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| USAAF 20th AF 500th BG 881st BS |
Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Edward G. Law, O-738190 (KIA April 2, 1945, BNR) Clare, IA Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Gerould L. Giddings, O-767523 (POW died May 26, 1945, BR) Great Barrington, MA Navigator 2nd Lt. Donald J. Van Dever, O-2058586 (POW died May 26, 1945, BNR) Witchita Falls, TX Bombardier 2nd Lt. David R. Gerhardt, O-717886 (POW died May 26, 1945, BNR) Springfield, OH Engineer TSgt Raymond C. Richmond, 35376077 (POW died May 26, 1945, BNR) Proctor, WV Central Fire Control Sgt Ray F. Hopper, 19201587 (POW survived) Marion, OR Radio Sgt Robert H. Nead, 17112447 (POW, died May 26, 1945, BNR) Perry, IA Left Waist Gunner Sgt Maurice Myers, 13200699 (POW, died May 26, 1945, BNR) Souderton, PA Rad. Gunner Sgt Tadeusz "Thaddeus" J. Pasternak, 31417202 (POW died May 26, 1945, BNR) Chicopee, MA Ring Gunner Sgt Harry E. McMillen, 33715004 (POW died May 26, 1945, BNR) Aliquppa, PA Tail Gunner Sgt Leonard J. McNeill, 34796533 (POW died May 26, 1945, BR) Orlando, FL Crashed April 2, 1945 at 2:30am MACR 14230 Aircraft History Built by Boeing at Wichita, Kansas. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-29-55-BW Superfortress serial number 44-69666. Flown overseas to the central Pacific. Wartime History Assigned to the 20th Air Force (20th AF), 500th Bombardment Group (500th BG), 881st Bombardment Squadron (881st BS). No known nickname or nose art. Unofficially nicknamed "Bottled In Blonde" by the crew. Tail code Z ▢ 11 (Z Square 11). When lost engines R-3350-23-A serial numbers DW 03702, DW 203613, DW 201477 and DW 203916. Armed with .50 caliber machine guns makers unknown serial numbers listed in Missing Air Crew Report 14230 (MACR 14230). Mission History On April 1, 1945 took off from Isley Field on Saipan piloted by 1st Lt. Edward G. Law on Mission 37 an experimental night precision bombing mission against Musashino Aircraft Factory at Musashino west of Tokyo in Japan. The formation included thirty-five B-29s with one aborting the mission. Inbound to the target, the weather was clear with visibility good with a slight haze. On April 2, 1945 after midnight, the formation arrived over the target between 5,000' to 6,000'. Five minutes into the bomb run at roughly 4,500', this bomber was hit by anti-aircraft fire between the no. 3 and no. 4 engines and moments later a second hit in the rear fuselage and tail. The damage caused a fire and pilot Law ordered the crew to bail out. After the ten crew bailed out, pilot Law died flying the bomber when it exploded and crashed. When this bomber failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Wreckage This B-29 crashed near Youngi Temple roughly 5 kilometers northwest of Haramachida-machi, Minami tama-gun, Minami in Tokyo. After the crash, the Japanese visited the crash site and recovered the remains of Law. Fates of the Crew Pilot Law never exited the bomber before it blew up, according to the surviving crew members. The rest of the crew all bailed out and were captured by the Japanese and became Prisoners Of War (POW). According to Japanese military law they were considered captured enemy airmen, not military prisoners. On April 16, 1945 the rest of the crew were detained by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Kempeitai (Kempei-Tai) at Tokyo Military Prison (Shibuya Military Prison). During the night of May 25, 1945 to May 26, 1945 the POW crew (with the exception of Hopper) died during a B-29 fire bombing raid that caused fires that burned large urban areas. Hopper survived captivity until the end of the Pacific War and was liberated from Omori Headquarters Camp (Ofuna) Tokyo 35-139 then returned to the United States. Postwar, five Japanese charged with war crimes related to the fate of the crew and were put on trail during the Yokohama War Crimes Trial and all found guilty including: Hatsuaki Kambe (life sentence), Keiji Kamimoto (death penalty), Masao Koshikawa (30 year prison sentence), Mataishi Okubo (life sentence) and Toshio Tashiro (death penalty). Recovery of Remains After the crash, the remains of Law and Giddings were recovered from the crash site. Law was identified by his name tag on his flight jacket that was recovered to Youngi Temple. Postwar, his remains were transported to Hawaii and the United States for permanent burial. Postwar, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) recovered 65 sets of remains from Tokyo Military Prison. At total of 39 were unable to be identified and were buried at Manila American Cemetery as unknowns. Due to the advocacy of Michael Krehl, grandson of Sgt Leonard J. McNeill and pressure from U.S. Senators, the Department of Defense (DoD) was compelled to exhume the unknown remains for modern DNA testing and forensic analysis. During March 2022 and April 2022, the unknowns from Tokyo Military Prison were exhumed and transported to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) for laboratory testing. On October 9, 2025 the partial remains of McNeill were identified by the Department of War. He was identified by anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence plus mitochondrial DNA analysis versus reference samples from family members including Michael Krehl. Memorials Law was officially declared dead April 2, 1945 in the crash of the bomber. He is buried at Fort Dodge Memorial Park in Fort Dodge, IA. Grave 3. lot 164, Hillcrest 2. Giddings was officially declared dead on May 26, 1945. Postwar he was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) at plot Q, grave 617. Five of the crew (Van Dever, Gerhardt, Nead, McMillen and McNeill) remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Van Dever was officially declared dead on May 26, 1945 and is listed as Missing In Action (MIA). He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Van Dever is memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 5. Gerhardt was officially declared dead on May 26, 1945 and is listed as Missing In Action (MIA). He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Gerhardt memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 7. Nead was officially declared dead on May 26, 1945 and is listed as Missing In Action (MIA). He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Nead memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 7. McMillen was officially declared dead on May 26, 1945 and is listed as Missing In Action (MIA). He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. McMillen memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 7. Myers is buried at Arlington National Cemetery at section 34, site 2240. Hooper passed away on April 3, 2011 at age 85. He is buried at Marion Friends Cemetery in Marion, OR. Pasternak has a memorial marker at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery in Chicopee, MA. McNeill was officially declared dead on May 26 1945. He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. McNeill is memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 7. After he was identified on October 9, 2025, a rosette was added next to his name. He will be buried on Veterans Day November 11, 2026 Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, Florida in the family plot area. Relatives Michael Krehl (grandson of McNeill) References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-29-55-BW Superfortress 44-69666 Missing Air Crew Report 14230 (MACR 14230) created April 2, 1945 NARA "881st Bombardment Squadron Scrapbook" "44-69666 - Replacement Aircraft - Reported Missing April 1, 1945 after a mission to Tokyo. Commander on this flight was 1/Lt. Edward G. Law." NARA Records of World War II Prisoners of War - Ray F Hopper FindAGrave - Edward G Law (photo, memorial marker photo) FindAGrave - 2LT Gerould L Giddings (photos, grave photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Donald J. Van Dever FindAGrave - 2Lt Donald J Van Dever (tablets of the missing photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - David R. Gerhardt FindAGrave - 2Lt David R Gerhardt (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - TSgt Raymond Carl Richmond (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - Ray Floyd Hopper, Sr (photos, obituary, grave photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert H. Nead FindAGrave - Sgt Robert H Nead (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - SGT Maurice Myers (grave marker photo) FindAGrave - SGT Tadeusz Joseph “Thaddeus” Pasternak (memorial marker) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Harry E. McMillen FindAGrave - Sgt Harry E McMillen (tablets of the missing photo) NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Leonard J. Mc Neill American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Leonard J. McNeill DPAA Personnel Profile - Leonard J. McNeill FindAGrave - Sgt Leonard James McNeill (photo, news, tablets of the missing photo) Japanese Journal of Global Informatics "The B-29 Crash in Machida, Tokyo: Testimonies from Japanese Witnesses and the Relative of an American POW" by Misaki WATANABE, Ryoichi MATSUNO Vol. 5, March 2025 DPAA Press Release - Airman Accounted For From World War II (McNeill, L.) July 21, 2026 YouTube - Tokyo Prison Fire Thanks to Mike Krehl and Katherine Rasdorf 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 September 21, 2026 |
 B-29  POW / MIA 9 Prisoners 4Missing |
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