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| USAAF 5th AF 345th BG 499th BS  499th BS 1944  USAAF 1945  Destiny and Destination 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 Nav-Bomb 2nd Lt. Howard C. Lebeck, O-704602 (KIA, BR) IA Engineer T/Sgt. William H. Noe, 15087318 (KIA, BR) KY Radio T/Sgt. Clarence H. Gilbert, 13063466 (KIA, BR) TN Gunner S/Sgt. Engelhardt Von Hebel, 34408015 (KIA, BR) PA 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), 499th Bombardment Squadron (499th BS). Nicknamed "Sag Harbor Express" with the "Bat Outta Hell" nose motif. Assigned to pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur Browngardt who named the plane after his hometown. Crew chief Gamblin. Below the pilot window was "Lt. A. Browngardt". 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 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. Postwar, they were transported to the United States and Hawaii for permanent burial. Wreckage After the crash, wreckage of this B-25 remained on the campus of Holy Angel Academy (Holy Angel University) in Angeles. The wreckage included at least one engine, a landing gear leg and a single .50 caliber machine gun. Memorials The entire crew was declared dead the day of the mission and earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. Browngardt is buried at Saint Andrews Cemetery in Sag Harbor, NY. Bartlow is buried at National Memorial Cemetery (Punchbowl) of the Pacific at section P, site 711. Lebeck is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery at section R, site 2691. Noe is buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at section D, site 217. Gilbert is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in section 12. Von Hebel 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." References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Arthur Browngardt NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Jack B. Bartlow USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25J-10-NC Mitchell 43-36030 FindAGrave - 2LT Arthur Browngardt Jr. (photo) FindAGrave - 2LT Jack Byron Bartlow (grave photo) FindAGrave - Howard Charles Lebeck (photo) FindAGrave - SSGT William Homer Noe (grave photo) FindAGrave - Clarence Hamilton Gilbert (photo, grave photo) FindAGrave - Engelhardt Von Hebel (grave photo) Sag Harbor Historical Museum - Excerpts from Robert Browngardt's Ghosts of the Air True Stories of Aerial Hauntings (1955) by Martin Caidin mentions this loss Warpath Across The Pacific (1996) pages 249-253, (Profile 34). 374 (Appendix I, January 7, 1945 Browngardt), 388 (Appendix II, 499th BS 43-36030) 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
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