Rodney Jester poses for a picture with a portrait of his father, U.S. Army Air Force Tech Sgt. Edward Jester, a flight engineer/top turret gunner with the World War II 305th Bombardment Group, inside the 305th Air Mobility Wing Headquarters on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 18, 2021. Jester donated his father’s belongings to the 305th AMW to preserve his wartime service and to inspire and inform today’s Airmen. Flying 29 combat missions from December 1943 to May 1944, Tech Sgt. Jester served with the 366th Bomb Squadron of the 305th BG CAN DO Group under the Eighth Air Force, “The Mighty Eighth,” based at Chelveston, England in the air war against Nazi Germany during that conflict. His wartime service remained a point of pride throughout his life and this is reflected in the artifacts and documents that Edward Jester kept as memories of those tumultuous years. Today, the CAN DO Wing has been honored by his family to share TSgt Jester’s legacy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Daniel Barney)

Rodney Jester, the son of Tech. Sgt. Edward Jester from the World War II 305th Bombardment Group, poses for a picture along with his wife, Sadie, over a display representing artifacts from his father’s wartime service inside the 305th Air Mobility Wing headquarters, on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 18, 2021. Jester donated his father’s belongings to the 305th AMW to preserve his legacy and wartime service with the CAN DO Group. This included his original A-2 Leather Flight Jacket adorned with his 29 combat missions and locations, images through his wartime USAAF service and later attendance at 305th BG reunions, and period artwork that Tech. Sgt. Jester created to pass the time between missions. Tech. Sgt. Jester attended two years of art school before being inducted into the Army here at Ft. Dix in October 1942. After training as a Flight Engineer and top turret gunner in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, he deployed to England on the S.S. Queen Mary and was assigned to the 366th Bombardment Squadron of the 305th Bomb Group at Chelveston, England as a combat replacement in November 1943. He flew 29 combat missions with the 305th over Nazi Germany and occupied Europe – without receiving a scratch! After his combat tour, he rotated back to the U.S. and retrained in the Boeing B-29 Superfortress when the war ended. Like many of that generation, he quietly resumed civilian life, raised a family with his wife Doris of 61 years and attended 305th BG reunions in his later years. He passed away in May 2002. (U.S. Air Force photo by Daniel Barney)

Stuart Lockhart, 305th Air Mobility Wing historian, poses for a picture alongside Rodney Jester and his wife, Sadie, while regarding a display of items belonging to Rodney’s father, Tech Sgt. Edward Jester, who served with the World War II 305th Bombardment Group, inside the 305th Air Mobility Wing headquarters on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 18, 2021. Jester donated his father’s belongings to the 305th AMW to preserve his legacy, his wartime service and to inspire and inform today’s Airmen. Flying 29 combat missions, Tech Sgt. Jester served with the CAN DO Group under the Eighth Air Force based at Chelveston, England in the air war against Nazi Germany during that conflict. Included in this display is Tech Sgt. Jester’s “lucky” relief can complete with battle damage from his 28th mission to the city of Kiel, Germany on 22 May 1944. Throughout his life, Edward Jester credited this frozen can as having saved his life. (U.S. Air Force photo by Daniel Barney)