John A McKay, his cousin, 44th BG 68th Squadron mascot "Rusty", and unidentified female.
S/Sgt John A McKay (seated right) - 545th - (945)Aerial photographer & (940) Photo Lab Tech - SOMEWHERE in Europe?
The officer standing to the left is John's cousin is Robert C. Peterson, 44th Bomb Group 68 Squadron
Our best guess is that the woman pictured is a family member of a "pleasant fellow friend in the RAF" that "Uncle Bob" (Peterson) said in his memoirs: "I was able to make contact with my cousin John McKay. He worked in the photo lab at one of the B17 groups. We got together on leave on several occasions. The British, who were on liaison duty, were very congenial and anxious that we would feel at home as much as possible. One Group Captain extended an invitation for me to spend a weekend at his home with his family on several occasions. He had a farm and a beautiful two story brick home which had been built shortly before the war started. ...I took John, my cousin, with me three or four times and they always made us feel at home."
MY QUESTION IS: What is the left shoulder patch John is wearing? In all previous photos John wears the 8th Army Air Force patch.
Webmaster, 2016: the patch appears to my old eyes as an Eighth AF patch, perhaps tilted a bit clockwise.
Photo courtesy of Blaine Billings (McKay's son-in-law), 2015.
- Created on
- Friday 18 May 2012
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- Wednesday 1 July 2015
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