Photo Gallery

Award paperwork for Distinguished Flying Cross

Thomas E. Horak

Draped with belted .50 caliber ammunition U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Carl W. Toole, a gunner with 19th Bomb Wing, poses at the rear of his B-29 Stratofortress after completing his 43rd and last mission. Toole flew with the Far East Air Force during his Korean tour. He now has 131 missions, 900 combat hours, in two wars. Decorations include the Silver Star, Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and an Air Force Medal with 15 Oak Leaf Clusters. He's heading home. (Courtesy of DoD and Michael T. O'Toole)

May 14, 1945 taxi accident with 338681 XR-V

Hello! While searching for records about Frank E. Fetherston I've found your website and it's databases. I've found the description of his plane and place and time of his death. As I live close to that place I decided to visit it today, not by coincedence the 75th anniversary of the date of the crash. I hoped to find someone on the Wildermann Farm (reportedly the crash site) who could show me the place. I met, I still can't believe, Mr. Hermann Wildermann and asked him about the topic. He frankly told me that he remembers the place and the date.... he is 88 years old now (so he was 13 at the time) . I'll attach a picture of the site. With kind regards Frank Schäfer

100 BG / 350 BS 2LT BAXTER, JOHN E. JR. From Chariton, Iowa. MIA 28-7-1944 as co-pilot of B-17G / #42-97621 / LN-'A' / MACR 8173. Target: the Merseburg/Leuna oil refinery, Germany. During the return flight over the North Sea aircraft #42-32009 pulled up and struck #42-97621 with its vertical stabilizer. '621' dove straight down into the North Sea, 26 miles east of Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK. 9 MIA. '009' returned to base safely. 2Lt Baxter is commemorated on the Cambridge Cemetery Tablets of the Missing. Source of the portrait photograph: Pilot Class Book 44-B, Blackland Army Air Field, Arizona. Courtesy of my Fields of Honor Database colleague Corrina who indexed this class book.