Two days after the mid-air collision between the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana, a Telegram Form dated September 30, 1944 reported the fate of eight of the crew from the two planes.  It reported eight men dead, all buried on September 30, 1944 at the Ostingersleben Cemetery (the report identified it as the Osteringersleben Cemetery).  Only four of the eight men were identified:

• William A. Henson II (listed incorrectly on the report as William A. Hedson II)
• Robert S. Stearns
• Gordon Hetu (listed incorrectly on the report as Gorden Heu)
• Robert D. Crumpton

Henson and Stearns were from the Buslee crew aboard Lead Banana.  Hetu and Crumpton were from the Brodie crew aboard Lazy Daisy.  The other four were unidentified because, as the report states, they were “completely burned” and the “crews were mixed together.”

In determination of the fate of the two crews, eighteen total men, this report starts the count at eight (8) recovered dead, with only four (4) identified.

Buslee Crew List:

• Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
• Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
• Navigator – William Alvin Henson II    Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
• Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns    Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
• Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
• Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
• Ball Turret Gunner – George Francis McMann, Jr.
• Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
• Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)

Brodie Crew List:

• Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
• Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
• Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.
• Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
• Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley
• Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Robert Doyle Crumpton    Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
• Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu    Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
• Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
• Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger

An October 7, 1944 Captured Aircraft Report conveys the same information.

The September 30 Telegram Form notes also:

• Time:  1215
• From:  L S E B
• Through:  F R P
• Remarks:  SSD L B K M 322     29 Sept.44   -2130-
• The aircraft could not be identified as the fire destroyed all markings, but it must have been Lead Banana as Lazy Daisy was identified through the tail number on the October 1, 1944 Telegram Form.

Questions:

• What does the date of September 30, 1944 signify?
• Was this information received by the US Army Air Forces on this date?  From who?
• What do the abbreviations in the “From,” “Through,” and “Remarks” sections stand for?

This information can be found on pages 12 and 13 of MACR9753.  MACR stands for Missing Air Crew Report.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014