Welcome
My story began over a decade ago. I was fourteen years old, and my parents let me watch the film The Memphis Belle on public television. I quickly grew fascinated with the 8th USAAF which was stationed in England starting in 1942. It struck me that the men who flew in the skies over Europe were not that different from me. They were young, their families loved them, and they had hope for a better future. I could relate to them personally.
Intrigued, I hunted down books on the subject, and that’s how I stumbled across B-17s Over Berlin: Personal Stories from the 95th Bomb Group (H). Within a day or two I found myself attracted to this photograph. I was intentionally searching for someone I could easily identify with, and #15, a man listed as F/O Noyes, struck me as being the most youthful of the group. His name was Joseph Noyes, and he was from Seattle, Washington.
I soon discovered that F/O Noyes had been killed in action in 1943, at the age of 22. At that moment I decided that he deserved to be remembered, not as a statistic or a serial number, but as a real person. Since then I have made it my duty to ensure that his story is recorded and passed on to future generations.
Over the next few years I slowly connected with valuable sources of information. I found veterans who flew with him, and alumni who attended high school with him. I received a surprise telephone call from his former fiancée, Donna. Eventually I came to regard Joe as a friend, despite the fact that he left this world 40 years before I was even born.
In 2002 I met Joe’s brother Bob. Bob and his wonderful wife Rita invited me to stay with them for several days in Camano Island, Washington, and thanks to that cherished experience I feel somewhat closer to Joe then before. I drove past the old Noyes house on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. I had the honor of holding in my own hands, letters that Joe wrote and signed. I looked into Bob’s eyes; the same eyes which once saw Joe. The same eyes which Joe himself looked into.
Today Joe is no longer #15 out of 48. Joe is truly alive in memory and spirit, and it is my intention that even once I’m no longer here to play middleman, his story will survive. I’ve built this website as a memorial to his life, and a gathering place for others who spend their free time searching archives and databases for the names of young Americans who will never be forgotten.
I sincerely thank you for visiting this website, and supporting the project!
Kimberly Arthur Lindner
theflightofficerproject@gmail.com
Acknowledgements
Robert E. Noyes, Sara Baty-Noyes, Tom Noyes, Donna Davis Flynn, Paul E. Perceful, Col. Harry G. Conley USAF (Ret.), Col. H. Griffin Mumford USAF (Ret.), Col. Daniel Cummins USAF (Ret.), Bob Cozens, W.L. Bergman, Michael Darter, Dennis Sparks, Jacque Glassner, Richard E. Flagg, The Marines’ Memorial Association, and The 95th Bomb Group Memorial Foundation & Association.
