Personnel

CREW:



1st Lt Albert F.Amiero                      P KIA    6 MAR 44   BERLIN         (this with a pick up crew, see note below)

1st Lt Kenneth I.Menzie                  CP XFR   7 OCT 43  ALCONBURY  (transferred to 482nd BG, Pathfinders, see note below)

                                                                                                    (on Aug 17, 1943 Capt. Norman Scott Crew, see note below)

2ND Lt Lloyd A. Hammarlund         BOM INT   17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG (flying with Lt Oakes Crew in High Life, see note below)

2nd Lt W.C. Abbey                      NAV CPT             ?                       (Transferred to 418th BS)

T/Sgt Russell G.Gilbert                  TTE KIA    6 MAR 44  BERLIN         (Flew with Lt Amiero "pick up" Crew,  see note below)

S/Sgt Earl Griggs                          BTG KIA    3 SEPT43  PARIS          (Flew as BTG with Lt Floyd Crew, see note below)

S/Sgt  Joe Raff                            LWG CPT  30 JAN 44  BRUNSWICK  (Flew with Capt Moede Crew, see note below)

S/SGT James W. Gregg                RWG POW  3 MAR 44  BERLIN         (Flew with Lt Gossage pick up Crew, see note below)

S/SGT Richard A. Tangradi               TG POW  4 FEB  44  FRANKFURT  (Flew with Lt John Brown Crew, see note below)

SGT    Jerry Korman                      ROG XFR    7 OCT 43  ALCONBURY  (transferred to 482nd BG, Pathfinders, see note below)



349th BS. Joined the 100th BG in July 1943. 



Our crew was assembled in Casper Wyoming Jan. 1943, from there we went to Lowrey Field in March 1943, on to Boise Idaho in May 1943 for advanced bombing and gunnery incidently we met the actor Jimmy Stewart who also was in training.  From Boise we went to Kearney Neb. To pick up our big bird, what a beautiful plane!  I say this because when we got to ta (Thorpe Abbotts) we were shocked to see what we had to fly in, a once proud lady was now a dirty smelly hulk! From Kearney we flew to Bangor Maine, we laid over in Bangor for a few days then we flew to Iceland.  We knew then were we were going,  we then flew to Prestwick Scotland, very pretty girls.



Now it gets interesting after we got to ta and settled in,  the enlisted men of our crew were sent to a place on the English coast. It was a camp for advanced air to air gunnery; it was run by a tiger by the name of Capt Cohen.  I'll never forget it when we went for our first briefing Capt Cohen walked in and said "good mourning gentlemen forget all they taught you about gunnery in the United States" gulp! We were there for about a week and he was right "shoot em and kill em". I also found out you can get hurt in this war  we went back to ta and found out the crew had been busted up. After awhile thru the grape vine and other resources we found why.



Lt. Amiero had a medical problem that took him off flying status for a while.  We never saw the four officers again! Lt. Amiero was probably stuck in some office job, one was sent to the 351st Sqdn (Lt Hammarlund) one was sent to the 418th Sqdn (Lt Abbey)  Lt Menzie was transferred to a pathfinder outfit (482nd BG) I believe he was the copilot… S/Sgt Richard Tangradi, TG Dec 8, 2005



Sgt J. Raff flying with Capt.Moede crew completed his 25th mission 30-1-44.  From what heard Joe transferred to a B-26 Marauder outfit and did 25 more, the danm nuttttt….rich



____________________________________________________________________________________

LT AMIERO and S/SGT GILBERT NOTE:



CREW



1st Lt Albert F.Amiero          P   KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN

F/O Howard L.Kilmer       CP  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN

2nd Lt Albert P.Rule       NAV  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN (from Lt. Leon Morgan Crew)

S/Sgt Thomas S.Elliott   TOG  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN

T/Sgt John J.Kovacs      ROG  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN (original 100th air echelon)

T/Sgt Russell G.Gilbert    TTE  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN (from original Lt Amiero Crew)

S/Sgt Virgil F.Summers   BTG  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN (from Lt Ford Crew)

S/Sgt Hobart H.Spires    WG  KIA     6/3/44  BERLIN (from original Sammy Barr Crew)

S/Sgt Owen D.Stockton  WG  POW  6/3/44  BERLIN (from Lt J.W. Brown Crew)

S/Sgt Thomas D.Baer               TG  KIA   6/3/44  BERLIN (from Lt Victor Reed Crew)

349th Sqdn.   See MACR #3019 (Micro fiche #1021).  Flying A/C #42 31731 on 6/3/44



This appears to be a "pick up" crew. Kilmer joined the 100th on 26/2/44 as an individual. Baer was from the original crew of Lt V.Reed. Kovacs was a "spare" on original 100th Air echelon. Stockton was from the crew of J.W.Brown. Hobart Spires (flying his 24th mission) was from the original crew of Sam L. Barr.

S/Sgt Virgil Summers was from the original Crew of Lt Ford. 2nd Lt A.P.Rule on original crew of Leon R.Morgan.

____________________________________________________________________________________

1st Lt KENNETH I. MENZIE AND SGT JERRY KORMAN NOTE:



Note on Menzie: was with 350th at the time of transfer. On 7/10/43 Special Orders #21 (Hdq. 3rd Bomber Division) the following crew was transferred from the 100th Bomb. Gp to the 482nd Bomb.Gp for Pathfinder training. Crew departed Thorpe Abbotts on 10/10/43 for Alconbury to join the 482 Bomb Group (Pathfinders)



1st Lt Kenneth I.Menzie   P (on Aug 17, 1943, copilot on Capt. Norman Scott Crew, manned gun in the nose)

* 2nd Lt Kenneth O. Blair  CP

2nd Lt Vanden J.Willey NAV

* Capt Norris G.Norman  BOM

Sgt Jerry (nmi)Korman ROG

* T/Sgt James E.Parks  TTE

* Sgt Blazier Paddy       TG

* Sgt Lewis D.Miller      BTG

Sgt Gordon D.Griffith  WG

* Sgt Britton I.Smith    WG



Those with Asterisks are members of the original crew of Norman H.Scott. According to Norris Norman,these men all CPT with the Pathfinders.  Scott and Strout were transferred to Bovingdon, to indoctrinate replacement crews.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2ND LT LLOYD A. HAMMARLUND NOTE:



CREW

1ST LT DONALD K. OAKES

ORGINAL 100TH PILOT, 351st BS



CREW #19  A/C #42-30080  "HIGH LIFE"



1ST LT  DONALD K. OAKES                   P: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

F/O     JOSEPH C. HARPER                   CP: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

2ND LT  HIRAM E. HARRIS, JR.           NAV: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

2ND LT  HOWARD G. BALL                BOM: POW  3 MAR 44 BERLIN

T/SGT   GEORGE W. ELDER               TTE: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

S/SGT   NOLAN D. STEVENS              WG: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

T/SGT   JAMES P. SCOTT                 ROG: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

S/SGT   LESLIE D. NADEAU               BTG: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

S/SGT   LEONARD P. GOYER              WG: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG

CPL     VINCENT E. McGRATH              TG: INT  17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG



HOWARD BALL'S PLACE ON CREW #19 WAS TAKEN BY 2ND LT LLOYD A. HAMMARLUND (from Lt Amiero original crew) WHO WAS INTERNED WITH THE OTHERS.



________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

S/SGT EARL GRIGGS NOTE:



CREW #23

351st  BS

Mission: Paris (Beaumont AF)

M.A.C.R.#685

Date: 3 Sept.1943

Aircraft #42-30059 "BARKER'S BURDENS"

Time: 0920

A/C last seen: Over Beaumont Airdrome at Evreux,France



CREW ABOARD:

Charles W.Floyd,Jr.    2nd Lt P KIA

Jack C.Boyd             2nd Lt CP KIA

Robert M.Rosenberg 2nd Lt NAV POW

Frank C.Coon           2nd Lt BOM POW

Theodore W.Price     T/Sgt ROG  KIA

John M.Neal              S/Sgt TTE KIA

Earl Griggs                 S/Sgt BTG KIA    (Replacement)

Dale P.Huffer            Sgt RWG  KIA       (Replacement)

Peter J.Theodore      1st Lt LWG KIA   (Gunnery Officer)

John K.Williams          S/Sgt TG KIA



Clouds obscured the primary target this day (the Renault plant at Paris) so the formation proceeded to its secondary target - the Beaumont le Roger Airdrome. There are conflicting accounts as to exactly what occurred, but the consensus seems to be that, while on the bomb run, the plane flown by Richard King (Crew #26) received a direct flak burst amidships and suddenly moved upwards striking the tail section of the ship flown by crew #23. King's ship then rapidly lost altitude and the plane carrying crew #23 exploded in mid air. One or more bombs released by Floyd's plane may have struck King's aircraft.



When Al Barker, regular pilot of this crew, was made Squadron Operations officer, Charles Floyd moved from the co-pilots to the pilots seat and Jack Boyd, who had flown overseas with the 100th unassigned to a crew, became the new co-pilot.



Earl Griggs and Dale Huffer were flying in place of regular crewmen, Willis Stroud and Robyn Fulton, while Lt. Peter Theodore flew this mission in place of Edwin Morgan.



Subj: Re: Sgt Earl Griggs  

Date: 7/9/2003 8:11:46 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

From: csrote@compuvision.net 

To: MPFaley@aol.com 

Sent from the Internet (Details) 

 

Hello, Michael,

    I'm glad to hear from you. I have a little other information about my uncle Earl Griggs. I have the standard photo in uniform that he sent home, a couple of records from his training, a list of next of kin and addresses of those on his plane, and three letters he sent home after his mother located him. Her letter to him is very poignant, describing the situation on the ranch. He was sort of a loner, one of 11 children, and he drifted away working here and there and wound up in the Army Air Corps. He wasn't in England long. He wrote his mother in May '43 from Casper, Wyoming, during training. His last letter of August 27 indicated that he was in several raids in July, but none in August. He said his squad had been broken up (one in the guard house and one in the hospital), and he was reassigned. Whether that was before the July raids, I can't tell. He was trained as a waist gunner, but from the Missing Crew report, he was in "The Morgue" when the plane went down. Not that the position had anything to do with his death. When you get the Navigator's report you will see that everything that could happen to a B-17 happened to that one.

    I am finishing the story of my grandparents, Foley and Jessie Griggs, who homesteaded in the mouth of a canyon, a historic passageway between the high plains (Llano Estacado) and the Canadian River valley. They raised 11 children on a sheep ranch. I've tried to get the historical underpinnings of my mother's accounts of living on the ranch. The research has taken some interesting turns, including the things I've found out about Earl. Earl's younger brother Gene was a Marine killed on Iwo Jima. They're buried next to each other in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

    Do you know of any indexes of names or nose art of the individual B-17's? I guess I could do an internet search. 

    I'll send you a packet. I can send a laser copy of the photo. Do you want copies of the letters? Thanks for info on the reunion. I'll check out the website and consider going. 

    Connie Srote

____________________________________________________________________________________

S/SGT JOE RAFF NOTE:



Bruce E.Alshouse of the J.G.Gossage crew writes (1986) that after the Gossage crew loss on 24/9/43, He, Theodore Don, and Mike Gillen (Bom & ROG) were assigned to the crew Of Capt. Donald H. Moede. Also on the Moede crew:



Capt. Donald H. Moede     P

2nd Lt Theodore Don    BOM (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)

M/Sgt. Art Gibbon          NAV

T/Sgt. Mike Gillen           ROG (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)

Sgt  Joe Raff                  WG (originally with Lt Amiero Crew, CPT on 30 JAN 44 Brunswick)

Sgt  Don Sackrider          WG (he was wlth J.G.Gossage on 3/3/44 and became a POW)

Sgt Richard Pearson       BTG

Sgt Bruce E. Alshouse      TG (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)



The CP was usually a replacement; Moede flew "The Laden Maiden" after Owen "Cowboy" Roane had flow her for 13 missions..jb



Sgt Joe Raff - FLEW 3 SEPT 43 PARIS MISSION WITH LT HENRY HENINGTON.

____________________________________________________________________________________

S/SGT JAMES W. GREGG NOTE:



CREW



1ST LT JOHN G. GOSSAGE                   P         POW     3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

2ND LT BERTRAND D. McNEILL            CP       POW     3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

F/O EDWARD A. WARNER        NAV POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

1ST LT HOWARD G. BALL         BOM POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

T/SGT MICHAEL G. POLANICK      ROG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

T/SGT ARTHUR A. COOPER       TTE POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

S/SGT THOMAS R. WOODERSON  BTG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

S/SGT JAMES W. GREGG          RWG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

S/SGT DONALD B. SACKRIDER      LWG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)

S/SGT ARTHUR V.R. CONGROVE      TG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)



MACR #3025,

Microfiche #1023

A/C #42-38017

349th Sqdn..

Lt Howard Ball was from the "Original” crew of Lt Donald Oakes and was wounded on 10 Jul 1943 Le Bourget mission. He had been hospitalized for a considerable period. On 3 Mar 44 this crew was flying in the #2 position of the lead element to the lead squadron. There was a tremendous cloud build up and as the lead element entered the cloud some following ships believed they saw an explosion as if a collision had occurred. Later VHF was heard from Gossage saying he intended to try for Sweden. Actually, he landed the plane on a Schlewig airfield (Denmark) thinking he was in Sweden. This probably gave the Germans their first intact B-17 which they later operated.



_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



S/SGT RICHARD A. TANGRADI NOTE:



Rich Tangradi 

349th, TAILGUNNER 

HORNY 1&2 & LADEN MAIDEN

POPB17TAN@aol.com

mr faley have many pics and stories of 349th came to thorpes abbotts july 43 as crewmember of lt al amiera (lt amiero) check spelling its along story why crew was dismantled. I  became spare gunner flew many missions lt hennington,  flew 25thmission to paris with the '' cowboy''  his 25th I mean trying to get all this stuff together ill close now keep in touch    rich tangradi (message board 100th bg)





Mr. faley got your message thanks  as best I can I will start from the beginning all dates are aprox. Our crew was assembled in casper wyoming jan. 1943,  from there we went to lowrey field in march on to boise idaho in may for advanced bombing and gunnery  incidently we met the actor jimmy stewert who also was in training, from boise we went to kearney neb. To pick up our big bird what a beautifull plane I say this because when we got to ta (thorpe abbotts)  we were shocked to see what we had to fly in, a once proud lady was now a dirty smelly hulk! From kearney we flew to bangor maine which was at the time the vd capitol of the states keep this statement in mind  we laid over in bangor for a few days we flew to iceland we knew then were we were going we then flew to prestwick scotland  very pretty girls.



Now it gets interesting after we got to ta and settled in the enlisted men of our crew were sent to a place on the english coast. It was a camp for advanced air to air gunnery, it was run by a tiger by the name of capt cohen ill never forget it when we went for our first briefing  capt cohen walked in and said "good mourning gentleman forget all they taught you about gunnery in the united states" gulp! We were there for about a week and he was right "shoot em and kill em".  I also found out you can get hurt in this war  we went back to ta and found out the crew had been busted  after awhile thru the grape vine and other resourses we found why.  



We never saw the four officers again  lt. amiero was probably stuck in some office job , one was sent to the 351 sqdn one was sent to the 418 sqdn  lt menzie was transferred to a pathfinder outfit I believe he was the navigator (CP..mpf)  true all true  mike    I have shots of these men in uniform  if you have a copy of contrails my war record  I can give you there names and page number there on,  how can I get these pictures to you the same with the enlisted men there all in contrails .

I have there names and sqdns there in.  When we get this squared away mike ill tell you about other crews and missions I was on    before I sign off I must tell you that my son and his wife bought me this pc this past june for my 81st birthday  im learning but its tough tough tough  bye…Richard Tangradi, TG  dec 8, 2005



Mike, here is a list of the crew.

 

Pilot - Lt. Al Amiero -  Page 172, Row 2, No. 7

Co-Pilot - Lt. Menzie - No photo

Bom. ? - Lt. L. Hammerlund - Page 206, Row 6, No. 4

Nav. ? - Lt. W. Abbey - Page 218, Row 1, No. 1  (not sure)



TTE/G - T/Sgt. R. Gilbert - Page 175, Row 4, No. 3

RO/G - S/Sgt. E. Griggs - Page 206, Row 4, No. 8

W/G - S/Sgt. J. Raff - Page 180, Row  3, No. 1

W/G - Sgt. J. Gregg  - Page 175, Row 6, No. 7

BT/G - T/Sgt. G. Holton - [Not sure - either with this crew or Hennington, either BT/G or TTE/G) -  Page 176,  Row 4, No. 8

T/G - S/Sgt. R. Tangradi - Page 181, Row 7, No. 7

 

I am not a member of the 100th Bomb Group Foundation.  Here is the information you need:

 

                 Richard A. Tangradi

                 HCR 1, Box 16P

                 Paupack, PA  18451

                 Tel. (570) 226-6387

 

The crew members photos are 2x3 and other photos are 4 x 5…….Rich Tangradi….TG on Amiero Crew (Dec 10, 2005



Mike a little confused here on last report you sent me sgt j. raff flying with capt.moede crew was shot down and captured  going thru pictures to send to you soon came across shot of joe being congratulated on completion of his 25th mission  bottom of shot are letters  gpr-98-2-100-30-1-44 -j.l.raff -25 missions.  From what heard joe transferred to B-26 maurder outfit and did 25 more  the damn nuttttt  am I right mike….   Rich tangradi TG on original Amiero Crew



mike,

 on my last message to you I meant to say I  would get back to you after xmass day have a little more to do on my missions and stories I came across something very interesting about our missing bt/g . On 12/11/05 you listed lt.menzie crew  I stopped at sgt. Jerry korman's name a bell went off  I know this guy I flew with him in the states im not sure mike but if I flew with korman it means he was a menber of lt. amiero's crew! He's not listed as a ro/g on menzies crew. Lets go back to same date s/sgt.earl griggs on org. crew of lt.amiero griggs flew bt/g on lt. floyd's crew kia as bt/g  lets go back to our training in the states. All gunners where classified like t/g was bombers armorer w/g was asst. armorer I think this was j.raff  tte/g took care turrets and sigths bt/g asst.engineer same job ro/g could be korman! w/g j.gregg asst. ro/g   mike I can't recall any turret gunner taking over ro/g position  don't forget theywere trained as radio/operaters  I don't think were looking for a bt/g mike!!!!!  One thougt I'll leave you with if I was lt. menzie and was told to get a crew together woud'nt you pick a guy from your original crew !!!??- I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE TO YOU MIKE     A POOPED OUT  RICH TANGRADI



CREW



2ND LT JOHN W.BROWN                    P EVADEE 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT ALBERT F. FITZPATRICK          CP POW    4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT THEODORE H. KLEINMAN      NAV EVADEE  4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT LAWSON W. CLEMENTS        BOM POW    4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

 S/SGT CHARLES R. AMBRUST            WG NOC

 S/SGT RICHARD F. BRADY              ROG NOC

 S/SGT LAWRENCE M. PRATT            TTE NOC

    SGT MILTON GRABEL                     TG KIA        25 MAY 44 BERLIN

    SGT GORDON F. KEON                BTG POW     4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

   SGT  OWEN D. STOCKTON            WG POW     6 MAR 44 BERLIN



349th Sqdn. Crew joined the 100th Gp on 28 Nov 1943.. Sgt Gordon Keon was the only enlisted man of this crew to particiapte in the Frankfurt mission of 4 FEB 44.  Other aboard for this mission and their fate is a follows:



 S/SGT GEORGE E. TOOMEY  ROG POW  (FROM C.I. MONTGOMERY CREW)

 S/SGT LOLA D. FLORIDA       TTE POW  (FROM C.I. MONTGOMERY CREW)

 S/SGT WILLIAM F. KEMP        WG KIA    (FIRST MISSION)

 S/SGT HAROLD F. JANDERUP  WG POW  (FROM LT HENINGTON CREW)    

 S/SGT RICHARD A. TANGRADI  TG POW (FROM original LT AMIERO CREW)



****************************************************************************************************************



CREW  

                            1ST LT ALVIN L. BARKER

                            ORGINAL 100TH PILOT



CREW #25  A/C #42-30059  "BARKER'S BURDENS"      MACR #685



1ST LT  ALVIN L. BARKER                    P;  KIA    8 OCT 43 BREMEN (WITH CREW 22, CAPT MURPHY CREW)

2ND LT  CHARLES W. FLOYD, JR         CP;  KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

2ND LT  ROBERT  N. ROSENBERG     NAV;  POW  3 SEP 43 PARIS     

2ND LT  FRANK C. COON                  BOM; POW  3 SEP 43 PARIS

T/SGT   WILLIAM H. STROUD            TTE; RFS    TRANSFERRED TO 447TH BG

S/SGT   EDWIN I. MORGAN                WG; POW  24 MAY 44 BERLIN  (With crew of E.J.Siewert)

T/SGT   THEODORE W. PRICE           ROG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

S/SGT   ROBYN P. FULTON                BTG; POW  6 MAR 44 BERLIN    (with G.W.Brannan)

S/SGT   JOHN K. WILLIAMS                WG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

S/SGT   JOHN M. NEAL                       TG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS



351st Sqdn. An Original crew with the 100th.  

Barker was made Operations officer of the 351st and Floyd became pilot of the crew. On 3/9/43,Lt Jack C.Boyd,who had flown overseas with the group as a spare, was the CP. Also,on 3/9/43,S/Sgt EARL GRIGGS & Dale Huffer were flying in place of Willis Stroud & Robyn Fulton and both were KIA as was Lt Boyd. Lt.Peter Theodore,Asst. Station Gunnery Officer,flew in place of Sgt. E.I.Morgan and was KIA. Sgt.Fulton had received a Purple Heart in Aug.1943. 



The following is from a conversation between Cowboy Roane and Paul West in 1991…Cowboy's remarks are from notes:



"I was with them at Paris and saw King's plane hit amidships by flak. It pitched up in and extreme nose high attitude and struck the tail section of Alvin's (Barker) plane. It seemed like slow motion, or maybe that is just my memory but they seemed to hang there for a time and then Richard (King) went straight down and Alvin (Barker) just exploded then and there. It was and still is a sad day for me, I had been Richard's (King) co-pilot in the states, the entire crew were my close friends. I also knew Alvin (Barker) from back in the states where we were squadron mates as well." 



Crash Information: FROM LT KING CASUALTY REPORT

The third aircraft to be involved in a massive mid-air collision in the Paris, France area. A salvoed bomb (from the high group) hit the No# 3 engine of aircraft 42-30059 piloted by 1/Lt Charles Floyd, which collided with aircraft 42-5865 piloted by Lt Victor Fienup, resulting in loss of control. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Richard King received a diredt falk burst amidships and sudden moved upward striking aircraft piloted by Lt Charles Floyd, this aircraft exploded.



CHARLES FLOYD HAD MOVED UP TO PILOT WHEN ALVIN BARKER BECAME SQUADRON OPERATIONS OFFICER, FLOYD'S CO-PILOT SEAT WAS TAKEN BY LT JACK C BOYD, WHO HAD FLOWN OVERSEAS WITH THE GROUP.  BOTH PILOTS WERE KIA. THE NAVIGATOR, LT  ROBERT ROSENBURG AND THE BOMBARDIER, LT FRANK COON, WERE PROABLY BLOWN OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT, BOTH BECAME POWS. S/SGT EARL GRIGGS AND SGT DALE HUFFERS WERE FLYING IN PLACE OF REGULAR CREWMEN, WILLIS STROUD AND ROBYN FULTON; BOTH WERE KIA.  LT PETER THEODORE, STATION ASSISTANT GUNNERY OFFICER, WAS ALSO ON BOARD AND WAS KIA. ALTHOUGH HE WAS NOT REQUIRED TO FLY MISSIONS THIS WAS HIS FOURTH. LT THEODORE WAS HELD IN HIGH ESTEEEM BY THE GUNNERS OF THE 100TH.



T/SGT   WILLIAM H. STROUD  TTE; RFS after 7 missions due to illness, TRANSFERRED TO 447TH BG



Robert Rosenberg changed name to Robert M.Rowen. Address:121 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd,PA 19004.



MISSIONS OF CAPT. ALVIN BARKER (from Paul Andrews appendix in Luck of the Draw by Frank Murphy…mpf)





#        DATE                         TARGET                               A/C #                 A/C NAME                       COMMENTS:



1.      26/06/43                    LeMANS                          230184                     MUGGS 

2.      28/06/43                    ST NAZAIRE                    230086                     BLACK JACK

3.      10/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS

NC     14/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       #3 ENGINE, RUNNING ROUGH

4.      17/07/43                    HAMBURG                       230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS  

                       CAPT. BARKER IS MADE 351ST OPERATIONS OFFICER

5.      26/07/43                    HANOVER                       230089                     SUNNY       (Low Squadron Lead with Glenn Dye Crew) 

6.      08/10/43                    BREMEN                           25864                     PICCADILLY LILY (shot down with Capt. Murphy Crew)  

**************************************************************************************************************

MISSIONS FLOWN WITH BOTH CAPT. BARKER AND LT FLOYD:



#        DATE                         TARGET                               A/C #                 A/C NAME                       COMMENTS:



1.      26/06/43                    LeMANS                          230184                     MUGGS 

2.      28/06/43                    ST NAZAIRE                    230086                     BLACK JACK

3.      10/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS

NC     14/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       #3 ENGINE, RUNNING ROUGH

4.      17/07/43                    HAMBURG                       230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS  

                       CAPT. BARKER IS MADE 351ST OPERATIONS OFFICER, LT FLOYD BECOMES 1ST PILOT

NC    25/07/43                     KIEL                               230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       BLEW TIRE ON TAKE OFF

5.     28/07/43                     OSCHERSLEBEN               230059                      BARKER'S BURDENS       RECALL

NC    29/07/43                     WARNEMUNDE                230059                      BARKER'S BURDENS       RETURNED EARLY, OXYGEN LEAK

6.     30/07/43                     KASSEL                          230057                      RAUNCHY

7.     12/08/43                     WESSELING                    230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN

NC    17/08/34                     REGENSBURG                  230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN        RETURNED EARLY, ENGINE FAILURE

8.     19/08/43                     WOENSDRECHT              230035                      TORCHY

9.     24/08/43                     EVREUX-FAUVILLE           230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN

10.   03/09/43                     PARIS                            230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN        MID AIR COLLISION        

          



CREW #23

351st  BS

Mission: Paris (Beaumont AF)

 M.A.C.R.#685

Date: 3 Sept.1943 Aircraft #42-30059  "BARKER'S BURDENS"

Time: 0920

A/C last seen: Over Beaumont Airdrome at Evreux,France



CREW ABOARD:

 Charles W.Floyd,Jr.   2nd Lt P    KIA (see above for Floyd's original crew)

 Jack C.Boyd             2nd Lt CP    KIA

 Robert M.Rosenberg 2nd Lt N    POW

 Frank C.Coon           2nd Lt B    POW

 Theodore W.Price    T/Sgt R    KIA

 John M.Neal             S/Sgt E    KIA

 Earl Griggs               S/Sgt BT   KIA (Replacement)

 Dale P.Huffer           Sgt RWG   KIA (Replacement)

 Peter J.Theodore     1st Lt LWG  KIA (Gunnery Officer)

 John K.Williams         S/Sgt TG    KIA



FROM CASUALTY REPORT FOR RICHARD KING: Crash Information:

The third aircraft to be involved in a massive mid-air collision in the Paris, France area. A salvoed bomb (from the high group) hit the No# 3 engine of aircraft 42-30059 piloted by 1/Lt Charles Floyd, which collided with aircraft 42-5865 piloted by Lt Victor Fienup, resulting in loss of control. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Richard King received a diredt falk burst amidships and sudden moved upward striking aircraft piloted by Lt Charles Floyd, this aircraft exploded."



When Al Barker,regular pilot of this crew,was made Squadron Operations officer, Charles Floyd moved from the co-pilots to the pilots seat and Jack Boyd,who had flown overseas with the 100th unassigned to a crew,became the new co-pilot.



Earl Griggs and Dale Huffer were flying in place of regular crewmen,Willis Stroud and Robyn Fulton, while Lt. Peter Theodore flew this mission in place of Edwin Morgan.



Lt.Theodore,Assistant Station Gunnery officer and and a very early member of th 100th,was under no duty or obligation to fly combat missions but he firmly be-leived that only by knowing at first hand the problems encountered by combat crew gunners could he be of help to them and gain their trust and respect. This was the fourth mission he had flown and he had demonstrated great coolness and courage in action.







Of interest in this regard is the following statement given by Robert Rosenberg many months after the event:



"The target, the Renault Works at Paris, was hidden by cloud when our group reached the target area.  Flak was relatively heavy and fairly accurate.  Our Group commander was knocked out of the formation and during the ensuing period in which the deputy commander moved into the group lead our plane was hit in the number three engine.  Through skillful flying, Lts. Floyd and Boyd were able to keep control and maintain our position, No. 3, low squadron, low group.  As we proceeded away from the target area to the secondary target at Evreux, German fighters joined the attack.  We reached Paris at 0845 but did not leave until almost 0900.  The fighters succeeded in sending many bullets through the plane without causing any injury to any crew members or any material damage to the plane.



"At about 0920 I began re loading the nose guns from the ammunition case on which I was sitting while the bombardier kept a sharp lookout.  I had finished loading two of the guns when the pilot began to say something over the intercom.  Before he could finish speaking, he, the co pilot and bombardier apparently saw German fighters re forming to renew the attack.  I began firing the right nose gun at an incoming fighter and while so engaged felt the plane jump violently.  Observers whom I met later tell me that a plane salvoed its bombs from the high squadron just before it blew up.  One of the bombs hit our already damaged and feathered #3 engine and caused our plane to maneuver into the plane of the flight leader (m is was Lt. V. Fienup  Crew #21), from which plane, already on fire, the crew members were bailing out.  Our plane was now out of formation with the left wing tip and right mid wing section ablaze.  The pilot and copilot were still fighting and managing to retain a modicum of control.  German fighters were closing in on us and everybody was concentrating on returning the fire of these oncoming ships. Word came across the intercom to abandon ship but before I could make a move, the ship seemingly exploded.  I recovered consciousness four days later.  We were not permitted any freedom while in the hospital at Paris but from what little I could learn, the bombardier, Frank C. Coon, and I were the only survivors. All the while we were imprisoned; we fruitlessly sought to learn of some small word of the fate of the rest of the crew."



Frank Cocn was also blown from the ship but recovered in time to pull the ripcord.



John M. Neal is commemorated on The Wall of the Missing at the Brittany American Cementary.



Dale Huffer is commemorated on The Wall of the Missing at The Lorraine American Cementary, Saint Avold, France.



LT CHARLES W. FLOYD BURIED: AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY AT OMAHA BEACH GRAVE D-7-40





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