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| USAAF 5th AF 54th TCW 375th TCG 56th TCS  USAAF 1943 |
Pilot Captain George W. Beswick, O-660711 (MIA / KIA) Tippah County, MS Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Sam P. Binkley, O-672307 (MIA / KIA) Albuquerque, NM Navigator 2nd Lt Jerome D. Amromin O-803957 (MIA / KIA) IL Radio Sgt Robert B. Mulkmus 33286901 (MIA / KIA) Millvale, PA Engineer SSgt Henry O. Bauer, 39830840 (WIA, survived) ID Flight Chief TSgt Henry K. Buelterman, 37077624 (WIA, survived) Ferguson, MS Cargo Signalman Horace E. Hall, V73210 Australian Signals ACMF 2 Air Maint Coy (MIA, KIA) Hawthorn, VIC Cargo Unidentified Australian (WIA, survived) Cargo Unidentified Australian (WIA, survived) Cargo Unidentified Australian (WIA, survived) Crashed July 23 1943 MACR 16084 Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Constructors Number 9480. On September 2, 1942 delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as C-47A-30-DL Skytrain serial number 42-23618. Ferried overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 54th Troop Carrier Wing (54th TCW), 375th Troop Carrier Group (375th TCG), 56th Troop Carrier Squadron (56th TCS). Field Number / Buzz Number 126. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On July 23 1943 took off from 5 Mile Drome (Ward) near Port Moresby piloted by Captain George W. Beswick on a mission to air drop supplies to Allied soldiers in the vicinity of Sela River to the northwest of Nassau Bay. Aboard was the American air crew plus four Australian passengers. This C-47 crashed near the summit of a high mountain near the Sela River roughly 15 miles inland from Nassau Bay at roughly Lat 7° 44' Long 147° 21.3'. Fates of the Crew On impact, five in the front of the plane were killed instantly and the plane caught fire and burned. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were thrown clear of the cockpit. Five others aboard survived with minor injuries. The five in the rear of the plane survived the crash with minor injuries. Two Americans: Buelterman and Bauer plus three Australians. The survivors left the crash site to find help. Later, they were rescued by Allied forces and taken to Nassau Bay. Search After the crash, Australian patrol with natives searched for the crash site without success. Memorials The five crew killed in the were officially declared dead the day of the mission. All five remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Beswick earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. He also has a memorial marker at Blue Mountain Cemetery in Blue Mountain, MS. Binkley earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Amromin earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Mulkmus earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Bauer earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Hall is memorialized at Bomana War Cemetery on the Port Moresby Memorial, panel 6. Bauer passed away on July 5, 1981 at age 70. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home, Idaho. Buelterman passed away September 13, 2017 at age 99. He is buried at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Black Jack, Missouri. References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - George W. Beswick NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Sam P. Binkley NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Robert B. Mulkmus NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Henry O. Bauer USAF Serial Number Search Results - C-47A-30-DL Skytrain 42-23618 "23618 (MSN 9480) MIA Jul 25, 1943" Missing Air Crew Report 16084 (MACR 16084) created retroactively circa 1946 (Page 4) Hand written statement by survivor SSgt Henry O. Bauer Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - George W. Beswick Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - George W. Beswick American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Sam P. Binkley American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Jerome D. Amromin American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert B. Mulkmus CWGC - Horace Edward Hall FindAGrave - CPT George William Beswick (photo, tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - CPT George William Beswick (photo, memorial marker photo) FindAGrave - 2Lt Sam Paul Binkley (photos, tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - 2Lt Jerome D Amromin (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - Sgt Robert B Mulkmus (tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - Signalman Horace Edward Hall (Port Moresby memorial) FindAGrave - Henry Kenneth Buelterman (grave photo) FindAGrave - Henry Oscar Bauer (grave photo) Allied Air Transport Operations South West Pacific Area in WWII Volume Two pages 13 (54th TCW losses, July 23, 1943 C-47A 42-23618), 548 (index C-47A 42-23618) 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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 C-47  MIA 5 Missing |
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