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First Duty Station - Introductions
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Private First Class
Topic starter
03/09/2026 1:18 pm
Hi everyone! My name is Chris Chaffin. I’m an independent historian with a particular interest in WWII and the China-Burma-India Theater.
For the past year or so, majority of my research has focused around my great-grandfather, S/Sgt Pasquale Cichino, who served as an armorer-gunner with the 373rd Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group in China. What started as an attempt to understand his personal military service has grown into a investigation much larger than I expected involving crew records, mission history, aircraft, decorations, photographs, wartime documents, and firsthand accounts from the families of the men he served with.
I recently discovered WarCommons through a connection with Nick on LinkedIn and decided to join. I’m looking forward to meeting other WWII researchers and historians, sharing what I’ve uncovered, and hopefully learning from everyone here as well.
Looking forward to being part of the community!
— Chris the Historian
Nick Ravenshade reacted
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Warrant Officer Junior Grade (WOJG)
03/09/2026 2:56 pm
Hi Chris,
It was very nice talking to you on LinkedIn. I'm very happy and excited that you've decided to join our forum community!
Feel free to share any stories you have or to engage with other topics here on the forum. As you are one of the first 50 to join, you have received the exclusive Founding Member title. Your exclusive medal will be added to your profile very soon.
With this exclusive title you can now also access the "Founders' Command HQ" at the bottom of the forum. Under 'Founders' Discussion Board' you can create your own topics that you would like to discuss with our other members.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.
- Nick
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Technician Fifth Grade (T/5)
03/09/2026 7:27 pm
Welcome aboard 🙂 That is indeed quite rare front to be spoken about.
Nick Ravenshade reacted
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Topic starter
03/09/2026 8:20 pm
@warcommons Thanks, Nick! I really appreciate the warm welcome and the Founding Member title. I’m excited to be part of the community and looking forward to sharing some of my CBI research and connecting with everyone here!
Nick Ravenshade reacted
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Topic starter
03/09/2026 8:22 pm
@sherman Thank you! That's one of the things that drew me deeper into the research. The CBI has some incredible stories, but it seems like so much of it has been overshadowed by the European and Pacific theaters. The deeper I get into the 308th Bomb Group's history in China, the more I realize how much is still out there to uncover. And how important the CBI actually was!
5108
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Warrant Officer Junior Grade (WOJG)
03/09/2026 8:41 pm
@sherman Thank you! That's one of the things that drew me deeper into the research. The CBI has some incredible stories, but it seems like so much of it has been overshadowed by the European and Pacific theaters. The deeper I get into the 308th Bomb Group's history in China, the more I realize how much is still out there to uncover. And how important the CBI actually was!
There are many campaigns that are overshadowed by the popular ones. The Nordic countries, the Balkan region, and Greece as well. There was a world war going on in those places just as much as in other regions. That's why I find it fantastic that you're doing your part in making sure we never forget the history of World War II, not even the now almost forgotten battlefields!
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Technician Fifth Grade (T/5)
03/09/2026 8:52 pm
Yeah. Finand's part is overshadowed by Eastern front (Ok we were part of it) and Norway was important theatre too yet never in detail much discussed. So a lot of history lost from mainstream
5108
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Warrant Officer Junior Grade (WOJG)
03/09/2026 9:52 pm
Yeah. Finand's part is overshadowed by Eastern front (Ok we were part of it) and Norway was important theatre too yet never in detail much discussed. So a lot of history lost from mainstream
That's a great take indeed! Norway too, its coastline was vital for Nazi Germany. It provides them strategic naval bases and a protected shipping route for important swedish iron ore.
