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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 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, BNR) Orlando, FL MIA April 2, 1945 MACR 14230 Aircraft History Built by Boeing at Wichita, Kansas. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) 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. 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 the serial numbers are noted in Missing Air Crew Report 14230 (MACR 14230). Mission History On April 1, 1945 took off from 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'. Over the Tokyo area, this B-29 was shot down and pilot Law ordered the crew to bail out. When it failed to return, this bomber was listed as Missing In Action (MIA) for unknown reasons. 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 surviving crew parachuted from the bomber and were captured by the Japanese and became Prisoners Of War (POW). According to Japanese military law they were considered captured enemy airmen, not formal POWs. On April 16, 1945 the crew were detained by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Kenpeitai (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 were recovered from the crash site. He was identified by his name tag on his flight jacket that was recovered to Youngi Temple. Postwar, the recovered remains of the crew were transported to Hawaii and the United States for permanent burial. Memorials Law has a memorial marker 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 remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA) and were officially declared dead on May 26, 1945. All five are memorialized on the tablets of the mission National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). Van Dever on court 5. Gerhardt on court 7. Nead on court 7. McMillen on court 7. McNeill on court 7. Van Dever earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Gerhardt earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Nead earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. McMillen earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. McNeill earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. 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. Relatives Mike Krehl (grandson of McNeill) "I have just recently been informed that my grandfather Leonard J. McNeill, was a tail gunner on the Z square 11." References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-29-55-BW Superfortress 44-69666 "69666 (500th BG, 881st BS) lost from unknown cause in Pacific Apr 1, 1945 while on mission to Nakajima aircraft factory in Tokyo. MACR 14230. All 11 crew killed." 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." American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Donald J. Van Dever American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - David R. Gerhardt American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert H. Nead American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Harry E. McMillen American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Leonard J. McNeill 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) FindAGrave - 2Lt Donald J Van Dever (tablets of the missing photo) 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) FindAGrave - Sgt Robert H Nead (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - SGT Maurice Myers (grave marker photo) FindAGrave - Sgt Thaddeus J Pasternak (memorial marker) FindAGrave - Sgt Harry E McMillen (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - Sgt Leonard James McNeill (photo, news, tablets of the missing photo) 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
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