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Photos for Crews: 828th Squadron
Photos for Crews: 829th Squadron Photos for Crews: 830th Squadron Photos of Crews: 831st Squadron
Hegmann crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew The individual positions of the men in this photo haven't been identified, but the crew consisted of : Richard Hegmann, pilot; Bryson Watts, copilot; Edgar Christian, navigator; Joe Hackler, bombardier; Walter Stone, flight engineer; Thomas White, radio operator; Joseph Cullen, nose gunner; Dale Morrison, tail gunner; Edward Oliveira, gunner, and Cecil Smith, gunner. Most of this crew was shot down by flak over Salonika, Greece on September 24, 1944. Christian was not on the mission and was replaced by Marvin Weiner, who was killed. Hegmann, Watts, Cullen, Smith, Stone and White were also killed. Everett Latham, a second navigator, was also flying with this crew and was killed. Hackler and Morrison were captured by the Germans. In early November, both men escaped as they were being moved north through Yugoslavia and made their way to Sofia, Bulgaria. They returned to Italy on December 24, 1944.
Karns crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew Front Row, Left to Right: Arthur Karns, pilot; William Pohlman, copilot; Sidney Connellee, bombardier, and James Cahen, navigator. Back Row, Left to Right: Roy Burke, waist gunner; Walter Fergus, tail gunner; Lewis Matthews, waist gunner; Sgt. Graham, tail gunner; John Mas, radio operator, and Sgt. Kirr, engineer. It’s unknown what happened to some of this original crew. Cahen, Burke, a replacement gunner by the name of James Dixon, Matthews, and Fergus went down on the Regensburg mission on February 16, 1945, while flying with Colonel Tomhave. Fergus and Burke became POWs. Cahen was killed and Matthews evaded capture. Pohlman was wounded on the Sept 24, 1944 mission to Salonika and was shipped home. Connellee was wounded on this mission, but returned to duty and finished his missions. Fergus was also wounded on the Salonika mission. Karns was working in the control tower when the war ended.
Latwaitis crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #32 Front Row, Left to Right: Marion Shelor, bombardier; Jonas Latwaitis, pilot; Elmer Kohler, copilot, and Morris Burney, navigator. Back Row, Left to Right: Ed Wals, nose gunner; Otis Vinson, flight engineer/waist gunner; Jack Mizrahi, radio operator/waist gunner; Paul Combs, tail gunner; Simon Ventimiglia, ball gunner, and Edgar Pierce, top gunner. (Unknown ground crewman seated in front.)This crew was shot down by fighters on the June 9, 1944 mission to Munich. Only Burney, Shelor and Vinson survived, all of them POWs.
McCarthy crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew Front Row, Left to Right: Thomas Robertson, bombardier; Clyde McCarthy, pilot; Merton Baker, copilot. Back Row, Left to Right: Charles Berrardi, radio operator; William Schultz, top gunner; Benjamin Vickery, tailgunner; William Leins, engineer; Robert Donaldson, nosegunner; and John Fox, ballgunner. Not pictured is Joseph Berkowitz, navigator. This early replacement crew arrived in Venosa on July 2, 1944. Berkowitz was killed by a 20MM cannon shell in a fighter attack on the 7/26/44 mission to Szombathely, Hungary. The remainder of the crew survived the war. This crew flew Homeward Angel to Italy.
Mcmahon crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew The locations of the crew in this photo are not known, but the following members were on this crew: Kenneth McMahon, pilot; Howard McClure, copilot; Barton Brown, navigator; Linthicum (unknown first name), bombardier; Bernard Alzua, flight engineer; Bruce Taylor, radio operator; Pompeo Converso, gunner; Clifford Hanson, ball gunner; Stanley Sodowski, gunner, and Roscoe Tarter, gunner. This crew arrived in Venosa in November 1944 and was still in Venosa when the war ended.
Miller crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #23 Front Row, Left to Right: Lawrence Somerville, flight engineer; Frederick Waters, navigator; Clark Miller pilot; Bernard Weinstock, bombardier and Collis Horne, ball gunner. Back Row, Left to Right: Ernest Widegren, nose gunner; Hailey Sullivan top gunner; Allen Sussel, copilot; Edwin Baxter, tailgunner, and Edgar Mack, radio operator. Sussell was replaced by Roger Love as copilot. Mack was shot down on the 7/8/44 mission to Vienna, while flying with Lt. Peterson’s crew and became a POW. The remainder of the crew completed their missions.
O'Brien crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #28 Front Row, Left to Right: Marvin Weiner, navigator; Thomas O’Brien, pilot; Harold Kohne, copilot, and George Buttel, bombardier. Back Row, Left to Right: Daniel Finley, radio operator; Frank Penner, waist gunner; Charles Raabe, tail gunner; Leslie Good, waist gunner; Nick Hank engineer, and William Walz, ball gunner. O’Brien became the 829th Squadron commander. Marvin Weiner was killed while flying with Hegmann’s crew on September 24, 1944, on a mission to Salonika, Greece. The others on the crew finished their missions. Kohne became a first pilot.
Olney crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #34 The positions of the men in the photo are unknown, but the following men were on this crew: Robert Olney, pilot; James Asher, copilot; Wallace Whaley, navigator; Edward Osborn, navigator; Julius Roberts, engineer; Clifford Yost, radio operator; Glenn Badger, gunner; Raymond Heuer, gunner and Andrew Latzo, gunner. This crew was killed when it crashed into the mountains in Morocco. Flying with them was Winton Wenzel, a non-flying member of the 485th. The crash occurred on March 24, 1944.
Parsegian crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew Front Row, Left to Right: Edward Parsegian, pilot; Delmar Brinkman, copilot; George Fuccillo, navigator, and Jack Fordyce, bombardier. Back Row, Left to Right: Clayton Boyer, radio operator; Luther Combs, gunner; Jack Bohall, gunner; Gilbert Thompson, flight engineer, and Edward Campbell, gunner. Missing from the photo is Kenneth Miller, gunner. This crew arrived in Venosa in October 1944. George Fuccillo was killed while flying with Lt. Pooley’s crew on March 2, 1945, when there was a mid-air collision over Austria. The rest of the crew survived the war.
Peterson crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #38 Front Row, Left to Right: Raymond Balcerzak, navigator; Robert King, copilot; Robert Peterson, pilot, and Fred Savage, bombardier. Back Row, Left to Right: Ralph Alley, flight engineer; Alvin Martin, radio operator; Richard Hagan, nose gunner; John Bowling, tail gunner; Earl Isaacson, top gunner, and Rex Merrell, ball gunner. The assigned plane for this crew was Ole 769, 42-94769, Yellow S. The entire crew, except for Al Martin, was shot down on the Vienna mission, July 8, 1944. All became POWs. Al Martin flew 31 missions and was then assigned to General Barr’s crew in France.
Schmidt crew-829th Sqdn-Replacement crew Captain A.M. Schmidt is seated, second from left in the front row. The positions of the other crewmen in the photo are unknown, but the crew is identified as follows: August M. Schmidt, pilot; Robert J. Graham, copilot; Joseph S. Miller, navigator; Jerry B. Shinew, bombardier; Charles A. Menefee, gunner; Hal Crabb, radio operator; Herman L. Martin, gunner; James E. Wideman, gunner; William D. Hammick, gunner; and Thomas F. Hurton Jr., gunner. The entire crew was killed on March 3, 1945, near Pantanella, when their aircraft (Yellow C) crashed. The circumstances of the crash are unknown, but they crashed in bad weather, at the beginning of a mission. The mission was recalled.
Skelton crew-829th Sqdn-Original crew #24 Front Row, Left to Right: Robert Skelton, pilot; William Furgueson, bombardier; Harvey Huber, navigator and Michael Kopcha, copilot. Back Row, Left to Right: Allessio Bovino, crew chief; Robert Camden, radio operator; William Long, engineer; Gerald Behunin, top gunner; Wallace Williams, Tail gunner, and Jay Baker, nose gunner. Missing from the photo is Kenneth Carter, ballgunner. The entire crew completed their 50 missions. Their assigned plane was Big Alice From Dallas, Yellow X, 42-53730H. |
