Another visitor to this site contacted me with some historical information on one of the 417th members, Thaddeus C. Kulpinski. I got in touch with the reader and he provided me a copy of a Christmas Greeting card that Thaddeus sent to his parents.
Thaddeus, “Ted”, Kulpinski was an RO and an original member of the 417th NFS. Here he is in a group photo of the original members…
October 1943 – Original 417th NFS Crew
…And a shot of him from when he was in prep school prior to the war.
Hello readers – I’ve been away on holiday for a bit and while I was away, I received a request from a reader who is looking to contact any relatives of Clarence K Fuller. Clarence died in action on 1/20/1944 and was part of the 417th Night Fighter group.
If you can help, please drop me an email via the contacts page on this website and I will put you in touch with the person who made the inquiry.
Found two more gems in my father’s collection of Night Fighter memories. He saved two “memory books”, one each from the 1994 WWII Night Fighters Convention in Norfolk, VA and the 2000 convention in Salt Lake City. Both books contained photos of each attendee, spouses, group squadron photos and general photos of the activities at the convention. I’ve posted both of these memory books in two new galleries under Photo and Videos Gallery Menu or you can click on this link:
It is with great sadness that I am announcing the passing of another 417th NFS member, Earl “Sleepy” Hissett. He died on Thursday, January 10th, 2019. His funeral was held on January 12th. He is survived by his lovely wife Jo.
Earl was a member of the original 417th squadron. He was a mechanic and worked on the Beaufighter and P-61 engines. Rumor has it that he lied about his age so that he could join the war at the tender age of 16.
Earl tells a bit of his story on this video from the 2007 417th NFS reunion in Reading PA. Fittingly, he is standing in front of one of the P-61s that he worked on. In this video you will also hear the story behind his nickname “Sleepy”.
As far as I am aware, Earl was the last living member of the 417th and while his passing means the end of an era, I will do my best to continue to honor his service and those of his colleagues thru this website. Rest in Peace Sleepy.
Yes, it has been awhile since I last posted an update on this site. On this, the 1 year anniversary of my father’s passing, I decided that the best thing I could do to honor him is to go thru the many 417th items I brought home with me and build a few new updates on the website.
I chose to start with the Reunion photos. Keeping the 417th NFS alive in people’s memories was more than a hobby for my dad. It was a passion. He and my mother put in countless hours organizing the reunions. It was hard work but they loved every minute of it. The photos and other memorabilia from the reunions are a testament to this. I hope you will find a grandparent, parent, or fond friend somewhere in these photos and I hope it brings you joy even if they are no longer with us. It certainly did this for me.
