HISTORY
Finding Russell Stutzman Here is a fascinating tale of history and discovery from a small group which uncovers stories of the people connected to Station 146 and the 448th Bomber Group stationed at Seething, in Norfolk. One of the lead researchers, Ann-Margaret Barber, has been trying to find out more about a ring found in the grounds of Seething Control Tower.
Just some of the memorabilia of the 448th bomber group at Seething
W
hen researching something, you need to do it for a reason! In this case, I came across a photograph of a ring, taken about 12 years ago, in our personal collection. The photograph was accompanied by a request for information, and this intrigued me. The name of the person who found the ring was given, the inscription on it was ‘Russel Stutzman’, together with a number and where it was found. So where did I start? The number was perhaps a service number, given that it was found on a disused USAAF WW2 airfield, and the airfield bomb store had not been too far away. Could it be that someone with a military occupation came here,
lost his ring, and over time it was lost in the soil of ploughed fields? I decided to assume that the number was a USAAF service number, and hoped I could match it with a name to confirm the identity of the man. This paid off; it matched to Russell Stutzman, an American Serviceman born in 1919 in Black Creek, Wisconsin, USA. The time between completing his draft card and his enlistment was 15 months. He enlisted at Ft Sheriden, Illinois, and there he was given his service number, which was found on his ring. As with all the people I research, I looked back into his family history; who were his mother and father, did he
have any brothers or sisters, did they enter the services? I traced the family back to 1910 using their census returns, and this made very interesting reading. It’s possible through this to understand the origins of some of the American Servicemen’s surnames and make a guess as to their ancestors' roots. This was just the start of my journey to ‘find’ Russell Stutzman, a member of the USAAF who perhaps served at Station 146, Seething, Norfolk, or did he? To follow this story, with its many twists and turns, join our Facebook page, Stories of the 448th or look us up at www.storiesofthe448th.com 79
