USAAF
7th BG
88th RS
19th BG
40 / 93 BS
Harl Pease 1942
1942 via Bruce Hoy
Brian Bennett, 1988
|
Justin Taylan 2003
Pilot Captain
Harl Pease, Jr, O-34206
Co-Pilot F/Sgt F.W. Earp, 403325 (RAAF)
Crew 1st Lt. Robert B. Burleson, O-412726
Crew 2nd Lt. Richard M. Wood, O-433161
Crew Sgt David Brown, 6296430
Crew Sgt Fred Andoettel, 19048522
Crew Alvar A. Liimatainen, 160292712
Crew S/Sgt Rex E. Matson, 6637694
Gunner M/Sgt Chester M. Czechowski, 6915712
Crew Sgt Fred W Oettel, 19048522
Shot Down August 7, 1942
MACR 16020
Aircraft History
Accepted to the US Army on November 29, 1941 when Lt. John E. Dougherty
flew the plane from Boeing Field.
Ferry Flight to Hawaii December 7, 1941
Carmichael and Lt. Donald Tower
ferried the bomber from Hamilton Field bound for Hickam Field and arrived during the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor on the morining of December 7, 1941. They observered the attack and sucessfully
landed at Haleva Emergency Strip. On the ground, a A6M2 Zero
straffed the strip. The bomber was armed and refueled then flown to Hickam Field.
Evacuation of General MacArthur
Flown by Captain William Lewis on the mission
of March 14, 1942 to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur from Del
Monte Airfield in Mindanao to Batchelor Field in Australia.
Mission History
Took off from 7-Mile Drome near Port
Moresby,
on a bombing mission to Rabaul.
This aircraft was deemed to have weak engines and had aborted
several missions, but could still fly. Pease, insisted on
flying the aircraft. After dropping bombs on Vunakanau Airfield,
defending Zeros concentrated on Pease's aircraft, causing
it to descend with a knocking an engine out, and the flaming
fuel tank drop out. No one observed the plane crash, but
it was never seen again.
Edward M Jacquet, pilot of B-17E "Tojo's Jinx" 41-2462 recalls:
"[Pease was on his right wing] We hollered and screamed for the formation to slow down to protect Harl. We borke silence on our radios but of course they were very unreliable radios. Later the other pilots said they never heard us"
For his actions that day, Pease was awarded the Medal of Honor. Seven of the crew died in the crash. Pease and Chikowsky did in fact parachuted out of the aircraft, and were taken prisoner. Held until October 8, 1942 they were then executed by the Japanese, and their remains never found. Pease earned the Medal of Honor for this action.
Wreckage
This aircraft was
found in 1946, near the junction of the
Powell and Mavelo Rivers (Henry Reid River) on Makurapau Plantation, about 7 miles WNW of Tol, many
miles from where it had last been seen. Inside were the
bodies of the co-pilot and radio operator. A US Army CILHI team visited the crash site in 1988.
Display
The fuselage door and a radio (with two 7.7mm bullet holes in it) was recovered from the site in 1988, and is
displayed at the Kokopo
Museum.
References
On at least one wartime record, a typo exisits that notes this bomber as Serial Number 41-2439, and this incorrect serial has been occasionally reproduced.
B-17
MOH Citation
