Charles's Mother (Handwritten) McKinney, Texas, Porter October 9, 1944 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sattler: Our Son was another one of the boys who lost their lives on the transport which crashed in your pasture on Aug 3. We have a copy of the letter written by you all to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts at McKinney and whom are our friends. Both of our sons were on the plane and we feel very close to each other. We also knew personally Jack Lytle, Alex Pope, and Barney O'Mallery. They all were the very best of boys. Our son Charles V Porter was all we could ask for in a son. We just worshipped him. To us he was so perfect and he had worked so for his commission and was so proud of it. He got his wings April 15th of this year. I guess there isn?t anything more that you could tell us about anything but we just want to thank you for what you have done for all the boys. Charles was 5 feet 11 inches. Weighed 148 lbs. Black wavy hair, brown eyes. And a big smile always. And uneven teeth. I'll send a Kodak picture of him. I don?t have an extra snapshot. Hope you can remember him by this description but am pretty sure you can't. Again I'll say Thank You for doing your best for our boy and close Sincerely Mrs. George H Porter

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(Handwritten) Prosper, Texas) October 26, 1944) My dear Mrs. Sattler: I am almost ashamed to bother you as I'm sure all 28 of the parents and wives of the boys who were killed August 3 have written you except me. My beloved husband Charles V Porter was killed in this accident and if only I could hear the truth about the accident I would be so happy. Mrs. Sattler I wonder if it would be possible for me to get the man who helped with bodies to tell me the condition of most of the boys. My husband was very dark skinned and has hair as black as possible I thought maybe he could tell me about it. I would like to know just anything that anyone could tell me as it breaks my hear to know there was nothing I could do to help. I read Mrs. Lytles's letter from you and I'll answer your questions. The boys had not been overseas but were going over in about a month. . Anything you could tell me would be so deeply appreciated. . Sincerely Mrs. Charles V. Porter Prosper, Texas Box 77

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From: Charlie To: Larry Carpenter Date: Sunday I April 30, 2000 9:39 PM Subject: Naper 28 Dear Mr. Carpenter My cousin, James Benton May, received a telephone call from you tonight concerning the plane crash that killed our uncle, Charles V. Porter. He promptly called me after viewing the website that was created in honor of those brave young men. My mother, Gwendolyn Fern Porter, dearly loved Charles, and I don't believe that she ever really got over his death. I only wish that she were alive today to see the fine work that has been done to pay tribute to those men. I am deeply touched and would like to thank you and all the others who have put their time into creating and maintaining this website. I was named after my uncle Charles. I have a large, framed, 11X14 picture taken of him before his death. He is wearing a flight cap; and looks every bit the fighter pilot he aspired to be. That picture hung on a bedroom wall in my grandfather's home near Rhea Mills, Texas for all the years he was alive. I would be pleased to scan that picture and 1 send you the digital image if you request it. There may be other i smaller pic's that I do not remember as well as that large one. Feel free to email me or to call me at my home in Houston, Texas at 713-4666182. Again, thank you for your interest in this accident that happened so long ago. My mother would have been very touched. Charles Godwin Houston, Tx 77040

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Telecon James Benton May 4:30 p.m., Sun, April 30, 2000 13223 Fish Road, Lot 57 Dallas, TX 75253 E-mail: I had just written a letter to the VA hoping to reach Lt. Porter's brother, Shirley Glen Porter when I noticed I had tried to reach the above number three previous times without getting an answer so I picked up the phone and tried again. A young girl answered the phone and I asked her if this was the May residence and if the mother of James May was named Guida. She politely asked me to hold so I felt I had made a "hit". When Mr. May came to the phone he acknowledged his uncle was Lt. Porter. He didn't know any of the details of the crash. Mr. May said all of Lt. Porter's siblings were deceased, including Shirley Porter (I could have saved myself the effort If l would have tried the number before writing the letters.) I gave him the web site for the "Naper 28, my e-mail address and telephone number. He seemed anxious to check it out. He would pass on the information to a cousin right away because he knew this person would be most interested. He agreed that I should send the questionnaire to him. He would begin searching for a photo of Lt. Porter he said.

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From: Charlie To: Larry Carpenter Date: Thursday, May 25, 2000 6:57 PM Subject: Charles V. Porter JPG Hello Larry. Hope your search is going well. I put an attachment with this mail of Charles V. Porter in his flying cap. I scanned it maybe a little too big, but I figured that if you used it, you would edit it to your size anyway. The file size shows 79k from explorer. I spoke to my father and brother about descendants of Bennie Michael. Dad said he left none, but my brother disputes that but couldn't come up with any names. I tend to believe my brother as my dad's memory can be a little erratic. At 82 a fellow might expect that. Bennie was killed while crossing a major freeway. Bennie was living in a trailer park off of 75N. His ?ride? home from work pulled to the side of the freeway and let him out. He attempted to cross the lanes of traffic and was struck. I wouldn't stake my life on the details of that story. I (also)heard he was changing a tire for someone. One thing for sure, he was killed on the freeway. My dad was intrigued by your fact-finding quest. He asked me why you were doing it, and frankly, I couldn't answer that. I am honored by the website and the effort you have put into this, but I wonder if you have a relative that was killed in the accident, or if maybe you are doing this for a school project. I do not mean to offend you. Our family reunion is held in Princeton every October. I will bring the subject up and see if I can come up with some names. Looking forward to seeing the website grow. Note that my e-mail address has changed. I have a DSL line now. It is fantastic. Sincerely, Charles Godwin

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From: Larry E. Carpenter To: James Benton May ; Charles Godwin Date: Monday, May 01,20002:13 PM Subject: Lt. Porter search : I hope it's OK to combine messages,to both of you. Thank you for your positive responses. I may have said yours was the seventeenth family I've contacted..I miscounted, yours was actually the sixteenth. Three other families are known so that leaves me with another eight to go. A brother of the Jolley twins is traveling to Naper, NE May 13th. My wife and I will go there to meet them and, along with Hueske (dh) and others, visit the crash site. On Sunday, the 14th, we will tour the former airbase and a museum near there. This will be my first visit to the crash site and my first chance to meet Hueske and some of the others in person. The brother of Lt. Pope had asked me earlier if I had reached Lt. Porter's family yet. He remembered that your uncle and his brother (fraternal twin) were good friends. I will drop him a line and let him know that I made contact with you. This man, Mickey Pope, even remembered ' hearing of your uncle Shirley Glen Porter through Charles. Families often ask me how I managed to find them so here is the brief version. The McKinney (TX) library was very helpful to me. They provided me with copies of your uncle's obituary. (I learned he had a son Bennie so I began searching for him. Checking the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) I was stunned to learn a Benny Porter, born 22 April 1944 had died in Nov. 1973. What happened to Benny, do you know? Are you in touch with your uncle's widow? I now know she isn't the Lillie B. Porter living in Denver.) Using the SSDII found the dates of death of Charles' parents and the library found those obits for me as well. Now I had the name of a brother, the married names of his two sisters, aunts (Rogers, Norris, Thompson, Hines), uncles (Porter and Rogers) and even Step-aunts. All of these names and I couldn't find any of them still living. Then, from the SSDI, I learned when Ouida May passed away and then I obtained her obit from the Dallas Library. Now I was looking for a James B. May (no, you aren't the James B in Alvin, TXI) and finally was successful! That photo of your uncle in his flying gear sounds great. I think Hueske will add the men's photos and personal data to the website before we're done. All for now-please keep in touch. Larry ,

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