On 14th October 1944, tabloids in London and radios in the United States of America (USA) first advertised a 'mercy' mission to Nantes, France, intending to gift children and orphans of the city with toys to open on New Years Day, as was French tradition. Initiated by 1^st Lieutenant Phydime Oscar Picard, the then base Commanding Officer Colonel Dale O. Smith enthusiastically supported it. Smith was to be replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Ross Milton ten days after the initial broadcast, with Milton in turn continuing the support of this mission. 

Letters were distributed to servicemen to send home to their families, encouraging donations of toys, sweets, clothes and “other things dear to a child’s heart”. Airmen also contributed, buying gifts and saving their small candy rations for 11 weeks. A French Red Cross tent was established in front of the Foxy Theatre to take the donations, and a banner was flown notifying locals and servicemen of where and when gifts could be deposited. A further $2,000 was spent on sourcing necessary supplies (such as soap) for the orphanages, for many essential products could not be attained during the war in France. 

Although the broadcast initially suggested one Boeing B-17 would fly over to Nantes, eventually seven (though how many were based at Grafton Underwood is not certain) had their bomb-bays loaded with gifts and made the journey on 30th December 1944 – these included 384th aircraft Satan’s Playmate and Nevada Avenger, both of which would later become century bombers for the group. Aircraft from the 303rd Bomb Group at RAF Molesworth, and the 379th Bomb Group at RAF Kimbolton, also supported the effort. 

Upon landing at Nantes on an air strip riddled with bomb craters, the bags of gifts were loaded onto trucks and delivered to 871 orphans, each with a different child’s name on with a note saying “To our little French Friends we wish a good and happy New Year in 1945. These gifts come to you from the American soldiers at the 384^th Bombardment Group”. Each of the 871 orphans received four packages of cookies, three bars of soap, a bar of chocolate, a pack of gum, life savers, half a pound of hard candy, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, toys, games and clothing. Orphanages also received large quantities of extra soap, clothing, canned goods, bicycles and matches. A further 5,000 bags of gifts were prepared for school children, each containing nine items donated by American airmen.

After delivering gifts to the orphanages, the airmen were to attend a party in the afternoon in Champs de Mars – a large market hall. There, after handing out the gifts to the children, the servicemen would be feted by their hosts. However, the need for men and aircraft for missions impaired these plans – and all but one of the aircraft left before the party could properly get underway. The six departing bombers flew low over the market hall and gave a farewell salute after taking off. However, Satan’s Playmate delayed its return by an hour, allowing Picard, Captain Donald F. Martin and Technical Sergeant Ernest H. Claxon to see the festivities begin and hand out presents after Picard addressed the attendees in French. After eventually departing aboard Satan’s Playmate, the aircraft came under fire when flying over occupied Saint Nazaire port, and although it returned without incident, it clearly demonstrated that airmen still risked their lives when conducting moral missions. 

Writing after the mission, Picard thanked the 384th Bomb Group for their significant contribution, helping make the “Christmas drive a success even larger than anticipated” and for “making 5871 children of Nantes the happiest they had been in 5 years”. A letter from the French Red Cross further thanked Milton and his group for “such a very generous gesture to our children in France”.

A total of 5871 children were recipients of gifts on the Nantes Mercy Mission, and as per French tradition were able to open gifts on New Years Day thanks to the generosity of American airmen and their families. Although the 384^th (and the 8^th Air Force more widely) had conducted conventional bombing raids against Nantes previously – as evidenced by widespread destruction across the city -  the American servicemen were well received by the people of Nantes, and their generosity helped boost morale in the city and allow the city to somewhat enjoy Christmas and New Year.

Research courtesy of Charlie Saddington on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group website www.384thbombgroup.com for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of their activities during World War