Even though they didn't get to fly any missions the ground crew was just as important to the success of the mission as the flight crew. They kept the plane in good working order by performing maintenance to the engines and airframe and repairing battle damage. If the plane, even a war weary one, wasn't in good shape before leaving out the chances it would return were slim. Members of Star Duster's ground crew were seen kneeling in prayer many times as the plane taxied off for another mission.
When the 73rd Bomb Wing first got to Saipan each plane had its own ground crew with specialists assigned to the various systems on the plane. When Gen. LeMay took over he reorganized the aircraft maintenance operations leaving only a few people permanently assigned to each plane while specialists were put on teams that worked together on several planes. Those serving on a ground crew served for the duration of the war. The Star Duster's permanent ground crew consisted of the following.
- "Little John" Ubl — Crew Chief
- "Speed" Rodarmel — Assistant Crew Chief
- David Curland — Electrical Specialist
- Bill Banivitz — Mechanic and Engine Specialist
- Scotty Scott — Mechanic
"Dud" Gillin and "Triggers" Uren frequently worked on the Star Duster's armament.
The crew of the Star Duster realized the importance of their ground crew and had their names painted on the side of the plane. The pictures of that artwork below mention others who worked on the plane.
This was painted on the forward, starboard bomb bay door. The artwork reads:
GROUND CREW
"Pappy" Swain — Flt. Chief
"Lil John" Ubl — Crew Chief
"Speed" Rodarmel — Asst. Crew Chief
[David] "DC" Curland — Elect. Sp.
"AC" Engle — Elect. Sp.
"Dressel" Banovitz — Mech.
"Scotty" Scott — Mech.
"Whitey" Kilner — Mech.
"Junior" Migl — Mech.
"Shorty" Hall — Eng. Sp.
ARMAMENT
"Dud" Gillin — C. C.
"Trigger" Uren — Arm.
"Willie" Williamson — Arm.
"Moute" Rosenwald — CFC
"Sparks" Pizza — Radio
This was painted above the forward, port bomb bay door. The artwork reads:
"Little John" Ubl — Crew Chief
"Speed" Rodarmel — Assistant Crew Chief
[David] "B'Klyn" Curland — Elect. Specialist
"Bill" Banovitz — Mechanic
"Scotty" Scott — Mechanic
"Dud" Gillin — Arm. C. C.
"Triggers" Uren — Arm.
"Moute" Rosenwald — CFC
"S—ks" Lane — CFC [hard to read from the small photo]
"Sparks" Pizza — Radio
