Click the CBI icon to access the Squadron Shop and Gallery homepage. Please address any
questions, comments, or concerns about this page to NightGangStudio@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
The Office of Strategic Services: Detachment-101 is a tribute to America's first 'unofficial' force to fight on Asian
soil. Detachment-101 consisted of a few American officers leading a number of native conscripts, whose mission
was to penetrate behind enemy lines and disrupt communications, blow-up bridges, recruit natives to the Allied
cause, and perform intelligence operations for Stilwell's Chinese X Force and the 10th Air Force.
By the end of 1943, Detachment-101 was providing Stilwell with 85% of his intelligence reports and specific targets
for the bombers of the 10th Air Force. The site is highlighted with several declassified reports and documents
obtained from the archives of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Combined Arms Research Library.
As a veteran of the Burma campaigns and contributions to the support of special operations in northern Burma,
T/Sgt Bob Bursian has Regular Membership in the OSS-101 Association. I am proud, through my father's
contributions to Detachment-101, to hold Associate Membership with this veteran's group.
The T/Sgt Robert Bursian Military Service and Scrapbook is a tribute to my father, airplane and engine
mechanic with the 330th Airdrome Squadron. The brief background narrative is followed by images from my
father's wartime scrapbook. The scrapbook was a collection started by his mother after Bob enlisted, it was
completed sometime after his discharge from the service Christmas Eve 1945. The scrapbook grew in size and in
the number of contributors.
Starting a few months prior to Bob's enlistment in September 1942, this photo record follows him through his
assignment with the 330th ADS through discharge. This collection contains fascinating images of the people,
animals, and landscapes of the CBI, not to mention the images of aircraft, airfields, and army pals. I hope you enjoy
these. Certain reprints are available in both matted and unmatted. You may copy these images and post, however
Night Gang requests that the images are not used commercially.
to the Night Gang website: home for the 330th Airdrome
Squadron and Night Gang Studio.
Review the site menu descriptions below for the current contents of
the Night Gang website. Thank you for visiting!
The mission of Night Gang and Night Gang Studio is to:
— provide a tribute to the 330th Airdrome Squadron and the Engineering Section's Night Gang;
— be an educational and historic resource on all aspects of the China-Burma-India theater of operations through
Night Gang's CBI Review;
— preserve and celebrate the heritage and legacy of the men and women who served in CBI through the Night
Gang Heritage Outreach Initiative;
— through partnership agreement with the Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center, make accessible
veteran interviews conducted by the Night Gang Heritage Outreach Initiative;
— showcase the history and legacy of associate membership organizations:
• Merrill's Marauders Association
• Merrill's Marauders Auxiliary: Proud Descendants
• OSS-101 Association
• The Army Historical Foundation
— solicit support for:
• The National Museum of the United States Army
• The National World War II Museum
Willie character by Bill
Mauldin © Copyright.
Colorized by NG Studio.
Night Gang Quick Links
Use these buttons if you know which page you desire, otherwise review the site menu descriptions
below for the current contents of the Night Gang website. Thank you for visiting!
Q- How did General
Stilwell get the
'Vinegar Joe' handle?
The Night Gang Site Index page is a detailed and descriptive version of the Home Page. Each page or section
within the respective site can be direct-accessed through hyperlink from the Site Index. Dated revision notes are
included with the page description. The Night Gang Site Index will be under construction for a little while; as more
pages are being added. I appreciate your patience!
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Site Index. Please address any questions, comments, or
concerns about this page to admin@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Site Index & Map
The 330th Airdrome Squadron was designated and activated at Headquarters Army Air Base, Bowman Field
(Louisville, KY) on 15 April 1944, and organized on 24 April when the first enlisted personnel were assigned. These
new airdrome squadrons were the administrative, service, and security sections of the combat cargo squadrons.
The 330th ADS along with seven other airdrome squadrons were expedited through training to meet the immediate
need by Allied forces fighting in Burma. After six-months these airdrome were to be relieved and return to the
United States for the prescribed training. They were never relieved . . . they were there for the duration.
The 330th Airdrome Squadron pages contain the official Unit History by 1st Lt. Maurice Widgerson, Intelligence
Officer, the squadron roster at the time of debarkation to the CBI, the General Orders and Special Orders for the
organization, activation, and reorganization of the squadron. Selected images from T/Sgt Bob Bursian are included.
Click the CBI icon to access the 330th Airdrome Squadron homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to SquadronLeader@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
330th Airdrome Squadron
Click the CBI icon to access the T/Sgt Robert Bursian homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to SquadronLeader@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
T/Sgt Bob Bursian: Biography and Scrapbook
"Phil Adair flew 139 combat missions during his 18 months in the CBI with the 89th FS. The first 126
were flown in two P-40s, both named 'Lulu Belle', while the last 13 were completed in P-47Ds. On 13
December 1943, Adair performed a solo attack on a formation of Japanese aircraft attacking Dinjan that
subsequently saw him credited with one confirmed destroyed and three damaged. On 17 May 1944 he
destroyed two 'Oscars' when his flight was attacked following its bombing run on a bridge near Kamaing, in
Burma."
P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI, Carl Molesworth, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces - 35, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2000, page 93.
The Lt. Colonel Philip Adair Photograph Collection follows Adair from Mitchell airfield in New York through his
stint in Burma. There are some unique photos that he took while in combat with a little pocket camera that he kept in
his flight jacket. I would like to express my gratitude and personal thanks to Robin Adair for permission to display a
selection of the Philip Adair photo collection on the Night Gang website.Robin's website (http://www.burmabanshee.
com) offers framed and matted reprints of certain images. Robin also requests that the images in his father's
collection are not used for commercial/profitable purposes.
Click the CBI icon to access the Lt. Col. Philip Adair Burma Banshee homepage. Please address any
questions, comments, or concerns about this page to SquadronLeader@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site.M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Philip Adair's Burma Banshee Photo Collection
The United States Army Air Forces in China-Burma-India site presents the lineages of the 5th, 10th, 14th,
and 20th Army Air Forces. Each air force is highlighted with its organizations and relative campaigns in
CBI. Aircraft profiles, schematics, and specifications are showcased as well in Aircraft of the CBI.
Click the CBI icon to access the USAAF in the CBI homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to SquadronLeader@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
U.S. Army Air Force in the CBI
Beginning with President Roosevelt's personal call for "volunteers for a dangerous and hazardous mission", on 31
August 1943, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional): Merrill's Marauders heralds America's first 'official'
ground forces to fight on Asian soil during World War 2. Night Gang takes particular pride presenting this tribute site
to the Marauders, which includes graphs and maps by Night Gang Studio, the roster of the 5307th from Special Order
No. 3 (January 1944), and several authoritative articles and papers released by military sources.
T/Sgt Bob Bursian holds Regular Membership with the Merrill's Marauders Association for his contributions in
support of operations of the 5307th and Mars Task Force while serving in CBI. I am proud to have Associate
Membership with the Merrill's Marauders Association through my father's contributions, and proud to be part of the
Merrill's Marauders Auxiliary: The Proud Descendants (also known as The Kids).
Click the CBI icon to access the Merrill's Marauders homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to Marauders@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
5307th Composite Unit: Merrill's Marauders
Click the CBI icon to access the OSS Detachment-101 homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to OSSDet-101@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Office of Strategic Services: Detachment-101
The CBI REVIEW is a footlocker full of interesting pages with unique topics and illustrations. For example:
AAF-CBI Combat Chronology of World War 2 from the pages of the US Air Force Historical Research Agency,
individual CBI Campaigns reports from the US Army Center for Military History online bookshelf, American,
British, and Japanese Orders of Battle, Army Air Force Statistical Digest illustrated, and much more.
Click the CBI icon to access the CBI REVIEW homepage. Please address any questions, comments,
or concerns about this page to CBI-REVIEW@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
CBI REVIEW
The Night Gang Electronic Library is a depository of documents from many sources in Adobe Acrobat's PDF file
format. These are files that I have downloaded for research or special interest. The sources include the U.S. Army
Center for Military History, the U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the
CIA's Center for Studies in Intelligence, the Department of Defenses' CARL (Combined Arms Research Library),
the Combat Studies Institute of the War College, and more. This site will be under construction for a while as files
are added. I appreciate your patience.
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Electronic Library homepage. Please address any
questions, comments, or concerns about this page to Research@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site.M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Electronic Library
The Night Gang Heritage Outreach is in partnership with the Library of Congress and the American Folklife
Center in participating in the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project is for veterans of all wars.
Part of my partnership responsibilities is to conduct 25 interviews with wartime veterans. Another responsibility is to
ensure that these interviews are accessible to the public. Hyperlinks to the written transcripts (PDF format) will be
posted on a Veteran Tribute page. The Night Gang Heritage Outreach is involved with several more projects.
Come to the site for a visit!
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Heritage Outreach homepage. Please address any
questions, comments, or concerns about this page to NGHOI@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Heritage Outreach
Night Gang Links and Preferred Sites Page is a list with
hyperlinks to the sites that have been inspirational and
resourceful.
A couple of sites are highlighted as Night Gang 5 Star Sites,
these are sites in my opinion that have exceptional content
related to the CBI. The content is educational, resourceful,
intelligent, and historically relevant. The webmasters of these
sites are terrific people and extremely helpful. Please visit their
sites.
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Links and Preferred Sites homepage. Please
address any questions, comments, or concerns about this page to admin@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site.M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Preferred Sites and Links
The Night Gang Contacts Page is a list of email addresses to the different sections and disciplines within the
Night Gang organization.
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Contacts homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to admin@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site.M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Contacts
The Night Gang Bibliography is the list of books, articles, and documents used throughout the Night Gang
website. Coming soon: a recommended military history reading list. To be listed in the CBI REVIEW, too.
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Bibliography homepage. Please address any
questions, comments, or concerns about this page to admin@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Bibliography
Mark Bursian, Night Gang Studio, is the creative force behind the Night Gang website. The Night Gang Studio
site includes the Squadron Shop and Gallery.
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Studio homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to NightGangStudio@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Studio
The Affiliations section represents the personal memberships and associate memberships in various groups and
causes:
Click the CBI icon to access the Night Gang Affiliations homepage. Please address any questions,
comments, or concerns about this page to admin@NightGang.com
Thank you for visiting this site. M. Bursian, Night Gang Studio.
Night Gang Affiliations
A- Gen. Joseph
Warren Stilwell, is
perhaps better known
by the handle: Vinegar
Joe.
Through the 1930's
Col. Stilwell taught
courses and oversaw
war game exercises at
Ft. Benning, Georgia
(where he got to know
George C. Marshall
quite well).
Once, during a
battlefield- solution
tactics exercise with
student officer
candidates, Stilwell
dressed-down a
student for his
explanation of a
reconnaissance
problem gone bad.
Afterwards, an artistic
student officer drew a
caricature of Stilwell
with his head rising
from a vinegar bottle
with a sour grimace on
his face. The drawing
was posted on a
student bulletin board.
Stilwell saw it and
asked the artist if he
could reproduce it and
sent the copies to
friends.
The two-lane 715 mile
Burma Road, was built
entirely by hand, taking
200,000 Chinese two
years to build
(1937-38). The road,
constructed across
the grain of the
Himalyas, starts in the
railhead city of Lashio,
Burma and ends in
Kunming of the Yunnan
province. US Army Photo
Q- How did disease
casualties compare to
battle casualties in the
Burma campaigns?
"Willie" © Copyright Bill
Mauldin
"Willie" © Copyright Bill
Mauldin
For every Allied combat
casualty evacuated:
fourteen more would
be evacuated sick or
dead from malaria,
dysentery, cholera,
infections, jungle rot,
or brush typhus.
The 5307th Composite
Unit (Provisional),
better known as
Merrill's Marauders,
suffered 80%
casualties (Feb - May
1944): 66% were
disease casualties,
and 14% battle
casualties.
Night Gang Quick Links
The Night Gang Studio Squadron Shop and Gallery offers an assortment of apparel, an illustration gallery,
maps gallery, and assorted other projects.
Squadron Shop and Gallery
