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| USAAF 5th AF 345th BG 499th BS   499th BS 1944  USAAF 1945  Destiny and Destination circa 1950s |
Pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur Browngardt, Jr., O-764969 (KIA, BR) Sag Harbor, NY Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Jack B. Bartlow, O-823789 (KIA, BR) Newport, KY Navigator-Bombardier 2nd Lt. Howard C. Lebeck, O-704602 (KIA, BR) IA Engineer TSgt William H. Noe, 15087318 (KIA, BR) WV Radio TSgt Clarence H. Gilbert, 13063466 (KIA, BR) TN Gunner SSgt Engelhardt Von Hebel, 34408015 (KIA, BR) Netherlands Crashed January 7, 1945 MACR none Aircraft History Built by North American Aviation (NAA) at Air Force Plant NC at Fairfax Field near Kansas City, KS. Constructors Number 108-35320. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-25J-10-NC Mitchell serial number 43-36030. Ferried overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Wartime History On October 5, 1944 assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 345th Bombardment Group (345th BG) "Air Apaches", 499th Bombardment Squadron (499th BS) "Bat Outta Hell". Assigned to crew chief TSgt Willie R. Gamblin. Nicknamed "Sag Harbor Express" in an old English font by assigned pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur Browngardt after his hometown in white on the left side of the nose atop the "Bat Outta Hell" nose motif. Below the pilot window was "Lt. A. Browngardt" in block letters and behind in smaller lettering was TSgt Willie R. Gamblin. The tail had "030" the last three digits of the serial number and below the circular "Air Apaches" motif. When lost, engines R-2600 serial numbers unknown. Armed with .50 caliber machine guns makers and serial numbers unknown. Mission History On January 7, 1945 took off from Tacloban Airfield on Leyte piloted by 2nd Lt. Arthur Browngardt, Jr. on a low level bombing and strafing mission against Clark Field on Luzon. Over the target, pull up to avoid an A-20 cross cutting the formation and was hit by anti-aircraft fire in the right engine. Trailing smoke and loosing altitude, the left wing hit the roof of Holy Rosary Parish Church (Pisamban Maragul) in Angeles then crashed into the courtyard of the campus of Holy Angel Academy (Holy Angel University) and exploded and caught fire. On impact, both pilots were thrown clear of the bomber and landed 20 yards away strapped to their seats and knocked unconscious. The rest of the crew were killed in the crash. When this plane failed to return, it was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA). Fates of the Crew After the crash, Japanese Army soldiers billeted nearby rushed to the crash site. Immediately, the Japanese found the two pilots and removed their seatbelt and harness and laid their bodies on the ground. One of the pilots died within a few minutes of the crash. The other pilot was taken to a military hospital but died enroute then returned to the crash site. Recovery of Remains When the fire subsided, the Japanese removed the bodies from the wreckage and placed them all side-by-side and removed their personal effects and placed them on their chests. All the bodies were badly mutilated from the crash and one was burned by the fire. The Japanese placed all the bodies side-by-side and removed their personal effects and placed each them on their chest for inspection. Afterwards, a Japanese officer summoned the parish priest, Father Cosme Bituin to perform last rites then saluted them and ordered them buried in a shallow grave near the crash. Several days later, Filipinos observed stray dogs at the grave and a terrible smell and Edmundo "Eddy" Santos age 13 who observed the crash from the church's north bell tower used a hoe to fix the grave. During February 1945, after the U.S. Army liberated the area, a team from American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) visited the crash site and recovered the remains of the crew from a common grave. The remains were interred at the USAF Cemetery Culayo #1 near Clark Field as Unknowns (X-Files) X-1, X-2 and X-3. Later, they were again exhumed and transported to American Graves Registration Service Mausoleum (AGRS Mausoleum) No. 2 (Manila American Cemetery) for storage. During March 1945, another team from American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) visited the crash site and found another common grave a few yards away and recovered two more sets of remains that were designated as Unknowns (X-Files) X-16 and X-17 and cross referenced with the three previously recovered. X-16 and X-17 were transported to American Graves Registration Service Mausoleum (AGRS Mausoleum) No. 1 (Manila American Cemetery) for storage. After further investigation, X-16 was positively identified as Gilbert. During March 1948, the remaining recovered remains were reprocessed by AGRS. In Manila, the unknown numbers (X-Files) from cemeteries were renumber as unknown numbers with a four digit code. X-17 redesignated X-4231 was identified as Hebel. X-3 was deemed to be more than one individual and was redesignated X-4228-A and X-4228-B. After further review, X-4228-A was identified as Lebeck. X-4228-B was identified as Bartlow. X-4227 was identified as Browngardt. X-4229 was identified as Noe. X-4231 was identified as Von Hebel. The recovered remains were transported to Manila Mausoleum, AGRS-PAZ for storage and identification by an anthropologist in the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) in accordance with scientific and technical standards. By March 1951 Gilbert was identified. By April 1951, Browngardt, Lebeck, Bartlow and Noe were individually identified by the U.S. Army. Afterwards, each of the crew were identified and transported to the United States and Hawaii for permanent burial. Unknown X-4227 (X-File X-4227) were stored at Manila Mausoleum, AGRS-PAZ hanger 813, bay B, crypt 608. Next, placed in a casket in section 224. The remains were reviewed by an anthropologist Robert B. Fox and identified as Browngardt used partial dental and physical evidence, he was the tallest member of the crew at 6' 3" by February 21, 1950 then approved for identified on April 13, 1951. The cause of death was listed as "KIA - Plane Crash". Afterwards, the casketed remains of Browngardt aboard USNS Sgt. Charles E. Mower and on September 11, 1951 arrives in Brooklyn, NY. On October 3, 1951 the casketed remains of Browngardt with a U.S. Army escort arrived at Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor, New York to the custody of Mr. Leonard M. Pino, funeral director. Wreckage After impacting the church roof, the B-25 crashed into the ground over a 500' area on the campus of Holy Angel Academy (Holy Angel University) in Angeles. During February 1945, airmen from 345th Bombardment Group (345th BG) visited the crash site that was scattered over an area of roughly 500' and took photos of the wreckage. They also visited the damaged church and donated money to repair the damaged roof. Until the 1950s, wreckage remained including at least one engine, a landing gear leg and a single .50 caliber machine gun. Memorials Browngardt earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. On October 6, 1951 at 3:30pm a funeral with military honors was conducted for Browngardt who was buried with a flat granite marker at Saint Andrews Cemetery in Sag Harbor, NY. Burial honors were provided by American Legion Post #388. In attendance was his mother, Mrs. Gladys Browngardt who was presented the folded U.S. flag. Bartlow earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is buried at National Memorial Cemetery (Punchbowl) of the Pacific at section P, site 711. Lebeck earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery at section R, site 2691. Noe earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at section D, site 217. Gilbert earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in section 12. Von Hebel earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery at section 12, site 8070. At Holy Angel University, there is a memorial plaque dedicated in 1996 to the plane and crew. The plaque reads: "At 9:30 am. On 07 Jan. 1945, a north American Mitchell N-25J bomber no.11-43-36 “Sag Harbor Express" plowed through the roof of this church after it was hit by Japanese flak as it was bombing Clark Field during an all-out 5th Air Force attack. It made a gaping large hole on the roof, leaving its left wing caught among the ceiling rafters. It then crashed to pieces and into a huge fireball on the patio of the Holy Angel Academy nearby, killing the entire crew. The pilot and co-pilot were thrown clear out of the aircraft upon impact while the rest were either mangles, partially burned or charred beyond recognition. Japanese troops billeted in the said academy rushed out in panic with their rifles and fired volleys at the flaming wreckage. Later the Japanese gathered the cadavers and arranged them side by side, with their personal effects placed atop their chests. The then parish priest of Angeles Rev. Fr. Cosme Bituin was allowed to conduct last rites. The Japanese buried the bodies in a shallow grave about 200 yards south of the wreckage. In Feb. 1945 after the liberation of Angeles, a U.S. Army graveyard unit exhumed the remains and were shipped back to the U.S.A. for permanent interment. The bomber crew belonged to the 499th Bomb Sqdn. Named “ Bats Outa Hell” 345th Bombardment Group named “Air Apaches” Fifth air force, U.S. Army." Relatives Arthur Browngardt (father of Arthur Browngardt died October 6, 1950) Gladys (née Schwab) Browngardt (mother of Arthur Browngardt died July 1986) Gladys (née Browngardt) Laspesa (sister of Arthur Browngardt died September 4, 2016) References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Arthur Browngardt U.S. Draft Registration Card - Arthur Daniel Browngardt, Jr. Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - Arthur Browngardt Brooklyn Eagle "64 Soldiers from Area Listed as Killed In Action" March 7, 1945 page 8 "Southwest Pacific Area - Browngardt, 2nd Lt. Arthur J. – Mrs. Gladys Browngardt, mother, Sag Harbor." Application For Headstone Marker - Arthur Browngardt, Jr. FindAGrave - 2LT Arthur Browngardt Jr. (photos, grave photo) NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Jack B. Bartlow NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Howard C. Lebeck NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - William H. Noe NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Clarence H. Gilbert NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Engelhardt Von Hebel USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25J-10-NC Mitchell 43-36030 FindAGrave - 2LT Jack Byron Bartlow (photo, grave photo) FindAGrave - Howard Charles Lebeck (photo, grave photo) FindAGrave - SSGT William Homer Noe (news, grave photo) FindAGrave - Clarence Hamilton Gilbert (news, grave photo) FindAGrave - Engelhardt Von Hebel (grave photos) Sag Harbor Historical Museum - Excerpts from Robert Browngardt via Wayback Machine October 20, 2023 Ghosts of the Air True Stories of Aerial Hauntings (1955) by Martin Caidin mentions this loss Warpath Across The Pacific (1996) pages 221 (Profile 34), 249-253, (January 7, 1945), Profile 34), 374 (Appendix I, January 7, 1945 B-25J 43-36030 crew list), 388 (Appendix II, 499th BS 43-36030), 427 (Profile 34 description), 437 (index Bartlow), 438 (index Browngardt), 404 (index Gilbert), 433 (index Lebeck), 444 (index Noe), 448 (index Von Hebel) Destiny and Destination Holy Angel University (2009) by Robert P. Tantingco pages 98-99 (Plane crash at Holy Angel by Daniel Dizon) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated October 5, 2025
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