Personnel

CREW

DATE: 11 Sept.1944           

350th Sqdn.           

A/C #44-6089 "LEADING LADY"

MISSION: RUHLAND                                      MACR #8811,Micro-fiche 3234





1st Lt Lawrence W.Riegel          P       KIA

2nd Lt Joseph R.Johnson        CP      KIA

2nd Lt George H.Prater        NAV        POW/SWA

2nd Lt Charles L.Dolby          BOM       POW

 TJSgt Ray S.Deming,Jr.        ROG       KIA

 T/Sgt Edgar L.Herrick          TTE        KIA

 S/Sgt Nestor A.Celleghin     BTG        POW

 S/Sgt Phillip D.Mangan        WG         KIA

 S/Sgt Jewell D.Spruell          TG         KIA



350th Sqdn. Crew,as above,joined the 100th Group on 4/7/44.

21th mission for this crew.



Following is a statement by Lt.Dolby in a letter dated 23 July 1945.



"We were attacked by German fighters,Southeast of Dresden, Germany, while on a

mission to Ruhland,  Germany on Sept.11, 1944 at about 12:20.  After the first

attack we had our interphone knocked out and the oxygen supply under the pilots

compartment was on fire.. Due to lack of interphone we could not carry on a

conversation and I know nothing of what took place in the rear of the ship.

The Navigator,  Lt.Prater and I jumped due to the burning condition of the

plane.



According to our ball turrett gunner who I met at Camp Lucky Strike in France,

he said he was blown out of his turret and parachuted to safety, also he mentioned

that our vertical stablizer and horizontal stablizers were blown off.  He is

S/Sgt Nestor Celleghin.





#          Date    Aircraft Nbr & Name                 Target



1.      7/17/1944 3413-HARD LUCK                      AUXERRE & MONTGOURNOY

2.      7/18/1944 106986-SACK ARTIST               KIEL & HEMMINGSTADT

3.      7/19/1944 3413-HARD LUCK                      SCHWEINFURT & DUREN

4.      7/20/1944 31220-FLETCHER'S CASTORIA II MERSEBURG

5.      7/21/1944 31903-HARD LUCK II                  REGENSBURG

6.      7/24/1944 31220-FLETCHER'S CASTORIA II  ST LO (GND SUPPORT)

7.      7/25/1944 31220-FLETCHER'S CASTORIA II  ST LO (GND SUPPORT)

8.      7/28/1944 102657-BOSS LADY                   MERSEBURG

9.      7/29/1944 102657-BOSS LADY                   MERSEBURG

10.      8/2/1944 31220-FLETCHER'S CASTORIA II  TERGNIER/LAFERE

11.      8/3/1944 3413-HARD LUCK                       TROYES (RAIL YARD)

12.      8/4/1944 37882-HAPPY-GO-LUCKY            HAMBURG (OIL)

13.      8/5/1944 97924-PARTY TONIGHT             MAGDEBURG

14.      8/6/1944 97924-PARTY TONIGHT             BERLIN

15.      8/7/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            BEAUTOR (BRIDGES)

16.      8/8/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            ST. SYLVIAN

17.    8/14/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            LUDWIGSHAVEN (OIL)

18.    8/15/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            VENLO

19.      9/5/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            STUTTGART (AERO ENGS)

20.    9/10/1944 37994-MY BLUE HEAVEN            NURNBURG

21.    9/11/1944 6089-LEADING LADY                  RUHLAND (OIL)





Lieutenant Lawrence W. Riegel

350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group



Pottsville Journal 

Sept, 11. 1944



Riegel a 20 year old pilot for the Eighth Air Force, stationed somewhere in England has been awarded the Air Medal in recognition of “exceptionally meritorious achievement” in the air war in Europe.

Lt. Riegel has to his credit three missions to Merseberg, Germany where important synthetic oil plants were blasted, and attacks on targets at Berlin, Hamburg, Kiel and Magdeburg, as well as other industrial citadels in Germany. At Magdeburg his B-17 Flying Fortress suffered severe damage from the flak badly damaging the tail, so that he had extreme difficulty in bringing the bomber back to its base in England.

He graduated from Port Carbon High School and was a student at Penn State Central before entering the Army Air Corps.



Note the day this article was in the Pottsville Journal September 11, 1944 Lt. Riegel was on a mission to the Rhuland Oil fields flying the B-17 Leading Lady this crew was lost at Ruhland September 11, 1944 with six members KIA..