My Dad was a pilot with the 50th fighter group. He was a replacement pilot and flew his first mission 11 oct.44. I know that because I have his service record. Dad died in 09 and he never talked much about the war, I think he was traumatized from his experience. The last couple of years he told me some things. One is that he spent a month in the field with a tank platoon calling in air strikes. He had a squad of enlisted men and a weapons carrier for the radio gear. Apparently the pilots rotated through this duty. This needs to be documented. I would loke any information I can get.