and a Campaign Medal.

See also the biography of George McGovern, 455th Bomb Group.

 

Mission Log     Sgt. Ayres recorded his WW2 experiences in a small pocket-sized note tablet.  The first page, he wrote down the bases and towns he stopped at during his trip to Italy     The second page(see below) begins with a list of his crew and lists his first mission to Ploesti on May 18, 1944.     On the next 5 pages, Sgt. Ayres recorded every mission he flew on, including the date, the target and the bomb load. The last page is another record of every place he was stationed and appears to be in the hand-writing of his mother.

An interesting fact I learned from his book is that the B-24 crews received credit for 2 missions to some targets.  Note the "II" listed next to "Ploesti" mission.

 

Photo of "Fat Stuff"   Posing with the photo is Eddie Ryan, the ball turrent gunner, who may also have been the artist who for this nose art.  "Fat Stuff" was a cartoon character of that time.

 
 

456th Bombardment Group    Consisted of:  744th, 745th, 746th & 747th Bombardment Squadrons    Flew 249 Missions from 10 Feb 1944- 26 April 1945    Re-designated as 456th Troop Carrier in 1952. 747th Bombardment Squadron    Constituted as 747th Bomber Squadron (Heavy) on 14 May 1943.  Stationed at       Stornara, Italy from 27 Jan. 1944-19 July 1945.   Decorations:  Distinguished Unit Citation for Weiner Neustadt Austria(10 May 44)       and Budapest(2 Jul 44).     Re-designated as part of 456th Troop Carrier in 1952.

 

References

"456th Bomb Group" by Turner Publishing Co. Paducah KY, 1994 ISBN 1-56311-141-1 Comments taken from this book are indicated in dark red color in the above text. Sgt. Ayres photo and article are on page 67 (at right).