Hit by anti-aircraft fire, one of the engines began smoking as it flew northward, then attempted to circle to the west over Lake Hamana, then southward. Trailing black smoke, one of the engines on the right wing broke off before the bomber crashed at Yakute to the northwest of Arai.

Search
Twelve aircraft participated in a search over two days directed by Major Ivan K. Mays. The search was without results. All stations and ships were altered to be on the lookout for this bomber.

Wreckage
This B-17 impacted pine trees before crashing into the ground nose first at Yakute to the northwest of Arai. Immediately after the crash, civilians ran to the crash site and observed several mounds of debris and fire and observed the rescue boat in the wreckage.

Recovery of Remains
Thirty minutes after the crash, Japanese Keibodan (wartime guards) reached the crash site and extinguished the fire. The bodies of the ten crew were recovered, all badly burned from the fire and no identification was possible. Afterwards, the bodies of the crew were cremated and buried at the nearby Arai crematorium, along with the body of the Corsair pilot that crashed the previous day.

On May 22, 1947 U. S. Army investigators visited Arai to investigate the possibilities of any atrocities in connection with the death of this crew, but found none. During their visit, they interrogated Katsumi Kumagai the former Kempei Tai commander for Arai who explained how the B-17 crashed and how the crew's bodies were recovered, cremated and buried. Afterwards, the remains of the crew were recovered and transported to the United States for permanent burial.

Memorials
The entire crew was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA). Four of the crew are buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). Motsinger at plot N, grave 423. Ball at plot P, grave 414. Conger at plot P, grave 630. Hurn at plot Q, grave 337. Hun also is memorialized at a World War II memorial plaque in Lauderdale County, AL.

Zahrt is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery at section O, site 917.
Doody is buried at Mount Saint Mary Cemetery in Flushing, NY.
Griffin is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Glyndon, MN.
Anderson was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at section U, site 39.
Charles J. Parkins burial is unknown, but presumed to be in a private cemetery in his hometown.

In Kosai (formally Arai) a stone tablet known as Kosai-shi, Arai-Saijo, Yasuragi-en is located at the back of the Jingu-ji temple honoring the crew of the B-17. The tablets was built by Reverend Taido Kamata (Kamada) who collected money for seven years to build the tablet.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-17G-100-BO Flying Fortress 43-38882
"38882 converted to B-17H."
Missing Air Crew Report 14924 (MACR 14924) incorrectly lists the U. S. Army serial number as "42-3882". The correct serial number is "43-38882".
FindAGrave - 1Lt William C Motsinger (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Robert W Ball (grave photo)
FindAGrave - 1LT Rollin C Marsh (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Capt Norman Eldridge Zahrt (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Sgt Robert W Conger (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Gerard J. Doody (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Charles Edward Hurn (photo, grave photo, memorial marker)
FindAGrave - Elliott Leroy Griffin (grave photo)
FindAGrave - Otis E Anderson, Jr (grave photo)
My Mother's Lover by David Dobbs
Pacific Air Combats WWII (1993) page 83 (photo)
"A Dumbo Fort was lost on July 25 1945" by Minoro Kamada July 3, 2016
Thanks to Steve Birdsall for the correct B-17 serial number and Minoro Kamada for research and analysis

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Last Updated
July 24, 2020