Colonel

Julius Kahn Lacey 

Commanding Officer

Serial Nr O-18006

Missions Credited - 2

Flew 2 missions as Commander. One over Emden, Germany, and the other over Knaben, Norway. 

Colonel Julius Kahn Lacey was the second Commanding Officer of the 384th Bomb Group, and assumed command of the group on 6th September, 1943. Lacey's role was temporary, and he assumed the role in between Colonel Budd Peaslee (the group's first Commanding Officer) and Colonel Dale Smith (the group's third Commanding Officer.) 

Lacey preferred his associates and fellow airmen call him by his middle name, Kahn. 

He was to serve as Commander on two combat missions with the 384th Bomb Group; one over Germany on the aircraft B-17F #42-5852 The Natural (27th Sept. 1943); and the other over Norway, on the aircraft B-17F # 42-5838 Mad Money II (16th Nov. 1943).

On 23rd November 1943, Colonel Dale Smith arrived at Grafton Underwood and took over command from Colonel Lacey. Although Lacey was a temporary Commanding Officer, he left a lasting impact on the 384th Bomb Group and the United States Army Air Force (later to become the United States Air Force). 

Lacey's lengthy military career was impressive, and began in 1929 as a flying cadet. By the following year, Lacey commissioned a Second Lieutenant. By 1934, he had joined the Eastern Zone Army Air Corps Air Mail Operations. There, he discovered his passion for meteorology, and by 1936, he had graduated with a Master's degree in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After leaving college, Lacey was appointed Base Meteorological Officer at Langley Field, and this led him to many other weather-related roles. In January of 1942, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Weather Service, where his role involved analysing the weather and its effects on both the US and Royal Air Force Bomb Groups. 

In early 1943, Lacey was appointed Commanding Officer of the 103rd Combat Wing, and six months later he would join the 384th Bomb Group. Following his temporary assignment there, Lacey was transferred to the 92nd Bomb Group at RAF Polebrook, and became their Commanding Officer.

Lacey was appointed to many other leadership roles throughout his career, including Special Assistant to the Commander of the Fifth Air Force, and later, Commandant of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology. In 1957, he retired from the United States Air Force as a Major General. 

For his military service, Lacey was awarded the French Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerre with Palm, a Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, an Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze Star. 

Colonel Lacey lived to be 87 years old, and he lies in rest in San Antonio, Texas. 

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group Heritage Association website (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 the Group’s activities during World War 2. Further information and images from the website of the United States Air Force (www.af.mil), and Find a Grave.

Research courtesy of Mikayla Leech on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.