We lost a good man this weekend.
Russ Baril passed away on Friday, November 8th. In February, 2014, he would’ve been 90 years of age. WWII veteran, teacher, father, grandfather and friend. During WWII, he had been a Sergeant assigned to the Headquarters Unit of the 94th Bombardment Group, 410th Bombardment Squadron. He had a unique, front row seat in the prosecution of the air war over Germany. Russ experienced the highs and lows of mission planning and the post-mission aftermath. Young men, the same age as he was, were losing their lives or were wounded. He made a vow after the war that he would never forget them.
Russ Baril "Somewhere in England", 1943.
Russ never did forget them. In 1956, he wrote the poem that he is holding in this photo. (copied at the end)
In January, 1990, he was the catalyst and founding member of the Army Air Force Roundtable of Connecticut. As the years progressed, an education team was formed and Russ, along with many other members of the group, began visiting hundreds of Connecticut schools giving presentations on their experiences during WWII. So many requests that they couldn’t fulfill them all! Twenty-three years later, the group is still going strong with approximately 40-50 people attending each monthly meeting. Now he has completed that vow made so many years ago. What would very much please him is the fact that his work will carry on for years, even without him.
Russ did not forget.
We will not forget Russ and we will not forget those who gave their last full measure of devotion to save the world.
Thank you Russ. Godspeed. Your vow will live on.
Russ Baril's poem:
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE SEVEN HUNDRED AND
FIFTY- NINE COMBAT CREW PERSONNEL OF THE 410TH
BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON, 94TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP,
8TH AIR FORCE, WHO WERE KILLED IN ACTION IN WORLD WAR II,
MAY 1943 - MAY 1945
I make you this promise. I will not forget.
I will not forget the cold biting winter dawns and the hot sultry summer mornings as the huge planes lumbered from their havens of rest to the perimeter, and taxied to the runway and lined up like circus elephants ¬trunk to tail, waiting for the take off flares.
I will not forget the crews in their cumbersome gear attending brief¬ing, and laboriously climbing into the trucks to take them to their stations. I will never forget the calm, quiet and composed deportment of so many who hid their fear and apprehensions so masterfully, but went out day after day to do what they were called upon to do.
I will not forget the waiting….. the fields grew quiet with a melancholy blanket draped upon every building and every man who waited.
I will not forget the growing rumble in the distance as tiny specks appeared above the horizon, growing to a thunderous climax as the formations roared overhead - coming home. I will never forget the blood red flares that spit from the planes that carried wounded aboard - I will never forget the limping forts, torn and broken, with huge jagged holes that let the blue sky show through.
I will not forget the counting - the men on the ground who waited at the hard stands for the planes that did not come home. I will never forget the names and the numbers erased from the status board forever. I will never forget the numb, dead feeling that pervaded the field like the dense English fog that often enshrouded it for hours and hours ….. until the next day and the next mission.
As I live out my years I will not forget all the days and nights and all the seasons you have missed - all the laughter and the sweet smell of life you have lost forever.
I will not forget and I will do all I can to insure that others, somehow, will not forget either.
This I owe you, as long as I live.
I make this promise. I will not forget.
REB 1956 ____________________________________
Russell E. Baril, of Cheshire, CT, was in the 410TH BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON, 94TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP, 8TH AIR FORCE. As a Sergeant, he was assigned to 410th Bomb Squadron Operations Shack. He is a founding member of the Army Air Force Roundtable of Connecticut, and has made it his life long quest to never forget and to make others aware of the sacrifices made by those young men so long ago.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
