William Shearman Doolittle was onboard a B-29, nicknamed "Mighty Mouse", which, on 7 October 1945, crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles off Guam. As one of eleven army air force personnel from the 333rd Bomb Group, 435th Bomb Squadron, the plane departed Kadena Air Base, in Okinawa, Japan with a destination of Harmon Air Force Base in Guam. This was a "ferry" mission - the transportation of specific individuals, in this case, Brig. Gen. Joe L Loutzenheiser. On this day there was continuous rain with a ceiling of 1000ft, and visibility of 5/16 to 5/8 mile. According to the reports of the three survivors, one of the engines caught fire, the propeller blew off and ripped out all the electronics in the process. With the radio gone, only those at the front of the plane knew to bail out. Bill, was at the tail end and wouldn't have heard the order, in addition to six others. The weather made it difficult to do the search and rescue, but three survivors were rescued the following day. Two bodies were recovered and buried at sea. Bill's body was never found and is believed to have gone down with the plane.
William Shearman Doolittle was onboard a B-29, nicknamed "Mighty Mouse", which, on 7 October 1945, crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles off Guam. As one of eleven army air force personnel from the 333rd Bomb Group, 435th Bomb Squadron, the plane departed Kadena Air Base, in Okinawa, Japan with a destination of Harmon Air Force Base in Guam. This was a "ferry" mission - the transportation of specific individuals, in this case, Brig. Gen. Joe L Loutzenheiser. On this day there was continuous rain with a ceiling of 1000ft, and visibility of 5/16 to 5/8 mile. According to the reports of the three survivors, one of the engines caught fire, the propeller blew off and ripped out all the electronics in the process. With the radio gone, only those at the front of the plane knew to bail out. Bill, was at the tail end and wouldn't have heard the order, in addition to six others. The weather made it difficult to do the search and rescue, but three survivors were rescued the following day. Two bodies were recovered and buried at sea. Bill's body was never found and is believed to have gone down with the plane.
Inscription
Tablets of The Missing - Wall of Army Air Force WWII, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, 2177 Puowaina Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii
DOOLITTLE WILLIAM S
S SGT 333 BOMB GP (VH) RHODE ISLAND
Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica, Oneida, New York
IN MEMORY OF
WILLIAM
SHEARMAN
DOOLITTLE
S SGT
US ARMY AIR CORPS
WORLD WAR II
DEC 11 1925
OCT 7 1945
LOST IN FLIGHT
OFF OKINAWA
