This room, its maps and accompanying information are dedicated to all members of the 43rd Bomb Group, regardless of the squadron they were assigned to, their rank, the job they performed, or when. Ken’s Men was a tough, dedicated, and effective organization. It was that way because all of us worked together. It took ALL of us to enable us to live up to the motto: WILLING, ABLE, READY.

If you are a historian, a World War 2 buff, an aircraft history buff, or just curious, you are welcome to stop and visit a while.

The intent here is to provide, where possible, maps of the period of 1943 and 1944 that represent the locations in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) where the 43rd flew combat missions. Presently, our maps and information start at Port Moresby, New Guinea, and represent a time period of about the middle of 1943 through November of 1944. During this period of time the 43rd was stationed at the following locations:

Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea
Dobodura, Papua, New Guinea
Nadzab, Papua, New Guinea
Owi, Schouten Islands, Dutch New Guinea

In the near future, we expect to add modern maps for locations in the Phillipines and Ie Shima, Japan. There are gaps here, but it has been a long, long time, so we offer no apologies, and hope you will find what we have to be interesting and informative. Where available we show maps of the WW2 Era, supplemented by more modern maps of the same location.

Additionally, we have had the good fortune to have access to a few maps of an aeronautical nature but of a later time than WW2. These maps are for crewmen and aeronautical history buffs who flew the old A/N beams or who, even earlier, found their way at night over our early American Airways by following the old lighted rotating beacons. We believe these maps to be very rare, (even collectors items) and we hope you find them useful.

So, pull up a chair and visit a while.

(Note: The Map Room curator is M. L. "Shad" Shaddox, 64th Squadron pilot)