My father was in the 881st Squadron of the 500th Bomb Group. He was 1st Lt. William A. Welty. His job was the squadron equipment officer, in charge of all of the survival equipment and personal gear for each plane in the squadron. He trained with the Group at Walker AAF in Kansas before they went to Saipan. Dad is still alive and kicking at age 77. He and I practiced law together for 23 years.

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Read the synopsis of the pictures below this table.

saipan1	saipan2	saipan3
saipan4	saipan5	William & Marilyn Welty Before Saipan

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Saipan1: Dad's the middle guy in this first picture, 1st Lt. Wm A. Welty, 881st Equipment Officer. He couldn't remember the names of the other two guys, but they were enlisted men who worked for him.

Saipan2: 500 Bomb Group HQ - Softball Team. Apparently, there was stiff competition between the Groups of the 73rd Wing - and Col. Daugherty didn't like to lose. Therefore Daugherty had a few ringers on his team and my Dad was one of them. Dad played a pretty good shortstop. Technically - the players were supposed to be assigned to the Group HQ. Col Daugherty is in the lower row - 2nd from the left. Dad could member something about all of the other guys in the picture, although not too many names.

Upper Row - Left to Right

1. name unknown - a ringer (good ballplayer)
2. name unknown - Dad thought he was the Group Intelligence Officer
3. name unknown - a ringer - great fast-pitch pitcher
4. not sure of name - thought he was the commander of the 883rd Sq. - West Point
5. Dad (William Welty)

Middle Row - Left to Right

1. name unknown - Dad thought he was the Group Maintenance Officer (maybe just for engines)
2. name unknown - athletic coordinator - good ballplayer
3. Maj. Parson's?

Lower Row - Left to Right

1. name unknown - Group Admin Officer - Lt. Col. (Daugherty's right hand man for admin matters)
2. Col. Daugherty - Group Commander (after King went down)
3. Miller - Group Navigator?
4. name unknown - Group Bombadier?
5. name unknown

Saipan3: Dad (1st Lt. Wm A. Welty) on Saipan on one of the days that he was the Provost Marshall for the Squadron.

Saipan4: Japanese Machine Gun Nest - Saipan

Saipan5: 500th Bomb Group Dispensary - Isley Island, Saipan