CREW HONOR ROLL
Front Row: Left to Right: 2nd Lt. Robert Hanson Christy, 2nd Lt. Paul Dean Snedigar, 2nd Lt. Edward Stanley Kowalonek, 2nd Lt. James Frederick Sutherland Jr. Back Row: Left to Right: Sgt. Richard H. Martin Jr., Sgt. Leonard J. Marcus, S/Sgt. Albert Stephen Dold, Sgt. Augustine Perrotti, Sgt. James Hollis Simmons, S/Sgt. Lawson Clifford Chitester |
| FRONT ROW: LEFT TO RIGHT |
| Christy, Robert H. | 2nd Lt. | Bombardier | Philadelphia, PA |
| Snedigar, Paul D. | 2nd Lt. | Pilot | Riverside, CA |
| Kowalonek, Edward S. | 2nd Lt. | Co-pilot | Shenandoah, PA |
| Sutherland, James F. Jr. | 2nd Lt. | Navigator | Minneapolis, MN |
| BACK ROW: LEFT TO RIGHT |
| Martin, Richard H. Jr. | Sgt. | Tail Gunner | Lynchburg, VA |
| Marcus, Leonard J. | Sgt. | Ball Gunner | Philadelphia, PA |
| Dold, Albert S. | S/Sgt. | Radio/Gunner | Roslindale, MA |
| Perrotti, Augustine | Sgt. | Nose Gunner | New Haven, CT |
| Simmons, James H. | Sgt. | Top Turret Gunner | Derossett, TN |
| Chitester, Lawson C. | S/Sgt. | Flight Engineer | Buffalo, NY |
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On April 8, 1944, a B-24 Liberator Bomber (41-28983) took off from Topeka Army Air Field in Kansas. The B-24, and its crew of ten men of the United States Army Air Corps, were bound for Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Florida. Morrison Field was a staging base for the theaters of war. After a stopover, the B-24 Liberator Bomber and its crew of ten men would have been en route to Europe via the South Atlantic Ferry Route to join the Allied effort to defeat the Nazi war machine. Shortly after takeoff, the B-24 crashed in the Millington, Tennessee area in the vicinity of the Chickasaw Ordnance Works. Nine men were killed, and one man, Sgt. Richard H. Martin Jr. from Lynchburg, Virginia, parachuted to safety and survived the crash. He was admitted to Kennedy General Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The men who perished in the crash are listed as official casualties of World War II, having died in the service of their country. |
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From the Newspaper: The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Sunday, April 9, 1944
"Exploding in midair with a force that tore it into three pieces, a B-24 Army Liberator
carried nine of its crew members to death yesterday morning as it
disintegrated over a two mile area just west of the Chickasaw Ordnance Works near Millington."
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S/SGT LAWSON C. CHITESTER was from Buffalo, New York. His name is listed on the Buffalo New York World War II Honor Roll Memorial.
He was the Engineer.
He was 21 years old.
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He is the son of Patrick Joseph Christy and Alice B. Hanson.
He was married to Helen H. Christy.
He was the Bombardier.
He was 23 years old.
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His name is also inscribed on the George Robert White Memorial Centre Monument in the Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts.
He is the son of William Dold Sr. and Emma Schriftgeisser.
He was the Radio Operator/Gunner.
He was 22 years old.
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He is the son of Bronislaw Kowalonek and Mary Szukiecz.
He was the Co-Pilot.
He was 24 years old.
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He was the Ball Gunner.
He was 20 years old.
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SGT RICHARD H. MARTIN JR. survived the crash. Sgt. Martin was from Lynchburg, Virginia.
Sgt. Richard H. Martin survived the crash.
He was the Tail Gunner.
Sgt. Richard Harrison Martin Jr. survived the crash, and recovered from his injuries.
I believe Sgt. Richard Harrison Martin Jr. passed away on December 2, 1973.
Other information unavailable at this time.
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He is the son of Frank and Josephine Perrotti.
He was the Nose Gunner.
He was 20 years old.
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He is the son of Dock Ondes Simmons and Mattie Palmer.
He was the Top Turret Gunner.
He was 20 years old.
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He is the son of Charles Alva Snedigar and Ica Dora Coghill of Pratt, Kansas.
He was married to Kathleen F. (Pankow) Snedigar of Riverside, California.
He was the pilot.
He was 26 years old.
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He is the son of James F. Sutherland and Jane Ladd.
He was the Navigator.
He was 21 years old.
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NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL: WASHINGTON, D.C.
The names and memories of the nine men who were killed in the crash of
B-24 Liberator Bomber (41-28983) are enshrined at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Click here to Return to the Main B-24 Liberator Bomber(41-28983)Tribute:
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If anyone is upset or offended by this Web page tribute, please accept my apologies, and please contact me at my E-mail address by clicking on to my underlined name at the bottom of this paragraph or, key in my E-mail address -> KURTALBERTDOLD@AOL.COM and I will address your concerns.
I am merely looking for information and a good photo of each member of the crew of
B-24 Liberator Bomber (41-28983).
I would like to use their individual photos and information on this Web page, as well as the other links, as my personal tribute to the men of this crew. Thank you.
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Thank you to the various Web sites across the Internet for the animations on this Web page as well as the other Web pages on my overall B-24 Web site, especially the American Flag animations. Although some of the American Flag animations are 50-Star Flags, and some are 48-Star Flags, the symbolism is well-intentioned, as the 48-Star Flag was the American Flag of the Word War II era. |
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Site designed and maintained by the nephew of S/Sgt. Albert S. Dold,
Kurt Albert Dold
of Norwood, Massachusetts.
This Web page tribute was originally published on October 1, 2000. The last update to this page was on May 25, 2009. |