This photograph comes from the collection of the American Air Museum in Great Britain.

It shows a group of three men loading 500 pound bombs onto a B-17 bomber at the US Army Air Force base at Bury St. Edmunds, England in December 1943. On the right, stands Corporal Albert Scherzinger of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Scherzinger, a 1928 graduate of Pottsville High School, served on the ground crew of the 410th Bomb Squadron, 94th Bomb Group of the famed 8th Air Force from 1942 to 1945.

He returned to Schuylkill County after the Second World War.

Albert Scherzinger died in Pottsville in 1997 at the age of 87.

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The 8th Air Force was the subject of the 2024 Apple TV+ miniseries, Masters of the Air. My Public History with Jake and Justin co-host and I recorded episode recaps for each of the 9 episodes in the series. You can watch them by clicking here or below (and subscribe)!