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| USAAF 5th AF 475th FG 431st FS |
Pilot 2nd Lt. Milton A. MacDonald, O-755980 (POW, executed April 20, 1944) Marathon County, WI Crashed April 16, 1944 'Black Sunday' at 3:15pm MACR 4503 Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38J-15-LO Lightning serial number 42-104355. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 475th Fighter Group (475th FG) "Satan's Angels", 431st Fighter Squadron (431st FS) "Hades". No known nose art or nickname. When lost, engines V-1710-91 and V-1710-89 serial numbers A-035644 and A-037903. Armed with a 20mm cannon and four .50 caliber machine guns makers and serial numbers not listed in Missing Air Crew Report 4503 (MACR 4503). Mission History On April 16, 1944 took off from Nadzab Airfield No. 3 piloted by 2nd Lt. Milton A. MacDonald on an escort mission over Hollandia, flying as wingman for 1st Lt Charles R. Samms. Returning, the formation experienced a severe weather front. Last in cloud layers in the vicinity of Jappa near Annanberg. When Samms realized he was not inform. he circled the area for ten minutes but failed to find him. MacDonald failed to return and was listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Search The next day, the squadron searched for this aircraft but failed to find any trace of this P-38. Fate of the Pilot MacDonald bailed out and was captured by the Japanese Army to the west of Madang. He was taken to Kempei-Tai headquarters at Amron and became a Prisoner Of War (POW). Sometime after April 16 1944 he was executed by the Japanese and buried in a mass grave at Amron. Recovery of Remains Postwar, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) exhumed remains from a mass grave at Amron. Remains designated as Unknown 31 (X-31) were later identified as MacDonald. Wreckage This P-38 crashed at approximately Lat 05'13" S Long 145'39"E near Efu to the west of Madang. Postwar, the crash site was found and the serial number confirmed. This P-38 crash site remains in situ near Efu. On November 1, 2015 a team from Pacific Wrecks including Justin Taylan, John Douglas and Keith Hopper visited this crash site. Justin Taylan adds: "On one of the engine cowlings we located '3189 R', the number is the constructor number of P-38J-15-LO Lightning 42-104355 and 'R' for right engine." Memorials MacDonald was officially declared dead April 20, 1944. He is buried at Restlawn Memorial Park in Wausau, WI. References Note, some sources spell his surname "Mac Donald" (two words) while spell it "MacDonald" as one word. NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Milton A. Mac Donald USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-38J-15-LO Lightning 42-104355 "104355 (431st FS) MIA near Madang Apr 16, 1944 during infamous Black Sunday mission to Hollandia. Wreck was located postwar" Missing Air Crew Report 4503 (MACR 4503) created April 18, 1944 PNG Museum Aircraft Status Card - P-38J Lightning 42-104355 Black Sunday (2000) page 99 FindAGrave - Milton A MacDonald (grave photo) 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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 P-38  Map April 16, 1944  POW 1 Prisoner Executed Resolved |
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