COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
1ST LT BERNARD A. DeMARCO P POW 08 OCT 43 BREMAN
F/O JAMES P. THAYER CP POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
1ST LT JOHN W.DOWNS NAV POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
2ND LT FRANCIS S. HARPER BOM POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
CPL THORNTON STRINGFELLOW ROG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
T/SGT BENJAMIN J. BARR TTE POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT ALBERT M. FREITAS BTG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST
CPL LEO T. CALLAHAN WG POW 21 FEB 44 BRUNSWICK
S/SGT HARRY C. CALHOUN WG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT LEON A. CASTRO TG APPOINTED AVIATION CADET.
350TH SQDN. THIS IS AN "ORIGINAL" 100TH CREW.
LEON CASTRO HAD BEEN SHIPPED BACK TO THE STATES FOR CADET TRAINING PRIOR TO 8 OCT 43; HE WAS REPLACED BY JEROME FERROGGIARO FROM THE N.H. SCOTT CREW. ALBERT FREITAS AND LEO CALLAHAN WERE RECOVERING FROM WOUNDS RECEIVED ON THE 6 SEP 43 (STUTTGART) MISSION AND WERE REPLACED BY WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS OF CAPT MARK CARNELL'S CREW AND WILLIAM R. WOODBURY, A REPLACEMENT GUNNER.
GALE W. (BUCKY) CLEVEN, 350TH CO, FLEW AS COMMAND PILOT.
Note from..jb
Flak and Fighters over target. This ship leading the 350th. Hit by flak & fighters and forced to leave formation. Three men
injured, all eleven (11) bailed out and landed near Essen, Germany. Taken to Frankfurt for interrogartion. Downs (Lt John W. Downs)
says bailed out near Oldenburg. Cleven (Maj. Gale W. Cleven) says bail out near Osnabruck.
CREW
350TH CREW #10 A/C #42-30047 "SWEATER GIRL"
CAPT MARK E. CARNELL P: CPT ORGINAL 100TH PILOT
2ND LT EDWARD K. MOFFLY CP: CPT
1ST LT ANTHONY P. GOSPODAR NAV: CPT 11 DEC 43 EMDEN
1ST LT JAMES P. FITTON BOM: CPT
T/SGT VERN M. BEST TTE: CPT
S/SGT WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS WG: POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN (CREW #15 LT BERNIE DeMARCO)
SGT EDMUND A. OLIVER ROG: POW 10 JUL 43 PARIS (CREW #12 LT CHARLES DUNCAN)
S/SGT STEVE BOSSER BTG: CPT
S/SGT PAUL A. VRABEC, JR WG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
S/SGT FLOYD P. BULLARD TG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
NOTE: PAUL VRABEC NOT ONLY COMPLETED 25, BUT VOLUNTEERED AND FLEW FIVE ADDITIONAL MISSIONS.
On 10 July 1943, radio operator Ed Oliver flew with Crew #12 which was lost that day and Oliver became a POW. He was soon replaced on the crew by George Rudden from Crew #17 which went down over Kiel on 25 July. On 8 October 1943, William Williams flew with Crew #15 and went down over Bremen.
Accordinq to a letter from Vern Best in 1980, Mark Carnell suffered a broken arm in a bicycle accident on the field and was unable to fly for a considerable length of time. He was replaced by Bill Desanders whose crew (#17) had been lost on 25 July. Best also says that Paul Vrabec not only completed 25 missions but volunteered for five additional and finished those.
351st Bombardment Squadron (H) AAF
Station 139
23 August 1943
SUBJECT : Recommendation of Flight Officer.
TO : Whom it may concern.
1. Submission of the inclosed applicaations for promotion of Flight Officer
James P. Thayer, ASN T-60805, to be Second Lieutenant has my enthusiastic personnel
endorsement.
2. Flight Officer Thayer had been a member of this command practically since
his warranting and has performed his duties in an excellent and capable manner. Particularly
commendable has been his performance of duty while participating in combat missions over
enemy-occupied territory. I have found him a reliable and skilled c0-pilot and a man whose
presence is an asset to this command.
3. I have the hightest degree of confidence in is moral background and a respect
for his metal capacities.
Gale W. Cleven
Major, Air Corps,
Commanding,
Army Air Foces Southeast Training Center
Maxwell Field, Alabama
February 8, 1943
PERSONAL ORDERS )
NC, 6 )
EXTRACT
28. The following named Flight Officers (Warrant Officers -- Junior Grade) Air Corps, AUS, who have completed the prescribed course of instruction as Aviation Students, are rated Pilot under the provisions of Army Regulations 95-80, dated June 30, 1943, and paragraph 3c, Army Air Forces Regulations 50-7, dated September 11, 1942, effective February 15, 1943:
(Class SE 43-B, Moody Field, Georgia)
Hubert Ernest Trent James Parker Thayer
By Command of Major General ROYCE;
W.W. Welsh,
Brigadier Gen. G.S.C.
Chief of Staff
REPLY TO: rshandor@hotmail.com
SUBMITTER: Richard Shandor
EMAIL: rshandor@hotmail.com
PURPOSE: Report a death (TAPS)
INTEREST: I am a 100th BG staff member
-------------------------------
VETERAN: James(Skip) P. Thayer
DATE OF DEATH: 06/23/2003
FAMILY CONTACT: don't have that information
MEMO 2:
POW/KIA notes: Original 100th, Crew #15.
