 Zemke obtained assurances that he would be reinstated to command of the 56th when that duty ended (which happened in January 1944).Zemke hand-picked his replacement, Col. Robert Landry, an older staff officer, to prevent command of the group from permanently going to the deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel David C. Schilling.According to Eighth Air Force historian Roger A. Freeman, Zemke harbored misgivings about Schilling's youth and impulsiveness at this early stage of the war.