T/Sgt Joe A Atchley flew 30 missions with the 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group flying out of Thurleigh during the period 10 Nov 1943 to 24 Apr 1944. He was a B-17 radio operator/gunner. He volunteered for missions to complete his 30-mission requirement quickly. Ironically his original crew under the command of Cpt Charles Oliver suffered battle damage and diverted to Switzerland where they were interned until the end of the war.

Returning to the States Joe volunteered for duty with B-29s. Joe and his crew, #3917, were one of the first in the 39th Bomb Squadron, 6th Bomb Group flying out of Tinian. They arrived on Tinian 10 Mar 1945. Upon arrival at Tinian, the crew was unhappy to find that they were losing both their plane and their A/C. Cpt Barney R. Olive (A/C) swapped places with 1/Lt Donald M. Fox, former Pilot on Crew #3901. The reason for this swap was to allow Cpt Olive to gain combat experience with an experienced crew and to allow Crew #3917 to gain combat experience with an experienced A/C. The crew completed 9 missions before being shot down over Tokyo on a night incendiary mission the night of 25/26 May 1945. Only one crew member, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, survived.
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In the Charles D Oliver crew photo the names on the front row are reversed. Joe Atchley is on the right end of the row.
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In the B-29 crew picture, aircraft 42-63558 "Tokyo Trolley", the crew members are (front row) 2/Lt Walter L Wentz, Jr, radar operator, 2/Lt John W France, navigator, 1/Lt Donald M Fox, aircraft commander, 2/Lt Leland L Sanderson, co-pilot, 1/Lt Herman W Thomas, bombardier, (back row) S/Sgt Charles W Snell, tail gunner, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, left waist gunner, S/Sgt Robert E Warren, right waist gunner, S/Sgt Donald R Arnston, top turret gunner, S/Sgt Charles E Barron, engineer, T/Sgt Joe A Atchley, radio operator. It is believed that the picture was taken the day of the last mission, May 25, 1945.

Joe Atchley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.
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The crew:

2 Lt. Walter L Wentz
2 Lt. John W France
1 Lt. Donald M Fox
2 Lt. Leland T Sanderson
1 Lt. Herman W Thomas
S/Sgt. Charles W Snell
S/Sgt. Harry D Magnuson POW
S/Sgt. Robert E Warren
S/Sgt. Donald R Arntsen
S/Sgt. Charles E Barron
T/Sgt. Joe A Atchley