Son of Hattie (nee Speed) and Stephen F Truesdell who resided in Arlington, Iowa.

Glenn served as a First Lieutenant and Flight Engineer on B-29 "The Leading Lady" Serial No. 42-24766, 882nd Bomb Squadron, 500th Bomb Group U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

He resided in Tuscaloosa, Alabama prior to the war, employed with the United States Bureau of Mines.

Glenn married Jean Elsie Hartling in 1944. They had one son together Glenn C Truesdell Jr.

Mission 17: On January 3, 1945, B-29 No. 42-24766, Tail Code Z Square 22 was one of ninety-seven B-29s that took off from Isley Field, Saipan, Mariana Islands on a bombing mission against Nagoya urban areas and docks. Each B-29 was armed with fourteen M-69 incendiary cluster bombs. Nineteen aircraft aborted before reaching the target and 57 hit the primary target and 21 others bomb alternates and targets of opportunity; Japanese fighters made 300+ attacks against the formation. Five B-29s were lost including this aircraft.

Glenn was "Killed In Action" when his B-29, minutes after bomb release over the target of Nagoya, Japan, was rammed by a 55th Sentai Ki-61 "Tony" piloted by 1st Lt. Minoru Shirota and crashed about 30 kilometers southeast of Nagoya, in Sodame forest near the village of Matsudairachō, Toyota, Aichi, Japan.

He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.

He was originally interred in Yokohama, Japan and was later repatriated to the United States on August 13, 1949.

Army Serial No. O-859714

The reason he is named on a group headstone is because when soldiers & sailors were killed in close proximity to each other they were unable, at that time, to identify them separately and interred their remains together in one grave.

There were 5 B-29's lost on this mission.

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Airmen who perished on B-29 (#42-24766):

Maj Wilbur E Hurlbutt, Airplane Commander, NY
2nd Lt Felix P Omilian, Pilot, NY
1st Lt Glendon M Aitken, Bombardier, PA
1st Lt Edward H Stoehr, Navigator, IL
1st Lt Glenn C Truesdell, Flight Engineer, AL
Sgt Joseph P Nighan, Radio Operator, PA
Sgt Frank J Yanik, CFC Gunner, PA
S/Sgt Karl Hunt, Left Gunner, ME
Cpl Richard P Steinberg, Right Gunner, NJ
S/Sgt Paul E Dreyer, Radar Operator, MD
Lt Col Marcus A Mullen, Observer- formerly 500th Bomb Group Operations Officer but now Deputy Group Commander, NY

One crewman, Sgt Harold Thomas Hedges Tail Gunner, survived the crash. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and confined in the Japanese Omori Headquarters, Camp Ofuna, Tokyo 35-139. He survived the war.
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Air Medal Awarded Posthumously to Arlington Man

Mrs. Jean E. Truesdell, Arlington, has received the air medal which has been posthumously awarded to her husband First Lieutenant Glenn C. Truesdell, Air Corps. The medal was awarded by direction of the president. Lieutenant Truesdell received the Purple Heart posthumously March 9.
Lieutenant Truesdell, 29, served in the Air Corps for two years as a flight engineer on a B-29. The citation read:
"For meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flights as combat crew member in successful combat missions against the Japanese Empire from December 3 to 28, 1944. All missions were flown under rapidly changing and oftentimes adverse weather conditions. The flights were subject to enemy anti-air-craft fire and fighter opposition. There were constantly present difficult navigational problems, danger of engine failure and consequent ditching many miles at sea. Under prolonged periods of physical and mental strain, and undaunted by the many hazards faced regularly and continuously, each crew member displayed such courage and skill in the performance of his duty as to reflect great credit on himself and the Army Air Forces."
Lieutenant Wayne Truesdell, a brother of Lieutenant Glenn Truesdell, is still serving as a navy navigator. Lieutenant Truesdell's wife and his son, Glenn, reside in Arlington.

Published in 'Oelwein Daily Register' Oelwein, Iowa Friday 12 April 1946