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Chester Anthony Rybarczyk, Update
Chester Anthony Rybarczyk
New information from a new search on Ancestry.com, and new information from military records have provided me with some new and updated information regarding Chester Anthony Rybarczyk, the navigator of the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII.
To view my original post and other information about Chester Anthony Rybarczyk, please see the links at the end of this post.
Rybarczyk Family
Chester Anthony Rybarczyk was born 18 January 1923 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio to father Jan “John” Rybarczyk (1886 – 1963) and Jadwiga “Hattie” Malak Rybarczyk (1892 – 1950).
Chester’s father was noted as being born in Germany/Poland on early Federal Census records, but in Poland on later records. He immigrated to America in 1889 according to the 1930 census. Census records note Chester’s mother was born in Poland and immigrated in 1910.
Chester was one of nine children of John and Hattie Rybarczyk. The Rybarczyk children were,
- Daniel Stanley (1912 – 1992)
- Martha M. (1914 – 2008)
- Jane Agnes “Jennie” (1916 – 2001)
- Edmund Daniel (1917 – 1996)
- Stephanie Rita (1919 – 2015)
- Stanislawa (1921 – 1921)
- Chester Anthony (1923 – 1967)
- Felix Joseph (1925 – 1997)
- Anna Barbara (1926 – 2016)
The 1930 Federal Census notes that the Rybarczyk family lived at 1118 Blum Street in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Chester was seven years old. The household included Chester’s parents and all siblings except for Stanislawa, who survived only twenty minutes after his birth on 11 August 1921.
The 1930 census record also notes that Chester’s parents were both born in Poland as were all of their parents. Chester and all of his siblings were born in Toledo. Chester’s father worked as a Foreman, a building contractor.
The 1940 Federal Census notes that the Rybarczyk family still lived at 1118 Blum Street in Toledo, but only the four youngest children remained living at home – Edmund, Chester, Felix, and Anna. Chester was seventeen years old.
Education and Civilian Employment Prior to Military Service
Chester Rybarczyk attended Libbey High School in Toledo, Ohio, and later graduated from Macomber Vocational High School in Auto Mechanics in 1941.
Before entering the service Chester worked for Bentley & Sons in Toledo, Ohio. Bentley & Sons was a contracting company and they built many Toledo area landmarks over the years.
Entry in WWII Military Service
Draft Registration
On 30 June 1942, Chester Anthony Rybarczyk registered for the WWII draft at Local Board No. 14, 1332 Nebraska Avenue, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. He listed his Place of Residence as 1118 Blum St., but replaced it with 3805 Rushland Ave., Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. He noted his Mailing Address was the same. Chester’s Employer’s Name was Bentley & Sons in Toledo, Ohio. He was 19 years old and born on 18 January 1923 in Toledo.
John Rybarczyk (Chester’s father), of the same address, was the person who would always know his address.
Chester described himself as 5′ 10″ tall, 150 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a dark complexion. He noted no “other obvious physical characteristic that will aid in identification.”
Enlistment
On 9 September 1942, Chester A. Rybarczyk enlisted in the Air Corps Enlisted Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. Chester’s enlistment record notes his residence as Lucas County, Ohio and that he was born in Ohio in 1923. His Army Serial Number at the time of enlistment was 15132416. Note: Officers were reassigned with a new serial number when they were commissioned and Chester’s later become O-720014.
At the time of his enlistment, Chester Rybarczyk had completed 4 years of high school and was single, having no one dependent on him for support.
Note: Chester’s enlistment record is found in the Reserve Corps Records, rather than in the Enlistment Records file, link below.
Military Training
Chester Rybarczyk’s military personnel records were lost in the fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, leaving me without a history of his military training, but he would have attended basic training, gunnery school, navigator’s school, and phase training at Ardmore, Oklahoma with the John Oliver Buslee crew before his entry into combat.
Military Service
An Officers’ Pay, Allowance, and Mileage Voucher record from September 1945 notes that Chester Rybarczyk entered Active Duty on 28 January 1943. He was ordered to Active Duty from his Reserve Status from Toledo, Ohio.
The same pay record notes that Chester Rybarczyk was commissioned on 8 April 1944, likely indicating his graduation from navigator school and appointment as 2nd Lt. as of this date.
Combat Duty in World War II in the 384th Bomb Group
Chester Rybarczyk’s 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record indicates that his duty was Navigator, one month’s pay was $247.50, and his home address was Mrs. Hattie Rybarczyk, 1118 Blum St., Toledo, Ohio.
Chester Rybarczyk was credited with thirty-five missions with the 384th Bomb Group. His first mission was on 4 August 1944 and his last was on 18 December 1944.
While serving with the 384th Bomb Group in England, Chester inscribed the back of his A2 flight jacket with “Korky,” his nickname for his sweetheart back home, Bernadette Koralewski.
Chester Rybarczyk in his Flight Jacket
The jacket also shows a picture of a bomb for each of his missions except for his 15th mission. That mission is depicted as a boot, signifying a mission from which the boys had to “walk” back to base after a crash landing when their B-17 did not make it back to England.
Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group and other military documents indicate the following for Chester Rybarczyk
- On 22 JULY 1944, 2nd Lt. Chester Anthony Rybarczyk was assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #144 dated 22 July 1944 as Navigator of the John Oliver Buslee crew with the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 1034.
- On 7 OCTOBER 1944, on his fifteenth mission to a synthetic oil plant at Leipzig, Germany, Chester Rybarczyk’s B-17 was hit by flak. Flying with the James W. Orr crew on B-17 43-38615, they landed safely in allied territory near Brussels, Belgium. With all the crew safe, they returned to duty at Grafton Underwood to continue their active duty.
- On 26 NOVEMBER 1944, Chester Rybarczyk was promoted to First Lieutenant effective 26 November 1944 per Headquarters, Eighth Air Force Special Orders #323, EXTRACT dated 26 November 1944.
- On 20 DECEMBER 1944, Chester Rybarczyk was released from assigned & transferred to Casual Pool 70th Replacement Depot AAF Station 591, departed per 6 SO 355 HQ 1st Bomb Division (Completed tour).
Return to the States
Although I know Chester Rybarczyk was released from duty with the 384th Bomb Group on 20 December 1944, I do not know the date he returned to the States.
A letter he sent to my grandmother on 15 July 1945 from AAFNS (Army Air Forces Navigation School) puts him at Hondo Army Air Field, Hondo, Texas as of that date. He was inquiring about my dad’s (George Edwin Farrar’s) return to the States following his release as a prisoner of war. Where Chester had been stationed between 20 December 1944 and 15 July 1945, I do not know.
Release from WWII Active Duty
Chester Anthony Rybarczyk was released from active duty and discharged from military service in September 1945.
From Headquarters, Army Air Forces Flight Engineer School, Hondo Army Air Field, Hondo, Texas, Extract dated 4 September 1945, Special Orders #213, Chester Rybarczyk was released from further assignment and duty at this station & WP to (his) home, for release from active duty with TDY enroute at Separation Center, Camp Atterberry, Indiana, as required for processing.
Chester left Hondo AAF Texas on 7 September 1945 and arrived at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on 10 September 1945.
From Army Service Forces, Fifth Service Command, 1560th SCU, Separation Center, Camp Atterbury (Station 4333), Indiana, Extract dated 11 September 1945, Special Orders #215, Chester Rybarczyk was released from attached unassigned this organization 11 September 1945 and WP to arrive home on date specified (19 September 1945), upon midnight of which date he will revert to inactive status.
Chester left Camp Atterbury on 11 September 1945 and arrived in Toledo, Ohio on 12 September 1945. He was officially discharged from military service on 19 September 1945.
Military Record and Report of Separation/Certificate of Service
Again, Chester Rybarczyk’s military personnel records were lost in the fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, leaving me without his Military Record and Report of Separation/Certificate of Service.
Medals and Decorations
During his military service with the 384th Bomb Group in World War II, Chester Rybarczyk earned an Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters.
He likely also was awarded the EAME (European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign) Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal, and American Theater Ribbon, however, since his personnel records appear not to have survived the fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), I cannot confirm these awards.
Civilian Life After the War
Chester Anthony Rybarczyk married Bernadette Helen Koralewski on 21 May 1945 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Bernadette was born 17 December 1924 in Toledo.
Chester Rybarczyk watched his original crew go down on 28 September 1944, but according to Bernadette as reported by their son Tony, he did not talk much about it.
In the 1950 Federal Census, Chester (age 27) and Bernadette (age 25) Rybarczyk were a married couple living in Toledo, Ohio with their one-year-old son Eugene. Chester’s occupation was bus driver on a public bus. In the years to come, the family would grow to four children, two boys and two girls.
On 16 July 1952, Chester Rybarczyk was accepted into the Toledo Fire Department and assigned badge #109. On 9 March 1964, he was promoted to Lieutenant.
On 2 September 1967, the Toledo Fire Department Rescue Squad responded to a two-alarm fire at a local north side tavern, Pee Wee’s Inn, at 5101 Suder Avenue.
Lieutenant Chester Rybarczyk, now a fifteen-year veteran with the Toledo Fire Department, was one of the firefighters who entered the building to fight the fire. Suddenly, conditions inside the building changed and the rescue squad attempted to evacuate the structure.
Four firefighters became trapped behind a partition separating the bar from a game room. Two of the four men made it out while Chester and another firefighter, James Martin, remained trapped. Crews on the outside used a ladder in a rescue attempt through a window. They were able to pull James out first, saving him. With James safe, they began to pull an unconscious Chester, overcome by smoke, out of the same window.
The fireman that had a hold of Chester’s arm stepped on a power line that had fallen on the ladder. When the shock of electricity hit him, he lost his grip and Chester fell back into the burning room. Chester was finally removed from the building, but he died shortly afterward at Riverside Hospital. The other three firefighters managed to escape with only minor injuries.
Chester Rybarczyk died 2 September 1967 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, at the age of 44. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, Grave S 1/2, Range or Lot 21, Section 34.
Bernadette Helen Koralewski Rybarczyk died 22 September 1986 at the age of 61 in North Port, Sarasota County, Florida. She was a school bus driver for the North Port school district. She was survived by sons Eugene and Anthony, and daughters Frances (Stein) and Michelle (Lindsey).
Forty-seven years after his death, on 2 September 2014, Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld, the Public Information Officer of the Toledo, Ohio Fire & Rescue Department, posted online memorials to Chester Rybarczyk to both the department’s Facebook page and website.
Chester Rybarczyk, Toledo, Ohio firefighter
Photo courtesy of Toledo, Ohio Fire Rescue Department
Chester is listed on the department’s website’s “Memorials” page along with all of the department’s Line of Duty Deaths. Since 2014, the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department remembers Chester Rybarczyk every September 2 with this memorial on their Facebook page,
Facebook Memorial to Chester Rybarczyk, Toledo, Ohio firefighter
Photo courtesy of Toledo, Ohio Fire Rescue Department
Notes/Links
Previous post, Chester Rybarczyk
Previous post, Chester Rybarczyk – After the War
Chester Rybarczyk’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives (in the Reserve Corps records)
Chester Rybarczyk’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
MOS means Military Occupational Specialty
Previous post, Assigned Military Occupational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews
Previous post, Timeline for Buslee Crewmembers and Substitutes, 544th Bomb Squadron
Chester A. Rybarczyk’s Find a Grave memorial
Stanislawa Rybarczyk’s Find a Grave memorial
Bernadette H. Koralewski Rybarczyk’s Find a Grave memorial
Toledo Fire & Rescue Department Facebook memorials to Chester Rybarczyk
Toledo Fire & Rescue Department Website Memorial’s page
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2023
Buslee Crew Photo – A Deeper Look
Standing, left to right: John Buslee (pilot), David Albrecht (co-pilot), Chester Rybarczyk (navigator), and Marvin Fryden or James Davis (bombardier)
Kneeling, left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso (radioman), Lenard Bryant (waist gunner), Clarence Seeley (engineer/top turret gunner), Eugene Lucynski (tail gunner), and George Farrar (waist gunner)
This photo of my dad’s (George Edwin Farrar) crew in WWII still confuses me. Is the navigator in the photo really James Davis, or is it Marvin Fryden? If it is Fryden, does the photo look like it was taken in the states before the crew shipped overseas? If it is Davis, it must be Grafton Underwood.
I sent the photo to Keith Ellefson, a researcher and combat data specialist with the 384th Bomb Group. Keith pointed out several things in the photo to me that I did not see.
Look at the far background on the right side of the picture. It looks like a tree line to me. Than would be consistent with GU. Most of the stateside crew training bases were on large airfields with nary a tree or fence in sight. Looking at the background over Foster’s head, it looks to me like a fence line with some sort of grass or vines on it. Again, GU and probably not stateside. Also, on the far left side over the tire I think I see the slope of a squad tent roof. If it is a tent, it is probably the crew chief’s lair next to the hardstand. I understand nearly every crew had some sort of shelter near the hardstand for warming, storage, naps, etc.
Keith annotated the photo pointing out a couple of items.
Left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso ( radioman), and Lenard Bryant (waist gunner)
- Looks like SGT Foster must have had a combat tour previous to this photo being taken.
- Those are training qualification badges on the sleeves of two of the enlisted men.
- All of the men in the photo are wearing wings but only Foster has any kind of awards being displayed.
- I see two different unit patches. Davis (or Fryden) and Lucynski are wearing the 8th AF patch. Your dad (Farrar) and Seeley have the generic AF patch.
- Two of the officers, Buslee and Rybarczyk also seem to have the generic AF patch.
- Three of the enlisted guys appear to have no unit patch.
- Then we get to the enlisted ranks, or lack of rank, on their uniforms. On the assignment orders, Lucynski was a SSG. Your dad, Seeley and Peluso were SGTs. Foster and Bryant were Corporals.
- Peluso, Foster and Seeley are ’slicksleeves’ (Old army slang for no rank displayed). I don’t know what to make of this. Usually the guys would be immensely proud of their ranks and wouldn’t be caught without them. If it was just one of them, I could think that the guy had been reduced in rank. That was not uncommon back in the day. I don’t recall seeing any of these names being reduced in rank on any special orders.
- [I commented that perhaps some of the jackets were borrowed. Keith replied that it was a possibility.] Every soldier was issued a ‘Class A’ uniform but …. Five of them (Bryant, Foster, Seeley, Farrar, and Peluso) were promoted to Staff Sergeant on 9 September 1944, SO #180, 9 SEP 44. Maybe the three ‘slicksleeves’ had their jackets out for rank change and borrowed the jackets for the picture.
- Also, talking about ranks, Foster, who had a previous tour, would normally be at least a Sergeant and more likely a Staff Sergeant. I suspect he had been reduced to Corporal prior to being assigned to this crew.
- Fryden is a 1st LT in the assignment orders. The other three officers are 2nd LTs. Fryden may have had several months or more service in the states, maybe as an instructor, prior to being assigned to this crew. I think there was something like a 6 month to one year time between 2nd LT and 1st LT. He wouldn’t have been promoted before the pilot would be promoted if they both had the same length of time in service.
- Foster and Bryant were promoted to SGT on SO #158, 6 August 1944. Since Bryant is wearing SGT stripes in the photo, I think this dates the photo to sometime after 6 August 1944, putting Davis in the picture.
Marilyn Fryden, Marvin’s wife, wrote about Marvin in a post to the 384th Bomb Group’s web site in 2007. Her comments support that he had been an instructor in the states for some time before being assigned to the Buslee crew. Marilyn wrote:
He had been commissioned and assigned as an instructor in the states. We had almost 2 years together. As he constantly said he was not doing his part, he finally requested combat duty and was assigned to the Gremlin with John Buslee, Dick Albrecht and other crew members.
Marvin and Marilyn had married October 8, 1942 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In a wedding announcement, her parents noted that:
Lieutenant Fryden was appointed instructor at the Albuquerque Air Base and will continue to re-side there with his bride.
After Keith’s analysis, I still question whether the photo includes Davis or Fryden. The back of the photo identifies the navigator as Davis and I believe the identification was provided by the pilot’s father. In a letter to my grandmother dated November 27, 1944, Mr. Buslee wrote:
Early in September we received a snapshot showing the crew members and the plane. The boys all looked fine and seemed to be in the same high spirit that they enjoyed when we met them in Ardmore.
This comment indicates that Mr. Buslee would have been able to recognize the bombardier since he had met the entire crew. Mr. Buslee offered to send a copy of the photo to my grandmother if she did not have one. My grandmother, Raleigh May Farrar, must have responded to Mr. Buslee that she did indeed have a copy of the picture. He wrote back on December 16, 1944.
I note that you have a crew picture and thinking that you may not know who they are I am sending a list of names in the event that this will interest you. To look at that group one can well understand what I mean when I say the youth are wonderful. To my mind that is as fine an assortment of manhood as one could find anywhere and I count it a privilege that my son is among so fine a crew. Yes I had the good fortune to meet all of them in Ardmore last June and I trust it will be my pleasure to again meet all of them and more that this may be real soon.
Mr. Buslee’s list of names:
Mr. Buslee would not have met James Davis in Ardmore, Oklahoma. At that time, he was not part of the Buslee crew. Marvin Fryden trained with the crew in Ardmore.
Mr. Buslee would also have already known of Marvin Fryden’s death on August 5, 1944. The Buslees and the Frydens both lived in the Chicago area, the Buslees in the Park Ridge area. The Park Ridge Advocate published an article on September 1, 1944 about the crew’s August 5 mission in which Fryden died. Mr. Buslee must have read the article by the time he wrote my grandmother.
Although mortally wounded, the bombardier of a B17 Flying Fortress calmly reported his injury to his pilot and then released his bombs on the target in a remarkable exhibition of sheer courage and presence of mind during a recent American heavy bomber attack over Germany.
The bombardier, 1st Lt. Marvin Fryden, 23, 6719 North Lakewood, Chicago, died later in an army hospital after his bomber, the “Tremblin’ Gremlin,” had reached England with only two of its four engines functioning, its fuselage riddled with more than 100 flak holes and with more than half of its crew wounded.
If the photo includes Fryden, it must have been taken before the August 5, 1944 mission on which Fryden was killed. On that same mission, Seeley was seriously wounded. Davis started flying with the crew on August 9, 1944. Since Seeley was seriously wounded on the August 5 mission, would he have been able to appear in a crew photo after that mission? He wasn’t able to fly again until October 2, 1944, four days after the Buslee crew was lost on the mission to Magdeburg on September 28.
I have not been able to locate any other photos of Marvin Fryden, but I did find a school yearbook photo of James Davis. Putting the photo in question and the photo of Davis side by side, I’m still not certain of the identification. What do you think? Is the man on the left Fryden or Davis?
Photo on left: Marvin Fryden or James Davis?
Photo on right: School yearbook photo of James Davis.
Enough for today. I have a little more info to add on a couple of the other Buslee crew members, but will hold off for next week. I think this is enough to digest today.
If anyone has a photo of Marvin Fryden (the family spelled the name Frydyn, but Marvin enlisted as Fryden), please contact me. Either comment on this post or e-mail me. Also, if anyone is good at photo analysis, please help me decide – Fryden or Davis?
Thank you, Keith Ellefson, for taking an in-depth look at this photo and providing me with so much information.
Photos courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2016
Anoxia
Earlier this year, on April 15, 2015, I attended a lecture at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Ocala. The speaker was Jay Dean, Ph.D., director of the Hyperbaric Biomedical Research Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Dean’s topic for the evening was “Your Body in Flight During World War II: How American Physiologists Learned to Protect the Health of Airmen in the World’s First High Altitude, High Speed Air War.” My interest in this topic was, of course, what this meant to my dad, George Edwin Farrar, a waist gunner on a B-17 crew who routinely flew missions over Germany from his base in Grafton Underwood, England.
Anoxia is the absence of oxygen. The human condition resulting from the lack of oxygen in the blood stream is called hypoxia. High altitude flight in WWII would not have been possible without the creation of the oxygen mask as bombers in those days were not pressurized.
WWII was the world’s first high-speed, high-altitude air war. As such, Dr. Dean noted that flying in unpressurized B-17’s, once the airmen were above 10,000 feet, the earth’s atmosphere could turn deadly. As altitude increased, barometric pressure decreased and oxygen levels dropped. Once an altitude of 10,000 feet was reached, the airmen would start using oxygen, except for on night missions, when they would start their oxygen while still on the ground as it improved their night vision.
At sea level, blood saturation with oxygen is 95% and the airmen would experience normal actions and judgment. By 11,000 feet, oxygen in the blood is reduced to 85%, resulting in poor judgment without awareness, as if after a few drinks. At 13,000 feet, it is down to 80% and mental errors and possibly tremors or shakiness occurs. At 18,000 feet, blood saturation with oxygen is at 70%, resulting in a danger of collapse, or passing out. Anything above 20,000 feet would not support life for very long.
A typical mission would be flown at altitudes of 20,000 to 35,000 feet or higher, requiring the use of oxygen by the air crew to survive. In addition to the lack of oxygen, the temperatures at these altitudes were extreme.
Dr. Dean explained that in the air war over Europe, at 23,450 feet, the temperature inside a B-17 would be around minus 13.5°F, in the warmer month of June. In January, it would only be around minus 36.4°F. Go up in altitude to 30,100 feet and the June temperature would drop to minus 39.5°F; in January, minus 60.9°F.
In addition to the possibility of frostbite at those temperatures, ice buildup inside the oxygen masks was another consequence of the brutal cold. While trying to fly the ship, or man their guns, bomb sights, and other equipment, the air crew had to make sure they were getting enough oxygen and continually knock the built-up ice from their oxygen masks.
In this photo, Chester Rybarczyk, navigator of the John Oliver Buslee crew, 544th Bomb Squad, 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force is shown wearing his oxygen mask on a mission over France.
Chester Rybarczyk on a Mission over France
To view Dr. Dean’s entire lecture, click here.
I will discuss the electric flight suits in a future post.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2015
Chester Rybarczyk, Original Navigator on the Buslee Crew
Chester Rybarczyk on a Mission over France
On October 7, 1944 Chester Rybarczyk was on his fifteenth mission, 384th Bomber Group Mission Number 207 to a synthetic oil plant at Leipzig, Germany. At 1100 hours in the vicinity of Bad Iburg, Germany, Chester Rybarczyk’s aircraft was hit by flak and peeled off from formation with the #2 wing tank smoking and leaking. Rybarczyk was flying as Navigator with the James W. Orr crew on aircraft 43-38615, name unknown. They were last seen over Osnabruck with wheels down and under control. No chutes were seen to emerge. The aircraft landed in allied territory with all crew safe. A crash landing didn’t stop this crew for long. A week later Rybarczyk and the Orr crew were back in the air again on Mission 210 to the Marshalling Yards at Saarbrucken, Germany.
Rybarczyk’s flight jacket shows a picture of a bomb for each of his missions except for his 15th mission. That mission is depicted as a boot, signifying a mission from which the boys had to walk back after a crash landing. He also had the back of his jacket inscribed “Korky,” his nickname for his sweetheart back home, Bernadette Korlewski. His last duty was in December 1944, and Chester and Bernadette married on May 21, 1945.
Chester Rybarczyk in his Flight Jacket
Chester Rybarczyk’s Flight Jacket Today
Information and photos provided by Tony Rybarczyk, Chester Rybarczyk’s son.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201
Lazy Daisy, Aircraft 42-31222
Lead Banana, Aircraft 43-37822
September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 201 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 652.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 43-37822, Lead Banana. The Brodie crew was aboard 42-31222, Lazy Daisy.
The primary target was the steelworks industry in Magdeburg, Germany.
Buslee Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – William Alvin Henson II
- Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns
- 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)
Chester A. Rybarczyk flew this mission with the William J. Blankenmeyer crew. William Alvin Henson II replaced Rybarczyk as Navigator on the Buslee crew. This was Henson’s third flight with the Buslee crew.
James B. Davis flew this mission with the Raymond J. Gabel crew. Robert Sumner Stearns replaced Davis as Bombardier on the Buslee crew. This was Stearns second flight with the Buslee crew.
George Francis McMann, Jr. flew this mission as Ball Turret Gunner on the Buslee crew. This was McMann’s first flight with the Buslee crew. Irving L. Miller, who had replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner five times on the Buslee crew, also flew with Davis on the Gabel crew this mission.
Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Eugene D. Lucynski for the third time as Tail Gunner on the Buslee crew.
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
- Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
- Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger
James Joseph Brodie (Pilot), Lloyd Oliver Vevle (Co-Pilot), George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. (Navigator), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner), Wilfred Frank Miller (Tail Gunner), and Harry Allen Liniger (Waist Gunner) were all original Brodie crew members aboard the Lazy Daisy. The only non-original crew members were Byron Laverne Atkins (Bombardier/Togglier) and Donald William Dooley (Radio Operator/Gunner).
Original Brodie crew Bombardier, William D. Barnes, Jr., last flew with the Brodie crew on September 13, 1944. Barnes did not fly again until October 17, 1944. He returned to flight as a Navigator, completed his tour after 35 missions, and returned to the US.
Byron Laverne Atkins flew only six missions, three of them as a Ball Turret Gunner, and one as a Flexible Gunner. He served as Togglier for the Brodie crew on two occasions – once on September 21 and again on September 28, 1944.
William Edson Taylor, the original Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew did not fly on the September 28 mission. On October 5, he flew as Radio Operator/Gunner with the Robert Bruce Birckhead crew. His aircraft was damaged by flak and crashed near Munchen-Gladbach, Germany (MACR 9754). Of the crew, four were killed, and five were taken prisoner of war, including Taylor.
Donald William Dooley’s first mission would be his last. He flew as Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew on this mission.
Sortie Report Description:
Two Bomb Runs – Primary Target Attacked: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the 41st CBW “C” Wing on today’s mission. Near the target, another formation of bombers flew below this wing, forcing them to hold their bombs. The wing made a second bomb run and released their bombs on the primary target.
Lazy Daisy Sortie Report Status and Comments:
Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 43-37822 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes observed; crashed near Erxleben, Germany; MACR 9366.
Lead Banana Sortie Report Status and Comments:
Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 42-31222 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes; crashed near Osteringersleben, Germany; MACR 9753.
Source: Sortie Report – Buslee Crew, Sortie Report – Brodie Crew
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
September 27, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 200
Hale’s Angels, Aircraft 42-102449
September 27, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 200.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 200 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 650.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 42-102449, Hale’s Angels.
The primary target was the railroad marshaling yards in Cologne, Germany.
Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – William Alvin Henson II
- Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – Robert M. Mitchell
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
On this mission, the Buslee crew was the High Group Deputy and Hot Camera Ship.
Chester A. Rybarczyk did not fly this mission. William Alvin Henson II replaced him as Navigator on this flight.
James B. Davis also did not fly this mission. Robert Sumner Stearns replaced him as Bombardier.
Henson had flown with the Buslee crew once before, on September 3, 1944. This was the first flight with the Buslee crew for Stearns.
Robert M. Mitchell replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner on this mission. This was the first time Mitchell flew with the Buslee crew, although he had flown with Farrar on September 19 as part of the William M. Reed crew.
Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Eugene D. Lucynski for the second time as Tail Gunner.
Source: Sortie Report, Aircraft Photo
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
September 25, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 198
Hot Nuts, Aircraft 42-39888
September 25, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 198.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 198 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 644.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 42-39888, Hot Nuts.
The primary target was the railroad marshaling yards in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – Chester A. Rybarczyk
- Bombardier – James B. Davis
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – Irving L. Miller
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
Irving L. Miller replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner for the fifth time. This was the last time Miller would fly with the Buslee crew. On March 19, 1945, Miller completed his tour and returned to the US.
Eugene D. Lucynski had bailed out of The Tremblin’ Gremlin on September 19 when it was struck by flak and had not returned to the Buslee crew. Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Lucynski on this and the next two missions as Tail Gunner.
Source: Sortie Report, Aircraft Photo
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
September 13, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 194
Lorraine, Aircraft 43-38016
September 13, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 194.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 194 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 628.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 43-38016, Lorraine.
The primary target was the oil industry in Merseburg, Germany.
Crew List:
- Commander – William A. Fairfield, Jr.
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Navigator – Kenneth S. Lord
- Bombardier – Donald L. Ward
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Albert K. Sherriff
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – Irving L. Miller
- Tail Gunner – Lloyd E. La Chine
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
Not the normal Buslee crew at all. With William A. Fairfield, Jr. as Commander and John Oliver Buslee as Pilot, the regular Co-Pilot, David Franklin Albrecht, did not fly.
Donald L. Ward replaced James B. Davis on this flight. Davis flew as part of the Joe Carnes crew.
Albert K. Sherriff replaced Sebastiano Joseph Peluso. Irving L. Miller replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner as he had three times before. Lloyd E. La Chine replaced Eugene D. Lucynski as Tail Gunner.
The only regular Buslee crew members on this flight were Buslee, Bryant, and Farrar. Rybarczyk, Peluso, Foster, and Lucynski did not fly this mission.
Source: Sortie Report, Aircraft Photo
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
The Arrowhead Club 