Maj. Ralph H. Chapel was an Observer/Passenger aboard the B-29 #42-63545. It departed Tinian airfield at 1800hrs. 5 April 1945 on an experimental night incendiary bomb run to Kawasaki, Japan. The flight encountered heavy anti aircraft fire and enemy fighters over the target area. After the bomb run the aircraft was hit and shot down. It crashed on the Chiba peninsula. The aircrew bailed out. Maj. Chapel was captured by the Japanese and sent to Kempei HQ Prison in Tokyo. He and many other POW's were transferred on 16 April 1945 to the Shibuya POW camp in Tokyo, Japan. On night of 26 May 1945, Allied B-29's fire bombed Tokyo and the POW camp was burned to ground. The prisoners were killed in their cells or shot by guards trying to flee the inferno. His remains were recovered on 3 November 1949 and he was buried in a common memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific "Punchbowl" Honolulu, Hawaii.
Cenotaph memorial in Chapel Cemetery, Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan.
Cenotaph memorial in Chapel Cemetery, Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan.
Maj. Ralph H. Chapel was an Observer/Passenger aboard the B-29 #42-63545. It departed Tinian airfield at 1800hrs. 5 April 1945 on an experimental night incendiary bomb run to Kawasaki, Japan. The flight encountered heavy anti aircraft fire and enemy fighters over the target area. After the bomb run the aircraft was hit and shot down. It crashed on the Chiba peninsula. The aircrew bailed out. Maj. Chapel was captured by the Japanese and sent to Kempei HQ Prison in Tokyo. He and many other POW's were transferred on 16 April 1945 to the Shibuya POW camp in Tokyo, Japan. On night of 26 May 1945, Allied B-29's fire bombed Tokyo and the POW camp was burned to ground. The prisoners were killed in their cells or shot by guards trying to flee the inferno. His remains were recovered on 3 November 1949 and he was buried in a common memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific "Punchbowl" Honolulu, Hawaii.
Cenotaph memorial in Chapel Cemetery, Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan.
Cenotaph memorial in Chapel Cemetery, Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan.
Gravesite Details
This is a cenotaph, Ralph is actually buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Family Members
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