Clement H. Cowan Crew photographed in the States (left to right): Clement H. Cowan (P), Hank A. Dibbern (CP), Fred W. Robertson (NAV), Harold L. Heyneman (BOM)‚Standing: Murray W. Holditch (TTE), William A. Geigle (BTG), Sherwin W. Meyers (ROG), Adam C. Stoppel (LWG), Robert Patrick (RWG), Horace Kemble (TG)‚100th BG Photo Archives

On June 25, 1943, the 100 BG flew its first combat mission for Eighth Air Force against the submarine yards at Bremen, Germany -- the beginning of the "Bloody Hundredth"'s legacy. The group inherited the "Bloody Hundredth" nickname from other bomb groups due to the amount of losses it took. Although the 100 BG's losses were no more than any other units' at the war's end, the group experienced several instances where it lost a dozen or more aircraft on a single mission, whereas most units suffered losses in consistent small amounts. For the next six months, the group focused its bombing attacks against German airfields, industries, and naval facilities in France as well as Germany. Just two months after entering the war, the group received its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) after attacking the German aircraft factory at Regensburg on August 17, 1943, resulting in serious disruption to German fighter production. The 100 BG flew its last combat mission of World War II on April 20, 1945. The following month the unit's aircrews dropped food to the people in the west of the Netherlands, and in June transported French Allied former prisoners of war from Austria to France. In December 1945, the group returned to the U.S., where it inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on December 21, 1945.