Logs of the Lost: The Rene Brabender personal Mission Logs

More than a year ago I ordered the Missing Air Crew Report of B-24J, 42-72989.  At that time I wasn't sure how to proceed in my search for more information regarding the crew and their loss.  Low and behold the MACR included the crew's addresses and next of kin on the report.  Maybe the hesitation I felt to make cold calls to families of men long passed on came from the cold calls I made during a 6 year stint of selling insurance for a very large and reputable insurance company in Pennsylvania years ago.  But, these feelings were overcome by the lack of feeling in which printed copies of microfilmed accident reports leave one to feel.  Hey, 1944 was a long time ago,  maybe no one would be left?; what was I to do but hit the phones.  Lucky for me, one crewman was from Erie, Pennsylvania; only 2 hours drive from my home.  Looking in the phone book, I found the "Brabender" name in Erie.  I made the call and hit the right family on the first try. Well, not directly, but close enough to be of great help.  From these calls and a Youtube video the [Rene] Brabender family contacted me; they (Tim Brabender) in turn contacted the [Philip] Brodziak family. Also the [Richard] Smith family has found us via the video.  All of these families have been a great help in unraveling this story with and by their contributions. 

Aside from original letters written to my family from my great-uncle, some of the most pertinent information I have in my possession are the Rene Brabender Mission Logs.  These logs, kept by Rene, of the nearly day to day missions truly are the "gem of gems".  I hope that Rene and the crew are looking down and smiling.    These priceless bits of information were graciously provided by the Rene Brabender family.  These logs have been kept as is, except for annotations by me and color-coded links to pertinent information/photographs which I've added to the record. They have been emailed, printed, copied, scanned and posted so I hope they come out clear for you. It is with great honor that I present to you the Rene W. Brabender mission logs.

Please note: "Benjamin R. Cook, Jr.-observer", on the "Dottie Anne" crew roster above. Ben Cook was the co-pilot on the Pistol Pakin Mamma during their notable, harrowing flight on August 14th, '44.  I wonder if he ever suspected, he'd be bailing out of a plane within a months time, on August 3rd?