Eight days after the mid-air collision between the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana, a Report on Captured Aircraft dated October 6, 1944 reported the fate of one more of the crew from the two planes.  It reported an additional prisoner of war.  The prisoner was identified as George Hawkins.  Hawkins was from the Brodie crew aboard Lazy Daisy.

In determination of the fate of the two crews, eighteen total men, this report updates the count to thirteen (13) recovered dead, with only seven (7) identified, and four (4) P.O.W.s.

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.    Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
• Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen    Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
• Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)    Reported P.O.W. on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form

Brodie Crew List:

• Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
• Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
• Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.    Reported P.O.W. on October 6, 1944 Report on Captured Aircraft
• Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
• Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley    Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
• 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    Reported P.O.W. on October 4, 1944 Telegram Form
• Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger    Reported P.O.W. on October 4, 1944 Telegram Form

This information can be found on page 14 of MACR9753.  MACR stands for Missing Air Crew Report.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014