Personnel

CREW



    Lt Carl J.Hedin                 P       NOC

    Lt John S.Norton              CP      CPT    2/10/44 KASSEL 

    Lt Merrill W.Toburen          NAV    CPT    21/1/45 MANNHIEM (BRIDGES)

    Lt Everett E.Linn              BOM   CPT   17/3/45 RUHLAND & PLAUEN

 S/Sgt George J.Robinson   ROG    KIA     31/12/44 HAMBURG SEE NOTE A HENDERSON CREW LIST BELOW

 S/Sgt James W.Shepard      TTE      KIA     31/12/44 HAMBURG

   Sgt Leo O.Murphy           BTG     POW  31/12/44 HAMBURG

   Sgt Fred Horcasitas       WG       KIA      31/12/44 HAMBURG

   Sgt Frank S.Sauls         TG        POW    31/12/44 HAMBURG



351st Sqdn.  Crew,as above, appears as Crew #50 on Combat Crew Roster of 18/9/44. On 5/8/44 Norton was CP on the 

crew of N.P.Scott and Toburen was NAV on crew of J.P.Ernst.



The five above enlisted men were with the crew of Floyd E.Henderson on 31/12/44. Henderson, himself,was CP on the 

crew of R.L.Stevenson when that crew joined the 100th Group on 14/7/44.  When this crew arrived at the 100th in late 

July 1944, the CP was 2nd Lt.Milton H. LaFranchi who CPT on 4/3/45. Also on the crew was Cpl. John R.Nickolls,a gunner.





CREW

On the  31 DEC 44 ( HAMBURG) mission,  FLOYD E. HENDERSON was the first pilot of this crew..Appears mainly that of Carl J. HEDIN...jb

    A/C #42-31066 "Fools Rush In"  MACR #11366, MICRO-FICHE #4183



2ND LT FLOYD E. HENDERSON  P        KIA 31 DEC 44                HAMBURG

2nd  Lt   Richard W. King         CP    KIA 31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

2nd   Lt   George J. Smigo, Jr            NAV     POW 31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

S/Sgt  Elmer L. Kovach                           TOGG   KIA 31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

S/Sgt George J.Robinson             ROG   KIA  31DEC 44  HAMBURG

 S/Sgt James W.Shepard                   TTE     KIA   31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

   Sgt Leo O.Murphy                           BTG    POW       31 DEC /44  HAMBURG

   Sgt Fred Horcasitas                        WG      KIA     31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

   Sgt Frank S.Sauls                           TG       POW   31 DEC 44  HAMBURG





 EYEWITNESS:  "A/C 42-31066 recieved a direct hit by flak just before "Bombs Away" , and the bombs were salvoed. 

    The A/C fell off on the right wing and dropped onto A/C #43-38124 piloted by Lt Clifton M. Williams.

   . Both aircraft went down in flames  and one exploded" (See Williams crew below)



Lt Clifton M.Williams     P   KIA   31/12/44 HAMBURG

Lt Kenneth W.Newkirk  CP  KIA "

Lt Richard F.Williams   NAV  KIA " A/C #43 38124

Lt Lawrence W.Ward   BOM  POW  " MACR #11363,Fiche #4182

T/S/Sgt Charles J.McGinley  ROG  KIA " 

T/Sgt .Alvin H.Petteys   TTE  KIA "

S/Sgt Lee F.Carpenter   BTG  KIA "

S/Sgt  James H.Murphy        WG   POW  "  TAPS: 1973

  Cpl  Gordon R.Sinclair     TG   CPT  15 /3/45 ORANIENBURG /WITH THE S. JOHNSON CREW AS NAV (see note)



351st Sqdn. Sqdn Diary of Sept.1944 notes this crew as joining the 100th Group in Sept. A Cpl.Harvey J.Lehman was 

on the crew at that time but no further record of him has turned up.



On 31/12/44, S/Sgt Roland L.Douglas,from the crew of Gerald Brown,was flying in place of Gordon Sinclair and was 

made a POW.



Note

Gordon Sinclair was removed from Navigator's school one day short of graduation for some unknown infraction, proably the Training Command acted  a bit over zealous in view of the need for trained Navigators.  The 351st Sqdn. Commander (Harry Cruver, a man known to have had some disagreements with training command personnel during his cadet days) corrected this bit of over zealousness by immediately promoting Sinclair to M/Sgt and  making him the Navigator for the Sidney Johnson crew, where he completed a tour.  This from Charles M. Beck, of the Sidney Johnson crew..pw