First Lieutenant, 792nd Bomb Squadron, 468th Bomb Group, World War II.
Navigator 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.
~
He was the nephew of Mrs. Lucille Funk of Peoria, Illinois, and was working at Caterpillar Tractor Co., and was with the 130th National Guard Unit before he enlisted in Peoria on March 5, 1941 as a Sgt. and was able to get his commission as a 2nd Lt. at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was in an Armor Division before he transferred to the Air Corps as a future Navigator.
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
Navigator 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.
~
He was the nephew of Mrs. Lucille Funk of Peoria, Illinois, and was working at Caterpillar Tractor Co., and was with the 130th National Guard Unit before he enlisted in Peoria on March 5, 1941 as a Sgt. and was able to get his commission as a 2nd Lt. at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was in an Armor Division before he transferred to the Air Corps as a future Navigator.
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
First Lieutenant, 792nd Bomb Squadron, 468th Bomb Group, World War II.
Navigator 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.
~
He was the nephew of Mrs. Lucille Funk of Peoria, Illinois, and was working at Caterpillar Tractor Co., and was with the 130th National Guard Unit before he enlisted in Peoria on March 5, 1941 as a Sgt. and was able to get his commission as a 2nd Lt. at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was in an Armor Division before he transferred to the Air Corps as a future Navigator.
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
Navigator 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.
~
He was the nephew of Mrs. Lucille Funk of Peoria, Illinois, and was working at Caterpillar Tractor Co., and was with the 130th National Guard Unit before he enlisted in Peoria on March 5, 1941 as a Sgt. and was able to get his commission as a 2nd Lt. at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was in an Armor Division before he transferred to the Air Corps as a future Navigator.
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
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