Service No. (ASN): 02058586
Second Lieutenant, 881st Bomb Squadron, 500th Bomb Group (Very Heavy), 20th Air Force, World War II.
Navigator on B-29 Superfortress #44-69666. Shot down over Tokyo, Japan on the night of
April 2, 1945. Parachuted from his aircraft and taken as a Prisoner of War.
Died on May 26, 1945 when fire destroyed the Tokyo Military Prison where he was being held.
His remains could not be identified and therefore his name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.
The crew members (all died on May 26, 1945):
1st Lt. Edward G Law, A/C Pilot
2nd Lt. Gerauld L Giddings, Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. Donald J Van Dever, Navigator
2nd Lt. David R Gerhardt, Bombardier
TSgt. Raymond C Richmond , Flight Engineer
Sgt. Harry E McMillen, Right Gunner
Sgt. Leonard J McNeill, Tail Gunner
Sgt. Maurice Myers, Left Gunner
Sgt. Robert H Nead, Radar Operator
Sgt. Thaddeus J Pasternak, Radio Operator
One crew member, CFC Gunner Sergeant Ray F. Hopper, survived the ordeal in Tokyo
and was returned to the United States following liberation.
His brother was Major John Cecil Vandever, U.S. Marine veteran of World War II and Korea.
He died in 2004.
Second Lieutenant, 881st Bomb Squadron, 500th Bomb Group (Very Heavy), 20th Air Force, World War II.
Navigator on B-29 Superfortress #44-69666. Shot down over Tokyo, Japan on the night of
April 2, 1945. Parachuted from his aircraft and taken as a Prisoner of War.
Died on May 26, 1945 when fire destroyed the Tokyo Military Prison where he was being held.
His remains could not be identified and therefore his name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.
The crew members (all died on May 26, 1945):
1st Lt. Edward G Law, A/C Pilot
2nd Lt. Gerauld L Giddings, Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. Donald J Van Dever, Navigator
2nd Lt. David R Gerhardt, Bombardier
TSgt. Raymond C Richmond , Flight Engineer
Sgt. Harry E McMillen, Right Gunner
Sgt. Leonard J McNeill, Tail Gunner
Sgt. Maurice Myers, Left Gunner
Sgt. Robert H Nead, Radar Operator
Sgt. Thaddeus J Pasternak, Radio Operator
One crew member, CFC Gunner Sergeant Ray F. Hopper, survived the ordeal in Tokyo
and was returned to the United States following liberation.
His brother was Major John Cecil Vandever, U.S. Marine veteran of World War II and Korea.
He died in 2004.
Service No. (ASN): 02058586
Second Lieutenant, 881st Bomb Squadron, 500th Bomb Group (Very Heavy), 20th Air Force, World War II.
Navigator on B-29 Superfortress #44-69666. Shot down over Tokyo, Japan on the night of
April 2, 1945. Parachuted from his aircraft and taken as a Prisoner of War.
Died on May 26, 1945 when fire destroyed the Tokyo Military Prison where he was being held.
His remains could not be identified and therefore his name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.
The crew members (all died on May 26, 1945):
1st Lt. Edward G Law, A/C Pilot
2nd Lt. Gerauld L Giddings, Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. Donald J Van Dever, Navigator
2nd Lt. David R Gerhardt, Bombardier
TSgt. Raymond C Richmond , Flight Engineer
Sgt. Harry E McMillen, Right Gunner
Sgt. Leonard J McNeill, Tail Gunner
Sgt. Maurice Myers, Left Gunner
Sgt. Robert H Nead, Radar Operator
Sgt. Thaddeus J Pasternak, Radio Operator
One crew member, CFC Gunner Sergeant Ray F. Hopper, survived the ordeal in Tokyo
and was returned to the United States following liberation.
His brother was Major John Cecil Vandever, U.S. Marine veteran of World War II and Korea.
He died in 2004.
Second Lieutenant, 881st Bomb Squadron, 500th Bomb Group (Very Heavy), 20th Air Force, World War II.
Navigator on B-29 Superfortress #44-69666. Shot down over Tokyo, Japan on the night of
April 2, 1945. Parachuted from his aircraft and taken as a Prisoner of War.
Died on May 26, 1945 when fire destroyed the Tokyo Military Prison where he was being held.
His remains could not be identified and therefore his name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.
The crew members (all died on May 26, 1945):
1st Lt. Edward G Law, A/C Pilot
2nd Lt. Gerauld L Giddings, Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. Donald J Van Dever, Navigator
2nd Lt. David R Gerhardt, Bombardier
TSgt. Raymond C Richmond , Flight Engineer
Sgt. Harry E McMillen, Right Gunner
Sgt. Leonard J McNeill, Tail Gunner
Sgt. Maurice Myers, Left Gunner
Sgt. Robert H Nead, Radar Operator
Sgt. Thaddeus J Pasternak, Radio Operator
One crew member, CFC Gunner Sergeant Ray F. Hopper, survived the ordeal in Tokyo
and was returned to the United States following liberation.
His brother was Major John Cecil Vandever, U.S. Marine veteran of World War II and Korea.
He died in 2004.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Texas.
Family Members
Other Records
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
