NATCHEZ &045;&045; A reunion of World War II veterans in Natchez this week has special meaning for Homer King, who has helped to organize the three-day event for fellow members of 490th Bomb Group.

Registration began Sunday at the Eola Hotel, as the former aviators and ground support teams checked in from home states as far away as California, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

King, a lifelong resident of Natchez, recently reminisced on the sacrifices made by the Eighth Air Force, with members numbering more than

350,000 stationed at more than 55 airbases in England during the war years.

The 490th was a part of that force &045;&045; sending its fliers of B-24 and B-17 airplanes to the European Theater to destroy Nazi facilities with successes that have become legendary in wartime history.

King recalled the strafing and bombing of the English bases returned by the Nazi fliers at night. &uot;When I arrived at the first base, I thought it was a nice base and saw the bomb shelter, but I didn’t think we’d have to use it,&uot; King said. &uot;But very soon I was told to get ready for the excitement because we bombed in the daytime and they bombed at night.&uot;

Because he was found to be colorblind during initial physical examinations, King was assigned to the ground force. &uot;It takes 23 ground personnel to keep one airman in the sky,&uot; he said. &uot;I was one of those.&uot;

He learned the airplanes inside and out, knowing parts for each one as well as he had learned about automobile parts at his job back in Natchez, King said. &uot;If a plane went down and was torn up, we put it back together.&uot;

In September 1942, King married Helen Smith. They knew his call-up was imminent. &uot;I was called in January 1943,&uot; he said. He would not return home until August 1945. He was one of the lucky ones, though, as casualties among members of the entire Eighth Air Force rose to more than 26,000 and another 28,000 fliers became prisoners of war.

King’s training began at Camp Shelby, where the 155th Infantry of the Mississippi National Guard, including a large number from Natchez, also went recently to begin their training for duty somewhere in the Middle East.

King has been touched by the deployment of young men and women to Iraq and other hot spots in the Middle East. His generation has been hailed as &uot;the greatest,&uot; and he knows the contributions of World War II warriors were huge.

&uot;I saw a picture in the paper of a mother and child crying,&uot; he said, describing one of the scenes as the 155th left for training. &uot;I can’t help them, but I can tell them that we’re not the heroes any more; they are.&uot;

Leaving family behind was the most difficult part of wartime for him, King said. &uot;My mother was desperately ill while I was gone, and they didn’t tell me.&uot;

Stories are sure to abound as the veterans gather and renew their friendships and catch up on a year’s worth of news.

King will remember the English family that befriended him; the cold troop train that took him far from home on that first leg of a journey overseas; the climb up a ship ladder that seemed endless as he hauled along with him a heavy coat, a machine gun and &uot;just about as much as I could carry.&uot;

He will remember running into Adrian Trimble, also of Natchez and on duty with the 490th as a radio gunner. &uot;We sat there all night long talking about people from Natchez.&uot;

King will remember the return to America and the telegram he sent from Boston. &uot;I’m safe. I’m home. Don’t write.&uot; Almost as soon as he sent the message, he was on a train home.