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The B-17 Ball Turret Gunner
My dad, George Edwin Farrar, was a waist/flexible gunner with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in World War II. On 28 September 1944, the Buslee crew and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the same group became forever connected when the B-17’s they were aboard on a combat mission over Germany suffered a mid-air collision.
I am currently updating the biographical information of the men of these two crews, and I thought it would be a good time to explain the duties involved in each position of the airmen aboard the aircraft, the B-17. I have recently updated the information of the three 384th Bomb Group Ball Turret Gunners who flew with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron.
Erwin Vernon Foster, assigned Buslee crew ball turret gunner
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 611 – Aerial Gunner and 612 – Airplane Armorer / Gunner
- Born 12 February 1920
- Died 30 June 1981, age 61
- Buried Maple Grove Cemetery, Horseheads, Chemung County, New York, USA
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- Erwin Foster
- More About Buslee Ball Turret Gunner Erwin Foster
- Erwin Vernon Foster, Update
George Francis McMann, Jr., Gilbert crew ball turret gunner, but ball turret gunner of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 612 – Airplane Armorer / Gunner
- Born 26 September 1924
- Died 28 September 1944, age 20, two days past his 20th birthday
- Buried Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, Plot N, Row 22, Grave 4
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- George Francis McMann, Jr.
- George Francis McMann, Update
Gordon Eugene Hetu, assigned Brodie crew ball turret gunner
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 611 – Aerial Gunner
- Born 26 September 1925
- Died 28 September 1944, age 19, two days past his 19th birthday
- Buried Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Novi, Oakland County, Michigan, USA
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Gordon Eugene Hetu, Update
For a list of all of the airmen of the Buslee and Brodie crews, see permanent page The Buslee and Brodie Crews, which is maintained with new information/posts.
Duties and Responsibilities of the B-17 Ball Turret Gunner
According to the 303rd Bomb Group’s website,
Training in the various phases of the heavy bomber program is designed to fit each member of the crew for the handling of his jobs. The ball turret gunner:
- Requires many mental and physical qualities similar to what we know as inherent flying ability, since the operation of the power turret and gunsight are much like that of airplane flight operation.
- Should be familiar with the coverage area of all gun positions, and be prepared to bring the proper gun to bear as the conditions may warrant.
- Should be experts in aircraft identification. Where the Sperry turret is used, failure to set the target dimension dial properly on the K-type sight will result in miscalculation of range.
- Must be thoroughly familiar with the Browning aircraft machine gun. They should know how to maintain the guns, how to clear jams and stoppages, and how to harmonize the sights with the guns.
- Should fire the guns at each station to familiarize himself with the other man’s position and to insure knowledge of operation in the event of an emergency.
Location of the Ball Turret in a B-17
The ball turret of a B-17 is suspended below the fuselage of the aircraft, between the radio room and the waist. Should the ball turret gunner have to bail out of the aircraft, he would likely bail out through the waist door. The ball turret gunner first had to exit the ball turret and hook up his chute as he did not have room in the ball turret to wear it (although there are stories of ball turret gunners who saved their lives by wearing their chutes in the ball and exiting the aircraft by rotating the ball and bailing out directly from it).
In the following diagram, George McMann is noted in the ball turret of the aircraft along with the other Buslee crew members in their positions on September 28, 1944.

Buslee Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
Diagram courtesy of 91st Bomb Group and modified by Cindy Farrar Bryan in 2014
B-17 Ball Turret Photos
I took the following photos of the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-O-Nine a few years before its tragic crash.
The exterior of the B-17 ball turret.
For a little perspective of the size of the B-17’s ball turret, 384th Bomb Group pilot John DeFrancesco stands beside the Collings Foundation’s aircraft.

John DeFrancesco, WWII B-17 pilot in front of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
A view of the ball turret from inside the aircraft, the top hatch of the ball can be seen in the foreground of this photo near the bottom of the image, with a view to the rear of the aircraft and the waist area.

Ball turret and waist area of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
Stories of 384th Bomb Group Ball Turret Gunners
I thought it might also be interesting to read stories, diaries, and journals written by or view video interviews of some of the 384th’s own ball turret gunners. You’ll find a chart of several ball turret gunners of the 384th Bomb Group below with links to their personnel records and their written and oral histories as are provided on the Stories page of 384thBombGroup.com.
Sources and Further Reading
303rd Bomb Group: Duties and Responsibilities of the Engineer and the Gunners
B-17 Flying Fortress Queen of the Skies, Crew Positions, Ball Turret Gunner
303rd Bomb Group: Military Occupational Specialty
TM 12-427 Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel
The Military Yearbook Project – Army Air Force WWII Codes
The Army Air Forces in World War II: VI, Men and Planes, Edited by W.F. Craven and J.L. Cate, Chapter 19: Training of Ground Technicians and Service Personnel
Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907 – 1945 by Rebecca Hancock Cameron
Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission in 2014 to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021
Gordon Eugene Hetu, Update
A new search has provided me with a photo of and some new information regarding Gordon Eugene Hetu, ball turret gunner of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. He was on board Brodie’s B-17 on the 28 September 1944 mission to Magdeburg.
To view my original post and other information about Gordon Eugene Hetu, please see the links at the end of this post.
During my search for new information on Gordon Hetu, I ran across a Hetu family tree on Ancestry.com. I messaged the owner of the tree, Anne Fisher, and learned that she was not a relative, but many years ago, Gordon Hetu was her father’s best friend. Anne provided me with this new photo of Gordon, which allows me to positively identify him in the Brodie enlisted crew photos (see the new descriptions below).
Anne also told me that as Gordon was an only child, his parents took his loss in the war very hard. He was killed in the mid-air collision between the Buslee and Brodie crews’ B-17’s over Magdeburg, Germany on 28 September 1944.
Anne’s father, Howard William Fisher, was not only Gordon Eugene Hetu’s best friend, he was a close neighbor according to the 1940 census. At the time, the Fisher and Hetu families both lived on Webb Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, the Fisher’s at house number 3839 and the Hetu’s at number 3821.
Howard Fisher was a veteran of WWII, serving in New Guinea and the Philippines. He and his brother, Harry Anson Fisher, were only eighteen months apart in age, both drafted just a month after their high school graduations, and both survived the war.
With the pain of Gordon’s death too deep, Gordon’s parents, Raymond and Esther Hetu, could not bring themselves to see their son’s best friend for several years after the war, but Anne’s father persisted and Gordon’s parents were eventually able to visit with Howard and his family.
After the war, Howard Fisher married Marjorie Joyce Mathews and they had three children – Anne, Peggy, and John. Marjorie’s family lived in Hessel, Michigan. On visits to Marjorie’s family, the Fishers would stop in St. Ignace, where Raymond and Esther Hetu owned and operated a motel.
Anne built the Hetu family tree on Ancestry.com to try to find out if Gordon Eugene Hetu has any living relatives. If you are related to the Raymond and Esther (Johnson) Hetu family of Detroit, Michigan, please contact me and I will forward your information to Anne Fisher.
I do not have any additional biographical information for Gordon Hetu except that I can add the year of his mother’s, Esther Johnson Hetu’s, death of 1989.
On July 26, 1944, Cpl. Gordon Eugene Hetu was assigned as ball turret gunner to the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bombardment Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces, per AAF Station 106 (Grafton Underwood, England) Special Orders #148. The 384th was a B-17 heavy bombardment group. According to his Sortie record, his combat pay was $140.40 per month. His home address is listed as Mrs. Esther Hetu (his mother), 3821 Webb St., Detroit, Michigan.
Gordon Eugene Hetu was promoted from Corporal to Sergeant per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #155 dated 2 August 1944.
On his nineteenth mission on September 28, 1944, two days after his nineteenth birthday, Gordon Eugene Hetu was killed when his crew’s B-17 collided with the Buslee crew’s B-17 after coming off the target at Magdeburg, Germany. He was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart (posthumously). He is buried at Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens in Oakland County, Michigan.
The wartime photos below include the enlisted men of the James Joseph Brodie crew. These photos were provided by Harry Liniger, Jr., son of 384th Bomb Group waist gunner Harry Allen Liniger, of the Brodie crew. Identifications were provided by Harry Liniger, Jr., Patrick Miller, son of 384th Tail Gunner Wilfred Miller, and Anne Fisher, family friend of Gordon Eugene Hetu’s family.
Gordon Eugene Hetu is the man kneeling on the far right:

Enlisted men of the James Joseph Brodie crew
Left to right: Harry Allen Liniger (Waist/Flexible Gunner), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), Wilfred Frank Miller (Tail Gunner), William Edson Taylor (Radio Operator), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner).
Photo contributed by Harry Allen Liniger, Jr. ID’s provided by Harry Liniger, Jr. and Patrick Miller.
Gordon Hetu is the man standing second from right:

Enlisted men of the James Joseph Brodie crew
Left to right: Harry Allen Liniger (Waist/Flexible Gunner), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), Wilfred Frank Miller (Tail Gunner), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner), William Edson Taylor (Radio Operator).
Photo contributed by Harry Allen Liniger, Jr. ID’s provided by Harry Liniger, Jr. and Patrick Miller.
Gordon Hetu is the man standing second from left:

Enlisted men of the James Joseph Brodie crew
Left to right: Harry Allen Liniger (Waist/Flexible Gunner), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), William Edson Taylor (Radio Operator).
Photo contributed by Harry Allen Liniger, Jr. ID’s provided by Harry Liniger, Jr. and Patrick Miller.
Thank you to Anne Fisher for providing me with the photo of and information about Gordon Eugene Hetu.
Notes/Links
- Previous post, Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron
- Gordon Eugene Hetu’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on the 28 September 1944 mid-air collision, in which Robert was killed, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- Missing Air Crew Report 9753 for the Buslee crew on the 28 September 1944 mid-air collision , courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- American Air Museum in Britain Person Page for Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Gordon Eugene Hetu on Find a Grave
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021
Gordon Eugene Hetu
Gordon Eugene Hetu was the ball turret gunner on the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squad of the 384th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force in WWII.
Gordon was born September 26, 1925 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. He was the only child of Raymond Joseph (1896 – 1982) and Esther A Johnson (1897 to unknown) Hetu. Raymond and Esther were married January 28, 1922, both at the age of 24. Gordon was born four years later, when they were both 28 years old.
Esther was born in Michigan, and her parents were also born in Michigan. Raymond was born in Michigan, but his parents were French Canadian. In 1930, the Hetu family lived at 3821 Webb Avenue in Detroit. Raymond worked a plumber, and Esther was a typist for an insurance office.
In 1940, the Hetu family still lived at 3821 Webb Avenue. Raymond was a maintenance man at an auto factory. Esther no longer worked.
At the young age of seventeen, Gordon enlisted in the Army Air Corps on June 24, 1943. After his training, Gordon was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 545th Bomb Squad on AAF Station 106 Special Orders #148 dated July 26, 1944, as the J Brodie Crew’s ball turret gunner.
Gordon’s first of nineteen combat missions was Mission #174 on August 7, 1944. The target was a Luftwaffe Aircraft Fuel Depot at Dugny (Paris), France. The Brodie crew was aboard Snuffy, also known as Worry Bird, as High Section Deputy of the Lead Group. The fuel depot was near Le Bourget and combined two strategic targets in one, the Luftwaffe and their fuel supply. Unfortunately, the lead and low groups dropped their bombs several miles to the east and the high group attacked Chateaudun Airfield as they were unable to sight the primary target. None of the bombs came near the intended target of the Luftwaffe or their fuel supply.
Gordon celebrated his nineteenth birthday on his eighteenth mission with the 384th – Mission #199 on September 26, 1944, to a steelworks target at Osnabruck, Germany. The Brodie crew completed a successful mission aboard Kathleen Lady of Victory.
Gordon’s next mission, his nineteenth, was Mission #201 on September 28, 1944. The target was the Krupps Steel Manufacturing Plant in Magdeburg, Germany. The Brodie crew completed a successful mission aboard Lazy Daisy, but coming off the target, collided with Lead Banana. Only three men made it out of Lazy Daisy alive, and Gordon was not one of them. He probably never had a chance to emerge from the ball turret.
Gordon Eugene Hetu died September 28, 1944, two days after his nineteenth birthday. He is buried at Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens in Oakland County, Michigan.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2015
Our Bomber Crew
The parents of Buslee crew bombardier, Robert Sumner Stearns, wrote to George Edwin Farrar’s mother, Raleigh Mae Farrar, on January 1, 1945. The Stearns sent the same information to all of the families of the Buslee crew included on the Next-of-Kin list they had just received. The Stearns had learned on December 23, 1944 that their son had been killed on September 28.
Had other families also learned on December 23, 1944 that their sons had been killed that day? The September 30, 1944 Telegram Form that became a part of MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) 9753 identified four men that had been killed in the mid-air collision of Lead Banana and Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944. It would make sense that all four families were notified on the same date. Eight men had been reported dead, but only these four were identified:
- William A. Henson II, navigator on Lead Banana
- Robert S. Stearns, bombardier on Lead Banana
- Gordon Hetu, ball turret gunner on Lazy Daisy
- Robert D. Crumpton, engineer/top turret gunner on Lazy Daisy
I believe William Henson’s next-of-kin had been notified at the same time as the Stearns, which indicates that Hetu and Crumpton’s relatives also received the bad news around December 23. All had been buried on September 30 at the Ostingersleben Cemetery near the crash site.
January 1, 1945
LaPine, OregonDear Mrs. Farrar:
In today’s mail we received a letter from the War Department giving the names of the crew members of the bomber in which our son lost his life on September 28. We are writing this letter to each of you who were listed as next of kin to give you all of the information we have received to date about our son. Will you compare this information with what you have received and if there is anything you have which would add to the very meager reports which we have so far received we would greatly appreciated it if you would send it to us. We hope to keep in close touch with all of you until every possible bit of information that would, in any way, help answer the many questions as to the fate of “Our Bomber Crew” which are in our minds today. We all, definitely, have a lot in common; you may rest assured that Mrs. Stearns and I will forward any information we may receive that we think will be of interest to any of you.
Following is the information we have received to date: The first word, of course, was the telegram stating that our son was listed as missing in action over Germany on Sept. 28th.
Following this wire was the letter from Headquarters of the Army Air Forces, Washington, which stated: “Further information has been received indicating that Lieut. Stearns was a crew member of a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber which departed from England on a combat mission to Magdeburg, Germany, on Sept. 28th. The report indicates that during this mission at 12:10 P.M., in the vicinity of the target your sons bomber sustained damage from enemy anti-aircraft fire. Shortly afterwards the disabled craft was observed to fall to earth, and, inasmuch as the crew members of the accompanying planes were unable to obtain any further details regarding its loss, the above facts constitute all the information presently available.”
Our next word was a short note from a close friend of our son, who was a pilot on another bomber, which stated: although I wasn’t on the same mission I have talked with others who were on the same mission with Bob and we have reasons to believe he is safe.” None of the reasons were stated but naturally this short note boosted our morale to the skies.
We then, on Dec. 23rd., received the telegram which stated: “The German Government reporting through the International Red Cross states that your son, 1st. Lieut. Robert S. Stearns, previously reported as missing in action was killed on Sept. 28th. Letter follows.”
This letter was the one giving the names of the crew members and the next of kin.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If any of you have not received a wire similar to the one we got on Dec. 23rd, you should be encouraged for it could mean that you could hear shortly that he is still living. We have only the dim hope that the German Government is wrong, as it has been wrong in every thing it ever did do, and that we too may have good news of our son.
Our deepest sympathy is with you. We would be very happy to have a letter from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Carey & Betty Stearns,
LaPine, Oregon.
The friend of Bob Stearns to which his parents referred in the letter was Lt. Larkin C. Durdin, the pilot of the crew with which Stearns normally flew. More information is provided in a second letter from Durdin to the Stearns, information which the Stearns passed along to the Farrars in a letter dated January 10, 1945. The January 10th letter will be published in a future post.
The Stearns, who had been in a state of not knowing the fate of their son since September 28, 1944, were now in a state of not believing it. On the day they received the telegram with the bad news, December 23, 1944, their son Bob had been missing for eighty-seven days. They couldn’t yet let themselves believe that their son wouldn’t be coming back. At this point they weren’t even aware that the War Department’s news of how Bob’s plane had gone down was not correct. They would soon learn the truth.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Next of Kin List Released
The day after Christmas 1944, at ninety days missing in action, the US Army Air Forces wrote to the Buslee crew’s next of kin and enclosed a list of the names of the crew members on the Lead Banana on September 28 and also included the names and addresses of next of kin in case the families wanted to communicate with each other.
December 26, 1944
Headquarters, Army Air Forces
WashingtonAttention: AFPPA-8
(9753) Farrar, George E.
14119873Mrs. Raleigh Mae Farrar,
79 EastLake Terrace Northeast,
Atlanta, Georgia.Dear Mrs. Farrar:
For reasons of military security it has been necessary to withhold the names of the air crew members who were serving with your son at the time he was reported missing.
Since it is now permissible to release this information, we are inclosing a complete list of names of the crew members.
The names and addresses of the next of kin of the men are also given in the belief that you may desire to correspond with them.
Sincerely,
Clyde V. Finter
Colonel, Air Corps
Chief, Personal Affairs Division
Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Personnel1 Incl
List of crew members & names
& addresses of next of kin
5-2032, AF
1st. Lt. John O. Buslee
Mr. John Buslee, (Father)
411 North Wisner Avenue,
Park Ridge, Illinois.
1st. Lt. William A. Henson, II
Mrs. Harriet W. Henson, (Wife)
Summerville, Georgia.
1st. Lt. Robert S. Stearns
Mr. Carey S. Stearns, (Father)
Post Office Box 113,
Lapine, Oregon.
2nd. Lt. David F. Albrecht
Reverand Louis M. Albrecht, (Father)
Scribner, Nebraska.
S/Sgt. Sebastiano J. Peluso
Mrs. Antonetta Peluso, (Mother)
2963 West 24th Street,
Brooklyn, New York.
S/Sgt. Lenard L. Bryant
Mrs. Ruby M. Bryant, (Wife)
Route Number Two,
Littlefield, Texas.
S/Sgt. Gerald L. Andersen
Mrs. Esther E. Coolen Andersen, (Wife)
Box Number 282,
Stromburg, Nebraska.
S/Sgt. George E. Farrar
Mrs. Raleigh Mae Farrar, (Mother)
79 East Lake Terrace Northeast,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Sgt. George F. McMann
Mr. George F. McMann, (Father)
354 West Avenue,
Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The above list is also a part of MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) 9753. For a diagram and list of each man’s position on the Lead Banana on September 28, 1944, click here.
The Brodie crew’s next of kin must have gotten the same letter and a list of those on the Lazy Daisy. The following list is attached to MACR9366. For a diagram and list of each man’s position on the Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944, click here.
1st Lt. James J. Brodie
Mrs. Mary E. Brodie, (Wife)
4436 North Kostner Avenue
Chicago, Illinois.
2nd Lt. Lloyd O. Vevle
Mr. Oliver E. Vevle, (Father)
240 Sixth Avenue, North
Fort Dodge, Iowa.
2nd Lt. George M. Hawkins, Jr.
Mr. George M. Hawkins, Sr., (Father)
52 Marchard Street
Fords, New Jersey
T/Sgt. Donald W. Dooley
Mr. Guy T. Dooley, (Father)
711 South Rogers Street
Bloomington, Indiana.
S/Sgt. Byron L. Atkins
Mr. Verne Atkins, (Father)
Route Number Two
Lebanon, Indiana.
Sgt. Robert D. Crumpton
Mrs. Stella M. Parks, (Mother)
Route Number One
Ennis, Texas
Sgt. Gordon E. Hetu
Mr. Raymond J. Hetu, (Father)
3821 Webb Street
Detroit, Michigan.
S/Sgt. Wilfred F. Miller
Mrs. Mary Miller, (Mother)
Rural Free Delivery Number One
Newton, Wisconsin.
S/Sgt. Harry A. Liniger
Mrs. Estelle P. Liniger, (Mother)
Box Number 251
Gatesville, North Carolina
If the US Army Air Forces had told the families of the two crews what actually happened to their sons’ aircraft and provided the lists of both crews to the families, the families of the two pilots, Buslee and Brodie, would have discovered that they lived only seven and a half miles apart in Chicago, Illinois. These families would most likely have been very interested in communicating if they had been made aware of each other.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
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
Brodie Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
The diagram shows the combat position of each Brodie crewmember on Mission 201 on September 28, 1944. Only one crewmember manned both waist gunner positions on this mission. If they were all still in position after coming off the target at Magdeburg, the diagram shows where each man would have been at the time of the mid-air collision with the Lead Banana.
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
The only survivors of the mid-air collision this day with the Lead Banana were the waist gunner, Harry Allen Liniger, the navigator, George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., and the tail gunner, Wilfred Frank Miller.
Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club site.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
Lazy Daisy
The B17-G aircraft with serial number 42-31222 was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 546th Squadron. Known as Lazy Daisy, it completed 45 missions, returning safely to base on 44 of those missions. Its first mission, on December 5, 1943, was to a German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Fighter Airfield in St. Jean D’ Angely, France. Its last mission, on September 28, 1944, was to a steelworks plant in Magdeburg, Germany. The crew was able to complete its assignment and drop its bombs over Magdeburg, but was involved in a mid-air collision coming off the target.
James Joseph Brodie, Lloyd Oliver Vevle, Byron Laverne Atkins, Donald William Dooley, Robert Doyle Crumpton, and Gordon Eugene Hetu, all aboard the Lazy Daisy, did not survive the crash.
George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., Wilfred Frank Miller, and Harry Allen Liniger, became POWs.
Wilfred Frank Miller and Harry Allen Liniger were confined at Stalag Luft IV.
George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., was confined at Obermassfeld Hospital #1249 (Serves Stalag 9-C), Obermassfeld Thuringia, Germany 50-10.
Donald William Dooley was not part of the 545th Bomb Squadron. He was assigned to the 384th Bombardment Group Headquarters Complement. September 28, 1944 was his only flight.
The crew chief for Lazy Daisy was James F. Flynn.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013