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| USAAF 13th AF 42nd BG 69th BS  USAAF c1943 |
Pilot 1st Lt Henry A. Schmidt, O-791245 (MIA / KIA) Hudson County, NJ Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Herman F. Birlauf, O-742117 (survived) Chicago, IL Navigator 2nd Lt Jason K. Goldwater, O-790951 (MIA / KIA, BR) New York, NY Radio TSgt Raymond S. White, 06854202 (MIA / KIA) Altoona, PA Gunner SSgt Nicholas J. Governale, 06979272 (MIA / KIA, BR) Brooklyn, NY Crashed July 10, 1943 at 5:09am MACR 86 Aircraft History Built by North American Aviation (NAA) in Inglewood. Constructors Number 90-11980. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-25C-5 Mitchell serial number 42-53433. Ferried overseas via Hickam Field and converted into a B-25C-1 strafer then ferried across the Pacific to the South Pacific (SoPAC). Wartime History Assigned to the 13th Air Force (13th AF), 42nd Bombardment Group (42nd BG) "The Crusaders", 69th Bombardment Squadron (69th BS). No known nose art or nickname. When lost, engines R-2600-13 Numbers 42-77199 and 42-47433. Armed with ten .50 caliber machine guns serial numbers unknown and two .30 caliber machine guns serial numbers unknown. Mission History On July 10, 1943 at 5:09am took off from Carney Field (Bomber 2) on Guadalcanal piloted by 1st Lt Henry A. Schmidt on a shipping sweep over Kula Gulf off New Georgia. The weather was good with poor visibility. During take off in the predawn darkness using only instruments, this B-25 hit a tree that bent the propeller on the right engine and tore off the left tail assembly including the horizontal and vertical stabilizer. Damaged, the B-25 crashed into the sea roughly 3000 yards / 1.7 miles north off Koli Point and immediately sank into Iron Bottom Sound. Wreckage The next day, the left tail assembly, vertical and horizontal stabilizer torn off by the impact were found among trees near the beach north of Carney Field. The rest of the aircraft sank into Iron Bottom Sound. During 2017, Project Recover located aircraft wreckage consistent with a B-25 Mitchell in close proximity to the reported crash location. Between 2022 until 2024, teams from Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) excavated the site and recovered possible human remains, osseous material, possible osseous material, and material evidence, including life support equipment. The recovered material were transported to Hickam Field to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis. Fates of the Crew Co-pilot 2nd Lt. Herman F. Birlauf survived the crash and regained consciousness while underwater and escaped the sinking bomber through the cockpit hatch. On the surface, he inflating his "Mae West" life vest and saw the tail of the bomber sinking rapidly. Calling for the other crew members, he heard no reply. Swimming away, he managed to grab onto some floating debris including a parachute and seat cushion and was later rescued. The rest of the crew was presumed to have gone down with bomber when it crashed and sank. All four remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Recovery of Remains Remains recovered between 2022 until 2024 were analyized by the DPAA Laboratory using dental and anthropological analysis. On May 15, 2025 the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the identification of SSgt Nicholas J. Governale used mitochondrial, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA analysis. He will be buried in in Ridgewood, NY on a date yet to be determined. Rescue Birlauf was rescued by a U.S. Navy barge and taken aboard USS Formalhaut (AK-22) for medical treatment, then to the U.S. Navy hospital at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal. Memorials The four crew that died in the crash were officially declared dead on July 12, 1943. Schmidt earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Goldwater earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. White earned the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) as a radio operator-gunner aboard a B-26 Marauder in the 22nd Bombardment Group (22nd BG), 18th Reconnaissance Squadron (18th RS) on a torpedo attack on June 4, 1942 during the Battle of Midway. He also earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. White also has a memorial marker at Fairview Cemetery in Altoona, PA. Governale earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. He also has a memorial marker at Long Island National Cemetery at section MA plot 85. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. When he was identified in 2025, a rosette was added next to his name. Birlauf passed away on August 25, 1986 at age 68. He is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery section T2 site 65. Relatives Anthony Veneziano (nephew of S/Sgt Nicholas J. Governale) "We have a few pictures of him that I will attempt to add at a later date." References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Henry A. Schmidt NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Herman F Birlauf NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Jason K. Goldwater NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Raymond S. White NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Nicholas J. Governale USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25C-5 Mitchell 42-53433 "53433 (69th BS, 42nd BG) lost Jul 10, 1943, Solomon Islands. MACR 86" Missing Air Crew Report 86 (MACR 86) created July 11, 1943 (Page 2) incorrectly omits the leading zero from the U.S. Army Service Numbers for White, 6854202 [sic 06854202] and Governale, 6979272 [sic 06979272] The Crusaders A History of the 42nd Bombardment Group (M) pages (1946) pages 22, 38 (Page 22) "It was during this week [first week of January 1943] that the 69th received replacements, who joined the ground echelon at Efate. They were pilots... Lieut. Henry A. Schmidt..." (Page 38) "The 69th mission of July 10th [1943], a low altitude search for enemy shipping reported in the Kula Gulf, found and strafed a beached DD [Nagatsuki] at Surumuni Cove and also strafed the village of Buri. Lieut. H. A. Schmidt and crew crashed into the sea 3000 yards off Koli Point tin taking off for this mission. Lieut. H. F. Birlauf, co-pilot, was the sole survivor and furnished the information that the plane struck trees when pulling up and careened into the water out of control. He left the plane underwater and was saved by his Mae West [life vest]." American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Henry A. Schmidt FindAGrave - 1Lt Henry A Schmidt (tablets of the missing) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Jason K. Goldwater FindAGrave - 2Lt Jason K Goldwater (tablets of the missing photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Raymond S. White Military Times Raymond S. White Distinguished Service Cross Citation via Wayback Machine Jan 18, 2012 "Distinguished Service Cross Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Technical Sergeant Raymond S. White (ASN: 6854202), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Radio Operator and Gunner on a B-26 Medium Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d Bombardment Group (M), FAR EAST Air Force (Detached), in aerial action against enemy surface forces on 4 June 1942, during an engagement near Midway Island. Technical Sergeant White displayed extraordinary heroism during an extremely hazardous and difficult torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy. By skilled airmanship and courageousness he was instrumental in the success of the first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air forces, in the face of intense enemy fighter and anti-aircraft opposition. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Technical Sergeant White on this occasion, at the cost of his life, have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces." FindAGrave - TSgt Raymond S White (photo, tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - TSGT Raymond S. White (photo, memorial marker photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Nicholas J. Governale FindAGrave - SSgt Nicholas J Governale (tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - Sgt Nicholas J Governale (memorial marker photo) FindAGrave - Herman F. Birlauf (grave photo) Thanks to Anthony Veneziano for additional information Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated January 13, 2026 |
 B-25  Photo Archive  Map July 10, 1943  MIA 3 Missing |
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