Tail gunner aboard U.S. Army Air Forces B-29-15-BW Superfortress #62-6389,
nicknamed "Party Girl."
Returning at night from a bombing mission over the aircraft factories at Mukden (Shenyang), Manchuria, China, the aircrew encountered icing conditions as they began to let down through undercast as they approached their airbase Pengshan (A-7) at Chengdu. The aircraft attempted to climb back up, but at some point went out of sight of the other aircraft. It apparently lost control and crashed into the north face of Mt. Hawo, near the Hubei-Sichuan border region (approx. 32°10'n 108°37'E coordinates). Villagers heard a tremendous explosion, and the next day trekked to the crash site. All eleven airmen aboard had been killed. They buried four of the crewmembers at the site and brought seven back to the village of Wan Yuan and buried those men in the local cemetery. U.S. Army personnel arrived in the area on January 13, 1945, and some days later also made the journey to the crash site. But snows of three to five feet made investigation difficult. Sometime after (perhaps in the springtime), the four remaining crewmembers' bodies were recovered.
Missing Air Crew Report № 10100.
The aircrew killed were:
1st Lt. Calvin L Lyons, Pilot
2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybesma, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Waldo B Schneider, Navigator
1st Lt. John A Bucher, Bombardier
1st Lt. James W Smith, Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Sisto A Aldieri, Right Gunner
S/Sgt. Neuman A Bodart, Radar Operator
S/Sgt. Laverne A Fink, Left Gunner
Sgt. William B Jackson, CFC Gunner
S/Sgt. Joseph Micciche, Radio Operator
Sgt. Russell W Peters, Tail Gunner
~
The official description:
Failed to return from the mission and was contacted 1 hour and 15 minutes from A-7 (Pengshan). The element leader contacted 42-6389 and told Aircraft Commander Lt. Lyons to break up formation in order to start descent through the undercast. 42-6389 answered back and started a 360-degree turn, which is normal procedure for aircraft flying in the #3 position. The element leader started a descend into the undercast but upon finding that ice was beginning to form on the wings very quickly decided to climb above the undercast and make a quick descent in the general area of A-7. 42-6389 was never seen again after starting the 360-degree turn.
THE YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1947, PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
FUNERAL OF SGT. PETERS TO BE HELD AT 2 FRIDAY
Funeral services for S/Sgt. Russell W. Peters, aged 24, who was killed returning from a bombing mission over Mukden, Manchuria, Dec. 7, 1944, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Tod Homestead Cemetery Chapel.
Sergeant Peters was born in Youngstown Oct. 12, 1920, a son of William and Selma Wellendorf Peters of 415 W. Evergreen Ave. Before entering the service he worked at Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation's McDonald works. He was a member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church. The sergeant had been in the army three years, serving on a B-29.
Besides his parents, the Youngstown war hero leaves a brother, Paul, and his grandmother, Mrs. Louise Wellendorf, both of Youngstown.
Friends may call at the Weller Funeral Home Thursday evening. The body will be taken to the cemetery chapel Friday at noon and will lie in state until time for the funeral services.
~
Service ID: 35389414.
nicknamed "Party Girl."
Returning at night from a bombing mission over the aircraft factories at Mukden (Shenyang), Manchuria, China, the aircrew encountered icing conditions as they began to let down through undercast as they approached their airbase Pengshan (A-7) at Chengdu. The aircraft attempted to climb back up, but at some point went out of sight of the other aircraft. It apparently lost control and crashed into the north face of Mt. Hawo, near the Hubei-Sichuan border region (approx. 32°10'n 108°37'E coordinates). Villagers heard a tremendous explosion, and the next day trekked to the crash site. All eleven airmen aboard had been killed. They buried four of the crewmembers at the site and brought seven back to the village of Wan Yuan and buried those men in the local cemetery. U.S. Army personnel arrived in the area on January 13, 1945, and some days later also made the journey to the crash site. But snows of three to five feet made investigation difficult. Sometime after (perhaps in the springtime), the four remaining crewmembers' bodies were recovered.
Missing Air Crew Report № 10100.
The aircrew killed were:
1st Lt. Calvin L Lyons, Pilot
2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybesma, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Waldo B Schneider, Navigator
1st Lt. John A Bucher, Bombardier
1st Lt. James W Smith, Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Sisto A Aldieri, Right Gunner
S/Sgt. Neuman A Bodart, Radar Operator
S/Sgt. Laverne A Fink, Left Gunner
Sgt. William B Jackson, CFC Gunner
S/Sgt. Joseph Micciche, Radio Operator
Sgt. Russell W Peters, Tail Gunner
~
The official description:
Failed to return from the mission and was contacted 1 hour and 15 minutes from A-7 (Pengshan). The element leader contacted 42-6389 and told Aircraft Commander Lt. Lyons to break up formation in order to start descent through the undercast. 42-6389 answered back and started a 360-degree turn, which is normal procedure for aircraft flying in the #3 position. The element leader started a descend into the undercast but upon finding that ice was beginning to form on the wings very quickly decided to climb above the undercast and make a quick descent in the general area of A-7. 42-6389 was never seen again after starting the 360-degree turn.
THE YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1947, PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
FUNERAL OF SGT. PETERS TO BE HELD AT 2 FRIDAY
Funeral services for S/Sgt. Russell W. Peters, aged 24, who was killed returning from a bombing mission over Mukden, Manchuria, Dec. 7, 1944, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Tod Homestead Cemetery Chapel.
Sergeant Peters was born in Youngstown Oct. 12, 1920, a son of William and Selma Wellendorf Peters of 415 W. Evergreen Ave. Before entering the service he worked at Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation's McDonald works. He was a member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church. The sergeant had been in the army three years, serving on a B-29.
Besides his parents, the Youngstown war hero leaves a brother, Paul, and his grandmother, Mrs. Louise Wellendorf, both of Youngstown.
Friends may call at the Weller Funeral Home Thursday evening. The body will be taken to the cemetery chapel Friday at noon and will lie in state until time for the funeral services.
~
Service ID: 35389414.
Tail gunner aboard U.S. Army Air Forces B-29-15-BW Superfortress #62-6389,
nicknamed "Party Girl."
Returning at night from a bombing mission over the aircraft factories at Mukden (Shenyang), Manchuria, China, the aircrew encountered icing conditions as they began to let down through undercast as they approached their airbase Pengshan (A-7) at Chengdu. The aircraft attempted to climb back up, but at some point went out of sight of the other aircraft. It apparently lost control and crashed into the north face of Mt. Hawo, near the Hubei-Sichuan border region (approx. 32°10'n 108°37'E coordinates). Villagers heard a tremendous explosion, and the next day trekked to the crash site. All eleven airmen aboard had been killed. They buried four of the crewmembers at the site and brought seven back to the village of Wan Yuan and buried those men in the local cemetery. U.S. Army personnel arrived in the area on January 13, 1945, and some days later also made the journey to the crash site. But snows of three to five feet made investigation difficult. Sometime after (perhaps in the springtime), the four remaining crewmembers' bodies were recovered.
Missing Air Crew Report № 10100.
The aircrew killed were:
1st Lt. Calvin L Lyons, Pilot
2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybesma, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Waldo B Schneider, Navigator
1st Lt. John A Bucher, Bombardier
1st Lt. James W Smith, Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Sisto A Aldieri, Right Gunner
S/Sgt. Neuman A Bodart, Radar Operator
S/Sgt. Laverne A Fink, Left Gunner
Sgt. William B Jackson, CFC Gunner
S/Sgt. Joseph Micciche, Radio Operator
Sgt. Russell W Peters, Tail Gunner
~
The official description:
Failed to return from the mission and was contacted 1 hour and 15 minutes from A-7 (Pengshan). The element leader contacted 42-6389 and told Aircraft Commander Lt. Lyons to break up formation in order to start descent through the undercast. 42-6389 answered back and started a 360-degree turn, which is normal procedure for aircraft flying in the #3 position. The element leader started a descend into the undercast but upon finding that ice was beginning to form on the wings very quickly decided to climb above the undercast and make a quick descent in the general area of A-7. 42-6389 was never seen again after starting the 360-degree turn.
THE YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1947, PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
FUNERAL OF SGT. PETERS TO BE HELD AT 2 FRIDAY
Funeral services for S/Sgt. Russell W. Peters, aged 24, who was killed returning from a bombing mission over Mukden, Manchuria, Dec. 7, 1944, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Tod Homestead Cemetery Chapel.
Sergeant Peters was born in Youngstown Oct. 12, 1920, a son of William and Selma Wellendorf Peters of 415 W. Evergreen Ave. Before entering the service he worked at Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation's McDonald works. He was a member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church. The sergeant had been in the army three years, serving on a B-29.
Besides his parents, the Youngstown war hero leaves a brother, Paul, and his grandmother, Mrs. Louise Wellendorf, both of Youngstown.
Friends may call at the Weller Funeral Home Thursday evening. The body will be taken to the cemetery chapel Friday at noon and will lie in state until time for the funeral services.
~
Service ID: 35389414.
nicknamed "Party Girl."
Returning at night from a bombing mission over the aircraft factories at Mukden (Shenyang), Manchuria, China, the aircrew encountered icing conditions as they began to let down through undercast as they approached their airbase Pengshan (A-7) at Chengdu. The aircraft attempted to climb back up, but at some point went out of sight of the other aircraft. It apparently lost control and crashed into the north face of Mt. Hawo, near the Hubei-Sichuan border region (approx. 32°10'n 108°37'E coordinates). Villagers heard a tremendous explosion, and the next day trekked to the crash site. All eleven airmen aboard had been killed. They buried four of the crewmembers at the site and brought seven back to the village of Wan Yuan and buried those men in the local cemetery. U.S. Army personnel arrived in the area on January 13, 1945, and some days later also made the journey to the crash site. But snows of three to five feet made investigation difficult. Sometime after (perhaps in the springtime), the four remaining crewmembers' bodies were recovered.
Missing Air Crew Report № 10100.
The aircrew killed were:
1st Lt. Calvin L Lyons, Pilot
2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybesma, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Waldo B Schneider, Navigator
1st Lt. John A Bucher, Bombardier
1st Lt. James W Smith, Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Sisto A Aldieri, Right Gunner
S/Sgt. Neuman A Bodart, Radar Operator
S/Sgt. Laverne A Fink, Left Gunner
Sgt. William B Jackson, CFC Gunner
S/Sgt. Joseph Micciche, Radio Operator
Sgt. Russell W Peters, Tail Gunner
~
The official description:
Failed to return from the mission and was contacted 1 hour and 15 minutes from A-7 (Pengshan). The element leader contacted 42-6389 and told Aircraft Commander Lt. Lyons to break up formation in order to start descent through the undercast. 42-6389 answered back and started a 360-degree turn, which is normal procedure for aircraft flying in the #3 position. The element leader started a descend into the undercast but upon finding that ice was beginning to form on the wings very quickly decided to climb above the undercast and make a quick descent in the general area of A-7. 42-6389 was never seen again after starting the 360-degree turn.
THE YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1947, PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
FUNERAL OF SGT. PETERS TO BE HELD AT 2 FRIDAY
Funeral services for S/Sgt. Russell W. Peters, aged 24, who was killed returning from a bombing mission over Mukden, Manchuria, Dec. 7, 1944, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Tod Homestead Cemetery Chapel.
Sergeant Peters was born in Youngstown Oct. 12, 1920, a son of William and Selma Wellendorf Peters of 415 W. Evergreen Ave. Before entering the service he worked at Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation's McDonald works. He was a member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church. The sergeant had been in the army three years, serving on a B-29.
Besides his parents, the Youngstown war hero leaves a brother, Paul, and his grandmother, Mrs. Louise Wellendorf, both of Youngstown.
Friends may call at the Weller Funeral Home Thursday evening. The body will be taken to the cemetery chapel Friday at noon and will lie in state until time for the funeral services.
~
Service ID: 35389414.
Inscription
SSGT, 792 AAF BOMB SQ, 468 BOMB GP WORLD WAR II
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