A continuation of my previous post, Special Orders Number 86.
The eleven Ardmore Army Air Field B-17 combat crews sent on their way to Grafton Underwood via Special Orders Number 86 were not all assigned to that air station at one time.
Special Orders Number 202 from HQ AAF Station 112, dated July 20, 1944, assigned seven crews (three of them from Ardmore and four others – see Note below) to the 384th Bomb Group effective July 21.
On Saturday, July 22, 1944, three of the eleven Ardmore crews, including my dad’s (George Edwin Farrar), were assigned to the 384th Bomb Group per Station 106 (Grafton Underwood) Special Orders Number 144. These three crews were headed by pilots:
Special Orders 144
The Proctor and Buslee crews were assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron and the Wood crew was assigned to the 545th.
On Monday, July 24, 1944, two of the eleven crews from Ardmore were assigned to the 384th Bomb Group. These two crews were headed by pilots:
The Bills crew was assigned to the 547th Bombardment Squadron and the Plowman crew was assigned to the 546th.
On Wednesday, July 26, 1944, the remaining six Ardmore crews were assigned to the 384th Bomb Group. These six crews were headed by pilots:
- James J. Brodie
- Bert O. Brown, Jr.
- Walter W. Cline
- Donald B. Duesler
- Howard A. Jung
- William R. Kinnaird
The Jung crew was assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron. The Brodie and Kinnaird crews were assigned to the 545th. The Cline and Duesler crews were assigned to the 546th. And the Brown, Jr. crew was assigned to the 547th.
Of these eleven crews, only a little over half completed their tour with the 384th Bomb Group. Here’s how the statistics added up for these 110 men:
- 62 (56%) completed their tour with the 384th
- 1 (1%) was wounded, non-combat
- 14 (13%) were killed in action
- 3 (3%) were killed in a flying accident (non-combat)
- 11 (10%) became POWs, taken prisoner by the Nazis
- 3 (3%) were wounded in action
- 16 (14%) were transferred
Note
In addition to the three Ardmore crews assigned to the 384th Bomb Group on July 22, 1944, four other crews were assigned to the 547th Bombardment Squadron on the same Special Orders Number 144. These four crews were headed by pilots:
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2018
The Arrowhead Club 