Second Lieutenant Richard Joseph Meyer, Army serial number O-713855, was born in Ohio on July 29, 1923. His mother was Anna V. Meyer. He completed four years of high school and worked in a semiskilled photographic process occupation. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Patterson Field, Fairfield, Ohio, on October 2, 1942. His home of record was his mother's address at 1144 Haynes Street, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio.
He completed Army Air Forces pilot training and was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph I. Herring. The Herring crew completed B-17 crew training, and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Lavenham on September 25, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Herring's crew roster on November 9, 1944:
B-17G 44-6290 – 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
• Herring, Joseph I – 2/Lt – O-767805 – Pilot – POW
• Meyer, Richard J – 2/Lt – O-713855 – Copilot – POW
• Leonesio, John B – 2/Lt – O-2060634 – Navigator – KIA
• Faria, William R – 2/Lt – O-776650 – Bombardier – KIA
• Fitzhugh, Elda M – S/Sgt – 34207947 – Engineer – POW
• Brown Jr, Charles – S/Sgt – 13064374 – Radio Operator – POW
• Heintz, Daniel J. – Sgt – 15322674 – Ball Turret Gunner – POW
• Crawford, Francis P – S/Sgt – 12177411 – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hartman, Edward A – Sgt – 33897287 – Tail Gunner – POW
On November 9, 1944, the Herring crew flew B-17G 44-6290 on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a railroad marshalling yard at Saarbrucken, Germany. The aircraft was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Saarbrucken. Two men were killed in action. Lt Meyer and six of his crewmates survived and became prisoners of war. Lt Meyer was imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria. He was later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. He was liberated from captivity by May 18, 1945.
After the war, he returned to Dayton, Ohio, and married. He and his wife lived in Dayton until their deaths in 2001. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio, in Section 45, Lot 191, Space 6. His wife Helen M. Meyer is buried next to him in Space 5.
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. Cemetery records of Calvary Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio.
3. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
4. Enlistment Record of Richard J. Meyer
5. POW Record of Richard J. Meyer
6. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 10341
He completed Army Air Forces pilot training and was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph I. Herring. The Herring crew completed B-17 crew training, and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Lavenham on September 25, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Herring's crew roster on November 9, 1944:
B-17G 44-6290 – 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
• Herring, Joseph I – 2/Lt – O-767805 – Pilot – POW
• Meyer, Richard J – 2/Lt – O-713855 – Copilot – POW
• Leonesio, John B – 2/Lt – O-2060634 – Navigator – KIA
• Faria, William R – 2/Lt – O-776650 – Bombardier – KIA
• Fitzhugh, Elda M – S/Sgt – 34207947 – Engineer – POW
• Brown Jr, Charles – S/Sgt – 13064374 – Radio Operator – POW
• Heintz, Daniel J. – Sgt – 15322674 – Ball Turret Gunner – POW
• Crawford, Francis P – S/Sgt – 12177411 – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hartman, Edward A – Sgt – 33897287 – Tail Gunner – POW
On November 9, 1944, the Herring crew flew B-17G 44-6290 on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a railroad marshalling yard at Saarbrucken, Germany. The aircraft was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Saarbrucken. Two men were killed in action. Lt Meyer and six of his crewmates survived and became prisoners of war. Lt Meyer was imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria. He was later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. He was liberated from captivity by May 18, 1945.
After the war, he returned to Dayton, Ohio, and married. He and his wife lived in Dayton until their deaths in 2001. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio, in Section 45, Lot 191, Space 6. His wife Helen M. Meyer is buried next to him in Space 5.
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. Cemetery records of Calvary Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio.
3. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
4. Enlistment Record of Richard J. Meyer
5. POW Record of Richard J. Meyer
6. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 10341
Second Lieutenant Richard Joseph Meyer, Army serial number O-713855, was born in Ohio on July 29, 1923. His mother was Anna V. Meyer. He completed four years of high school and worked in a semiskilled photographic process occupation. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Patterson Field, Fairfield, Ohio, on October 2, 1942. His home of record was his mother's address at 1144 Haynes Street, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio.
He completed Army Air Forces pilot training and was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph I. Herring. The Herring crew completed B-17 crew training, and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Lavenham on September 25, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Herring's crew roster on November 9, 1944:
B-17G 44-6290 – 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
• Herring, Joseph I – 2/Lt – O-767805 – Pilot – POW
• Meyer, Richard J – 2/Lt – O-713855 – Copilot – POW
• Leonesio, John B – 2/Lt – O-2060634 – Navigator – KIA
• Faria, William R – 2/Lt – O-776650 – Bombardier – KIA
• Fitzhugh, Elda M – S/Sgt – 34207947 – Engineer – POW
• Brown Jr, Charles – S/Sgt – 13064374 – Radio Operator – POW
• Heintz, Daniel J. – Sgt – 15322674 – Ball Turret Gunner – POW
• Crawford, Francis P – S/Sgt – 12177411 – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hartman, Edward A – Sgt – 33897287 – Tail Gunner – POW
On November 9, 1944, the Herring crew flew B-17G 44-6290 on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a railroad marshalling yard at Saarbrucken, Germany. The aircraft was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Saarbrucken. Two men were killed in action. Lt Meyer and six of his crewmates survived and became prisoners of war. Lt Meyer was imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria. He was later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. He was liberated from captivity by May 18, 1945.
After the war, he returned to Dayton, Ohio, and married. He and his wife lived in Dayton until their deaths in 2001. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio, in Section 45, Lot 191, Space 6. His wife Helen M. Meyer is buried next to him in Space 5.
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. Cemetery records of Calvary Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio.
3. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
4. Enlistment Record of Richard J. Meyer
5. POW Record of Richard J. Meyer
6. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 10341
He completed Army Air Forces pilot training and was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph I. Herring. The Herring crew completed B-17 crew training, and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Lavenham on September 25, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Herring's crew roster on November 9, 1944:
B-17G 44-6290 – 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
• Herring, Joseph I – 2/Lt – O-767805 – Pilot – POW
• Meyer, Richard J – 2/Lt – O-713855 – Copilot – POW
• Leonesio, John B – 2/Lt – O-2060634 – Navigator – KIA
• Faria, William R – 2/Lt – O-776650 – Bombardier – KIA
• Fitzhugh, Elda M – S/Sgt – 34207947 – Engineer – POW
• Brown Jr, Charles – S/Sgt – 13064374 – Radio Operator – POW
• Heintz, Daniel J. – Sgt – 15322674 – Ball Turret Gunner – POW
• Crawford, Francis P – S/Sgt – 12177411 – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hartman, Edward A – Sgt – 33897287 – Tail Gunner – POW
On November 9, 1944, the Herring crew flew B-17G 44-6290 on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a railroad marshalling yard at Saarbrucken, Germany. The aircraft was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Saarbrucken. Two men were killed in action. Lt Meyer and six of his crewmates survived and became prisoners of war. Lt Meyer was imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria. He was later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. He was liberated from captivity by May 18, 1945.
After the war, he returned to Dayton, Ohio, and married. He and his wife lived in Dayton until their deaths in 2001. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio, in Section 45, Lot 191, Space 6. His wife Helen M. Meyer is buried next to him in Space 5.
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. Cemetery records of Calvary Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio.
3. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
4. Enlistment Record of Richard J. Meyer
5. POW Record of Richard J. Meyer
6. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 10341
Inscription
RICHARD J. MEYER
WW II POW
JULY 29, 1923
JULY 30, 2001
Family Members
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