Group Diaries 306th Bomb Group--Thurleigh, England
Although some of these 69+ year old documents are marked classified, they all have been declassified
During wartime every military unit or organization, whether a heavy bombardment group or battleship, maintained a War Diary. The War Diary is a regulary updated record of the activities for that unit, basically a history of the organization. For the 306th Bombardment Group, the diary was maintained and collated monthly. The narrative part of the diary was generally written by two or more intelligence officers (S-2), and in the case of the April 1945 diary there were six S-2 officers that contributed. In addition to the narrative of what occured each month, they would often attach lists of names of personnel receiving awards (Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, etc), special services bulletins, and other documents, etc. The purpose of these attachments was to further detail the month's activities. Russell Strong was able to collect copies all of the original 306th Bombardment Group monthly diaries. Some of the pages are difficult to read, however, if you take the time you will find many interesting entries.