Charles Charlie Yates oral history, 2009-09-03
Heavy Bombardment Group during World War II. Attached to the United States 15th Air Force and based in North Africa and later in southern Italy, this bomb group flew 451 missions against Germany and its Axis allies between 12 June 1942 and 15 April 1945. Among the key targets bombed by the 376th Heavy Bombardment were Ploesti, Vienna, Moosierbaum, and the Brenner Pass. Pilots, co-pilots, navigators, bombardiers, flight engineers, gunners, and grounds crewmen of the 376th's four squadrons -- 512th, 513th, 514th, and 515th -- are represented in these interviews. Two additional interviews with Edward Clendenin and Kim Hobbs, both sons of deceased veterans, provide background and context for the oral history collection. The goal of this project was to preserve the memories of the airmen and grounds crewmen for their families, students, scholars, and future generations of Americans.
The interviews were conducted during the annual reunion of the 376th Heavy Bomb Group Veterans Association in September 2007 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and during the annual reunion in September 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Edward Clendenin, Kim Hobbs, Toni Schmidt, Chris Reidy, and David Ulbrich conducted the interviews with the veterans; and Mr. Reidy and Robert Fultz served as videographers. Dr. Ulbrich organized this project through Ball State University with generous financial and administrative support from the 376th HBG Veterans Association and from Ball State's History Department, Military Science Department, University Teleplex, and Archives and Special Collections.
To access this video in the Ball State University Digital Media Repository:
To access other items in the 376th Heavy Bombardment Group Oral History collection:
The Ball State University Digital Media Repository, a project of Ball State University Libraries, contains over 250,000 freely available digital resources, including digitized material from the Ball State University Archives and Special Collections. For more information: