Monkey Chatter

"Monkey Chatter" is the name of the 34th PRS newsletter that was circulated during the war years. With news of the people and happenings of the squardron in day-to-day life, "Monkey Chatter" has lived past the days in the field to today. Reborn on the world wide web, "Monkey Chatter" is where you'll find news and information on the 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Online.

 

A Message from the Heart

This year I feel the weight of what has now come. With over a quarter century past since this project started and this website founded - I am likely the last man holding the collective memory of the 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron. Special memories live on and are shared in the hearts of the families of the 34th PRS and bound in eternity itself. Thom Myers, my dear friend, brother and partner in the 34th PRS Online passed 15 years ago this December. 2016 saw both his parents make the journey Home to join him in the presence of God. It is notable that Thom's mother passed on the eighth anniversary of the laying to rest of her son in Clemmons, North Carolina. I consider it a miracle and act of Divine providence that I met and became friends with the Myers family through Thom. If it were not for a series of events that only God Himself could orchestrate, this website would not exist as it does. Providence is a very real thing and this website is testimony to that. If it were not for these facts, my life would be far less rich as I owe my very faith in part to the fervent prayers of the Myers family. Ira and Rhymer were my kind of people and (I think) great parents. They taught their children well and left a legacy that includes this website -- a legacy that has impacted and changed the lives of families extending far beyond those of the 34th PRS and into the greater photo reconnaissance community.

"Pop, this website is dedicated to you!" (Thom Myers)

We offer this prayer, a psalm of David for the leader, in memory of our beloved family members and friends that have gone the western way following the sunset.

9If I take wing with the dawn to come to rest on the western horizon, 10even there Your hand will be guiding me, Your right hand will be holding me fast.

(Psalm 139:9-10)

Shalom, Shalom!

 

In loving memory of Thomas E. Myers (1961 - 2008)

This space is dedicated to and maintained in the memory of my dear friend and partner in the 34th PRS Online, Thomas E. Myers. It seems so long ago that we met on the grounds of Smith-Reynolds Airport at the Winston-Salem Airshow on a summer day in 1994. That was in the days that he owned and operated Walter Mitty Art & Framing in Winston-Salem, an aviation art and motorsports gallery. Our mutual interests gave rise to a business relationship and later a deep family bond that Thom termed as us being "twin brothers from different mothers." In 1996 Thom became my first commercial website customer and soon after asked me if I would be interested in helping him do a couple of pages on his Dad's squadron. It was Thom's curiosity as to what his Dad did during the war that sparked the birth of the 34th PRS Online and eventually led to the community of websites we know today serving the photo reconnaissance community of World War II at PHOTORECON.ORG.

Since the inception of the 34th PRS Online in 1996 we have enjoyed many successes and endured great setbacks of various natures. As the co-founder, cheif designer, developer and technical muscle behind the website; I can assure you that our work will continue into the years to come as God allows and look forward to continuing to develop the many products and projects that we had started together.

Thom was laid to rest under a clear blue sky, near his home in Advance, North Carolina on the cold and windy afternoon of 22-December, 2008; with his family, friends, co-workers and full military honors via a United States Marine Corps Honor Detail. Of my best friend and brother I can say many things but most of all I dearly miss our fellowship and his constant and true friendship. He was a one of a kind and my "twin brother of different mothers."

Till we meet again buddy!

 

Our Mission

Our mission is to share the history of those who quietly did their part in the greatest struggle of this nation's history. Concentrating on previously unpublished information and stories, it is our intention to present the men of the 34th in a manner which has not been explored in other venues. It is their story which we hope to share with a new generation. It is their sacrafice which we hope to honor. This site is for you...the men of the 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (1943-1945).

The 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Online is a work in progress. The initial site announcement was launched in 1997. At that time the founders of the site (Thom Myers & Rich Faulkner) were searching for photographs and other materials to base research and content upon. Through trials of data loss, moves, work and family schedules the initial incarnation of we've been able to amass an incredible amount of data, photographs and personal perspectives. We've come a long way since 1997 and hope for many more years to come!