Personnel

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             TOG    KIA 31 DEC 44  HAMBURG

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

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

   Sgt Leo O.Murphy                  BTG   POW  31DEC /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