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T/SGT  Leo T. CALLAHAN

UNIT: 350th BOMB Sqdn POSITION: TTE 

 Leo T. Callahan, WG on the Bernard A. DeMarco crew. Detailed Information Photo courtesy of Albert M. Freitas

SERIAL #: 31120291 STATUS: POW
MACR: 02761 CR: 02761

Comments1: 21 FEB 44 ALHORN & VORDEN BRUNSWICK (Original 100th, Crew #15)

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 (WITH LT LAKIN/COL KELLY)'
CPL LEO T. CALLAHAN                        WG POW 21 FEB 44 BRUNSWICK (WITH LT WILLIAM FLETCHER CREW)
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 (see graphic)

1st Lt Wiliam H. Fletcher            P   POW  21/2/44   Burnswick
2nd Lt Richard M.Roper            CP   POW    21/2/44   Brunswick
2nd Lt George A.Browning     NAV   POW    21/2/44   Brunswick
2nd Lt Howard D.Venzie        BOM   POW    21/2/44   Brunswick
 T/Sgt James H.Whitton         TTE  Injured in crash after about 7 missions 
 T/Sgt George A.Reid           ROG    POW    21/2/44   Brunswick
 S/Sgt Pietro J.Giaquinto         BTG   POW   21/2/44   Brunswick
 S/Sgt John J.Seman           RWG   POW   21/2/44   Brunswick
 S/Sgt Alexander Sosik           LWG   POW   21/2/44   Brunswick
 S/Sgt David V.Robb,Jr.            TG   POW   21/2/44   Brunswick

 MACR #276l Micro fiche #924    A/C #42 37796

350th Sqdn. Crew,as above,joined 100th Group in early Oct.1943
On 21/2/44,T/Sgt Leo T.Callahan,from the "Original" crew of B.DeMarco,was aboard in place of Sgt.James Whitton and became a POW. See p.184 MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY for picture and story of 21/2/44  Also letter from Fletcher's nephew,Joseph M.Lee (1983) --PRESENT ADDRES IS 3 SYCAMORE STATION, DECATUR, GA 30030 PHONE (404) 373-1336..paul west (Nov 1993)

Found some info about 2 crew members of the "42-37796 'Fletchers 
Castoria III'" in a genealogy database:

Name: Leo T. CALLAHAN
Sex: M
Birth: 1920
Death: 07 Dec 1990 in Rhode Island
Father: John J. CALLAHAN (born: Sep 23 1900)
Mother: Theresa SCALNON
Brother: Donald CALLAHAN (born 1931) and  John CALLAHAN Jr.

Name: Howard D. VENZIE
Sex: M
Birth: 30 Apr 1918 in Philadelphia, PA
Death: 6 Sep 1996 in Moorestown, Burlington County, NJ
Event: Social Security Number 164-18-5257
Note: Howard served with the 100th Bomb Group during World War II.
Father: -
Mother: Dellia CHALOU b: 2 Nov 1885 in Massachusetts
Marriage: Betty ?????
Children: yes [name(s) unknown]



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.
*************************************************************************************************************

MEMO 2:

Crew opted to crash land in Holland rather than bail out.  Was recuperating from wounds when

KIA / MIA / EVA / INT INFORMATION:

TARGET: Alhorn & Vorden DATE: 1944-02-21  
AIRCRAFT: (42-37796) CAUSE: Mech Prob in 3 Engines  

BURIAL INFORMATION

PLOT: ROW:  
GRAVE: CEMETERY:  

PHOTOS:

 Knute Knudson, Leo T. Callahan, an unidentified English girl and Nicholas Delcimmuto. Knudson and Delcimmuto - Detailed Information Callahan - Detailed Information Photos courtesy of Albert Freitas 

 Part of the Bernard A. DeMarco crew: (Left to Right) Standing; Benjamin J. Barr, Leon A. Castro and Leo T. Callahan, Kneeling; Harry C. Calhoun and Albert M. Freitas with "Misty." Photo taken May 1943 in Casper, Wyoming. Detailed Information Photos courtesy of Albert Freitas

 

SERVED IN:

Crew 1

Crew 2

ID: 701