Burns Documents (Diary) #1
Date: July 24, 1944 – April 20, 1945
Notes: Emmett J. Burns kept a diary while he was deployed at Shipdham. His family typed the diary to make it more legible. The document includes summaries of the missions from the perspective of Wally’s crew, as well as details about the practice missions they flew. The diary is included in the book about Wally, and it is noted in the book where it’s unknown if Wally left base with Burns, etc.
Burns Documents (Distinguished Flying Cross) #2
Date: May 27, 1945
Notes: This letter, provided by Tim Burns (Emmett Burns’ son) is the record indicating he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the missions he flew.
Burns Documents (Diary) #3
Date: March 24, 1945
Notes: The diary page from Captain and Pilot Emmett J. Burns’ diary for the mission flown on March 24, 1945 over Wesel providing low-level supplies to ground forces crossing the Rhine. The diary reads “Truslow and Sims hurt seriously.” For this injury, Wally earned his Purple Heart.
Burns Documents (Letter from Burns to Lundy) #4
Date: May 7, 2002
Notes: Letter from Emmett Burns to Will Lundy (44th Bomb Group Historian) regarding “The Trolley Missions” that Burns flew after V-E Day to show ground crews the result of their work in Europe, as well as a description of the passengers Wally/E.J. Burns carried back to the United States after the war ended.
Burns Documents (Enlistment Attempt at 15) #5
Date: March 30, 1939
Notes: Burns attempted to enlist at only 15 years old in 1939. Tim, his son, described his ardent desire to serve his country, and it seems Wally was quite lucky to have him as a Captain and Pilot; Emmett turned 21 while he was deployed with Wally.
Burns Documents (Kennedy Crew Song) #6
Date: Not Known (Most likely during their time deployed from August 1944-May 1945)
Notes: It appears that Kennedy wrote this morale-boosting jingle about Crew #5282 (Wally’s crew) entitled “Where’s Burns.” It gives a great deal of insight into the missions flown and the great dangers these young men faced.
Burns Documents (Modern B-24) #7
Date: No Date
Notes: This is a photo of a refurbished B-24 flying over an unknown location. In retracting the history of the plane based on the iconography on the plane, this is the exact same plane the Truslow Family (Glen, Matt, Mara, Ken, Grant, Jim) will fly on in May 2018. It is unknown how the Burns family took/acquired this photo.
Burns Documents (Letter from Laurie) #8
Date: December 16, 1998
Notes: Letter from Laurie Truslow to Emmett Burns in late 1998 when Wally’s health was in decline. Laurie recounts their holiday plans with the Feethams, in addition to the update she provided about Wally’s health.
Burns Documents (44th Bomb Group Logo) #9
Date: No Date
Notes: This is the unofficial logo of the 44th Bomb Group, representing the “Flying 8 Balls.”
Burns Documents (8th Air Force Military History) #10
Date: Unknown (likely completed in the late 1990s)
Notes: Emmett J. Burns submitted a summary of his most notable military service. Particularly, Burns makes mention of a particularly intense mission (one of the few that Laurie recalls Wally mentioning during his life) when the crew flew back on “two engines from a mission in Hamburg on November 20, 1944, when the crew lost one engine over Hamburg and lost one impeller after. Flew home on two engines.”
Burns Documents (Bar L) #11
Date: Unknown (sometime after the war; likely a publication as part of the 44th Bomb Group Veterans Association)
Notes: This document provides details about the Bar-L aircraft that Wally’s crew flew on 15+ missions.
Burns Documents (Lundy Letter – Database) #12
Date: January 31, 2000
Notes: This letter from Will Lundy, who ran the 44th Bomb Group Veterans Association, details his plan to initiate a database for Veterans of the 44th Bomb Group. See Burns Documents #11 for more information about the database request.
Burns Documents (Photos from Burns) #13
Date: No Date
Notes: These photos were taken by Emmett Burns, presumably from a B-24.
Burns Documents (Family Newspaper Article) #14
Date: February 27, 1944
Notes: This article is about Emmett Burns’ four cousins, who were also B-24 Pilots during the war (including a female cousin who ferried planes across the United States) who all survived the war.
The Mighty 8th Air Force at Shipdham 