These men were assigned to the 533^rd Squadron of the 381^st Bomb Group in Ridgewell, England. Twenty-three crewmen and one civilian were killed in a massive bomb explosion while servicing the B-17, 42-30024, on June 23^rd, 1943. Nine crewmen were buried on April 12, 1949 in Section E Plot 39 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

Pfc Robert M. Ashcraft    Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

T/Sgt Ervin Bohlander     Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Cpl Charles A. Feeley     Zachary Taylor Nat’lCemetery

Cpl George Fiamma        Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Cpl Milton J. Foerstel     Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Cpl Melvin L. Jerkins      Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Cpl Guy McDuffee          Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Sgt Joseph L. Neel            Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Sgt Louis Smulowitz        Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Cpl James H. King

S/Sgt Elwood H. Harris

2/Lt Paul E. Tull            Cambridge American Cemetery

Cpl Joseph F. Sproha

S/Sgt Michael J. Egan       Long Island Nat’l Cemetery

Sgt Joseph J. Kristapavich

Sgt Christian Langolf      Cambridge American Cemetery

Cpl Elmer F. Madden      Cambridge American Cemetery

S/Sgt James J. Lintgen

Sgt Henry Bongiorno

Cpl James A. Main          Cambridge American Cemetery

Cpl Roger H. Allen

Sgt Dennis L. Collins

T/Sgt Charles H. Wilton     Golden Gate Nat’l Cemetery

British Civilian John Hunwick

The 381^st Bomb Group flew their first mission on June 22, 1943. While the airplanes were being loaded for the next day's mission, there was an accident on the line. A bomb went off and 23 crewmen, together with a British civilian cycling to work, lost their lives in the explosions. Sixteen 300-pound bombs were being loaded when 11 exploded. 6 crew members were in the ship cleaning their guns. Electrical specialists were working on the tail wheel.

Not one man who was at the plane is alive to tell what happened. There were a few wounded, but these men were working on planes some distance away. They did not know what struck them. One officer was killed in a plane far away, having been there inspecting his instruments. An object flew into his plane and blew his head off. The plane in which he was sitting was scrapped because it was wrecked beyond repair. It had holes all through it.

The Robert Withers' crew, onboard #42-30024:

T/Sgt Erwing Bohlander, S/Sgt Edward H. Harris, S/Sgt James J. Lintgen, Sgt Christian Langolf, Sgt Louis Smulowitz, Sgt Joseph J. Kristapavich

From the Alexander crew onboard #42-29992:

2nd Lt Paul E. Tull

The majority of deaths were among Ground Crew members:

Cpl James H. King, Cpl Milton J. Foerstel, Cpl Charles A. Feeley, Cpl Joseph F. Sproha, Sgt Henry Bongiorno, Cpl Roger H. Allen, S/Sgt Michael J. Egan, Cpl James A. Main, Sgt Joseph L. Neel, Cpl Elmer F. Madden, Sgt Dennis L. Collins, Cpl Guy McDuffee, Pfc Robert N. Ashcraft, T/Sgt Charles H. Wilton, Cpl Melvin L. Jerkins, Cpl George Fiamma

British Civilian

Mr John Hunwick, killed while cycling near the base on his way work

The Chaplain conducted the funeral for these men on June 26, 1943, at the Brookwood American National Cemetery, Surrey, England, located about 25 miles south of London.

This B-17 Flying Fortress and crew were assigned to the 532^nd Squadron of the 381^st Bomb Group. They crashed on take-off from a base in England. Four crewmembers were buried on April 30, 1949 in Section E Plot 48 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

2/Lt Haynes, Kenneth T. Jr, Pilot Cambridge American Cemetery

2/Lt Cusson, Edmond P, Navigator Cambridge American Cemetery

2/Lt Stahlecker, Harry J, Bombardier Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

2/Lt Bemis, Ralph, Copilot Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Sgt Ham, Kenneth M. Gunner Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

Sgt Herrera, Zeke P. Gunner Unknown burial location

S/Sgt Sauld, Edward N. Radio Operator Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

S/Sgt Loparco, Harry Cambridge American Cemetery

Sgt Mahaffey, Donald B. Gunner Cambridge American Cemetery

Sgt Plows, Arthur M. Tailgunner Unknown Burial Location

This B-24, 42-95023, was assigned to the 577^th Squadron of the 392^nd Bomb Group. The crew was killed on August 12, 1944 and buried on April 26, 1949 in Section E 37 at the Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery.

T/Sgt John H Holling, Radio Operator

T/Sgt Stanley F, Jankowski, Engineer

S/Sgt William C McGinley, Gunner

2nd Lt John D.Ellis, Pilot, Buried at Cambridge American Cemetery

F/O Samuel C. Stalsby, Copilot, Buried at Alexandria National Cemetery, La.
2nd Lt Robert B. Cox, Navigator, Buried at Cambridge American Cemetery
S/Sgt Clare W. Hultengren, Bombardier, Buried at Fort Snelling Nat’l Cemetery
S/Sgt. Frank Minick, Jr, Gunner, . Buried at Cambridge American Cemetery
Sgt Jay V. Cable, Gunner, Unknown burial location.
S/Sgt Jack O. Shaeffer, Gunner, Unknown burial location.

This mission scheduled against the Juvicour Air Field in France had a rocky beginning due to very bad weather in the Group's formation assembly area. Six aircrews had to abort this mission and return to Wendling due to this poor weather while the other 29 planes managed to form up and carry out the raid. One of the aborting crews was piloted by 2/Lt Ellis in aircraft #42-95023, a B24H Model, Call Letter "Y," no nickname. It is believed that the Ellis plane collided with B17 #42-107191, Tomahawk Warrior, from the 398th Bomb Group. The B17 crashed near Lude Farm, Loudwater, while Ellis's ship crashed-landed close to the villages of Cheshunt and Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire. Everyone in both planes perished. It was widely believed in Cheshunt that pilot Ellis deliberately steered the ship away from the town.

In gratitude, townspeople erected a Memorial Plaque on the wall of an administration building at CAMBRIDGE American Cemetery with an identical plaque in the library at Cheshunt. The plaques say, "To these gallant American airmen who on August 12, 1944, sacrificed their lives to prevent their aircraft from crashing on our homes. The residents of Cheshunt and Waltham Cross in the County of Hertfordshire dedicate this plaque in grateful memory." The names of the ten men on the Ellis crew are then inscribed. Three of these crewmen are interred at CAMBRIDGE: 2/Lt Ellis in grave E-1-98 whose home state was California; his awards included an Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters but a Purple Heart citation is not recorded. 2/Lt Cox is in grave E-6-88 from home state Ohio having been awarded an Air Medal with Oak Leaf cluster, posthumously, but there is no record of a Purple Heart citation. S/Sgt Minick is in grave E-3-778 with home state of New Jersey with awards of an Air Medal and the Purple Heart. T/Sgt Jankowski, T/Sgt Holling, and S/Sgt McGinley are interred at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Section E Site 37. S/St Hultengren is interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Section C-25 Site 14268.

This B-26 Marauder, 42-96249, and crew were assigned to the 587^th Squadron of the 394^th Bomb Group. Another B-26, 42-107592, “Stinky,” of the 584^th Squadron of the 394^th Bomb Group collided with 42-96249 after icing up resulting in both planes crashing. This accident happened on June 6, 1944 over Battle, Sussex, England. Three crewmembers of 42-96249 were buried April 28, 1949 in Section E Plot 47 of the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

2/Lt Thomas F. Jenkins, Pilot Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

2/Lt Walter Winter Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

S/Sgt William Hoeb Zachary Taylor Nat’l Cemetery

S/Sgt Ralph Parker Cambridge American Cemetery

Sgt George Rogers Cambridge American Cemetery

Sgt Edward Bailey Cambridge American Cemetery

It was mission # 58 for the Group. The target were the gun positions at Varreville. Group Leader O'Neil; 34 a/c; dropped 61.25 ton bombs with excellent results. This was the first mission on D-Day for 394th BG.

42-107592 Crew:
Pilot Lt. Tommie Potts; managed to bail out and survived, five other crew members lost their lives. The aircraft evidently crashed, on the way to earth, with 42-96249. Both aircraft were found in the same vicinity.
1st Lt. Christian Burger
1st Lt. LeRoy Dyer
T/Sgt. George Kyle
S/Sgt. James Long
S/Sgt. George Williams

42-96249 Crew (all lost their lives):
Pilot 2nd Lt. Thomas Jenkins
2nd Lt. Walter Winter
S/Sgt. William Hoeb
S/Sgt. Ralph Parker
Sgt. George Rogers
Sgt. Edward Baily

Plaque unveiled to remember brave American aircrews

Residents gathered at the Royal British Legion in Battle for the unveiling of a plaque in memory of two American aircrews who lost their lives in a mid-air collision.

While on a mission to bomb gun emplacements in Varreville, France, on D-Day, June 6 1944, the two Marauder B26 Aircraft of 394 Squadron USAAF Bomber Group collided close to the town in poor weather.

The crew of 42-107592 remained on board to jettison bombs before crashing at Whatlington Level. Only the pilot survived the crash.

The crew of 42-96249 died when the plane crashed, causing extensive damage to Ashburnham Place.

At the time of the incident, Ian Cheveralls, then a messenger boy with the Civil Defence, was on duty at Warden Post at Whatlington Level, opposite Barrack Cottages. He said: "All of a sudden, the high pitched sound of crashing aircraft came from over the Whatlington area. "The aircraft was heading directly towards us. We fell to the ground. "Suddenly all the explosion and noise stopped and all we could see was dense smoke, coming from behind the houses towards us from Barrack Fields. "There was a terrific explosion from the direction of Netherfield area, and a parachute was coming down from the direction of Whatlington."

Mr Cheveralls later did some research into the incident and found out the names of the men who died from the American Airforce Aircraft Investigation.

Earlier in the year, the relatives of the sole survivor of the crash, Lt Tommy Potts, visited the scene and saw the plaque.

Mr Cheveralls has sponsored the brass plaque, which was made by his brother-in-law James Grant.

Mr Cheveralls said: "It is now that the true details are to hand of this incident we can now remember these airmen who, in the true light of that morning, with their devotion to duty, gave their lives."

This B-26, Marauder, crew was shot down on November 21, 1944 with Sgt Mote the only survivor. They were assigned to the 584^th Squadron of the 394^th Bomb Group. Six crewmembers were buried in Section E Plot 169-170 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery on October 18, 1949.

Captain Lawrence P. Harper - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

1/Lt William Andrews - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

1/Lt Paul Stephens - Buried in Arlington National Cemetery

1/Lt James Harrison - Buried in the American Cemetery in the Netherlands

2/Lt Kenneth Wolf - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

T/Sgt James Kelly,Jr. - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

S/Sgt Stuart Ottenheimer - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

Sgt Ralph Pagano - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

Sgt Howard Mote - POW

On November 21st 1944, Captain Harper and his crew were flying in the lead position of the second box of the formation bombing Neuweid, Germany when their B26 received a direct hit from anti aircraft fire, burst into flames and crashed. No parachutes were observed by other crews, but Sgt Howard Mote was later reported as a POW, the rest of the crew were killed.

The B-29 42-6286, “Praying Mantis”, assigned to the 677^th Squadron, 444^th Bomb Group crashed on August 20, 1944. The crew was buried on August 29, 1949 in Section E 112 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

Major Hamilton H Dyer, Jr, Aircraft Commander

1/Lt Hunter T, Railey, Copilot

2/Lt Roland L Albert, Navigator

2.Lt Douglas Salkin, Bombardier

T/Sgt Edward D, Crimmins, Flight Engineer

S/Sgt Walter C. Ciochon, Radio Operator

S/Sgt Edward C. Congro, Tailgunner

S/Sgt Michael T, Mignogna, Gunner

Sgt Erwin H, Mitchell, CFC

Sgt Lowell H Morris, Gunner

Sgt Raymond W, Perchorowicz, Radar Operator

Sixty-one of seventy-five B-29's of the 58th BW dispatched from Chengtu bomb the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata during the day with 96 tons of bombs; six B-29's attack secondary targets and targets of opportunity. B-29's claim 17 Japanese aircraft shot down. (Fourteen B-29's are lost in combat or due to operational accidents, including one from which the crew bails out over Soviet Territory. Two of the B-29's lost over Yawata are downed as a result of intentional ramming by a Ki-45. Among the many airmen lost is Col. Richard H. Carmichael, the 462nd BG commanding officer.

During the night of 20-21 August, ten of 13 B-29's taking off late from Chengtu attack the Yawata Iron Works; five attack secondary targets.

The remains of 42-6286 have just been found near Chengtu, China!

A Chinese gentleman first mentioned it to our e-mail group on 29 Oct 99 after he discovered it during a mountain trek. After more interest in this aircraft, Bernard Yang returned a year or two later for an 11 day expedition to identify it.

This is from Tom Britton, to Scotty McCall, then to Sparky Corradina:

"On return the formation was ordered to disperse and later radio direction finding calls were received from the aircraft by the XX BC Ground Radio Station stating that weather was deteriating and that they were lost, flying over an undercase and low on fuel. They subsequently crashed in the Shi-Ling Mountain near Cheng-du, China.

"The wreck was located in 2000 and was visited by a expedition of a local mountain climbing club organized by Mr. Bernard Yang who lives in Cheng-du. ... Apparently the site has never been visited and is located at 13,000 ft and takes 5 days by mule back to reach ...

This B-24, 42-64438, “Snow Goose,” and crew were assigned to the 700^th Squadron of the 445^th Bomb Group. The aircraft crashed on December 22, 1943 around 2:30 PM 1 kilometer southwest of Bolsward, Holland, off the Province of Friesland, with no survivors. Those found at the crash site were buried at the General Cemetery Bolsward. On September 21, 1949 five crewmembers of the “Snow Goose” were buried in Section E Site 101-102 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

2/Lt Clark, George J, Copilot

T/Sgt Entzminger, George H, Engineer

S/Sgt Folkner, Francis H, Gunner

1/Lt Nelson, Norman M, Pilot

2/Lt Silverman, Conrad, Navigator

2/Lt Bulger, Martin P. Jr, Bombardier Netherlands American Cemetery

S/Sgt Smith, Charles E, Radio Operator

S/Sgt King, James V, Gunner

S/Sgt Derd(z/s)enski, Walter, Gunner

S/Sgt Small, Asha P, Gunner Netherlands American Cemetery

This B-24 Liberator, 42-7643, “Ballsafire,” and crew were assigned to the 700^th Squadron of the 445^th Bomb Group. The aircraft was lost on the group’s March 16, 1944 mission to Friedrichshafen, Germany possibly due to mechanical trouble. On September 24, 1949 three members of the crew were buried in Section E Site 122 at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

2/Lt McCoy, Daniel F, Bombardier

S/Sgt Monnett, James R, Gunner

2/Lt Teasdale, Clark A, Copilot

1/Lt Raroha, Richard A, Pilot POW

2/Lt Williams, James J, Navigator Buried in the family cemetery in Texas

T/Sgt Fermyn, Charles J, Engineer POW

T/Sgt Martin, Andrew J, Radio Operator Lorraine American Cemetery

S/Sgt Fertig, Richard W, Gunner POW

S/Sgt Schaich, Wilfred J, Gunner POW

S/Sgt Radtke, Earl P, Gunner KIA

Researchers have found that this crew was supposed to be flying in a B-24 named "Sweatin' It Out" (42-7541). This aircraft was supposed to be flown by Lt. H. R. Larson. Why they traded planes will remain unknown.