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Sorrow or Comfort?
The day after James Joseph Brodie’s wife received the dreaded telegram informing her of her husband’s death, the Adjutant General followed up with a letter of confirmation.
War Department
The Adjutant General’s Office
Washington, D.C.In reply refer to:
AG 201 Brodie, James J.
PC-N 1860327 July 1945
Mrs. Mary E. Brodie
4436 North Kostner Avenue
Chicago, IllinoisDear Mrs. Brodie:
It is with deep regret that I am writing to confirm the recent telegram informing you of the death of your husband, First Lieutenant James J. Brodie, 01012086, Air Corps.
Your husband was reported missing in action since 28 September 1944 over Germany. It has now been officially established from reports received in the War Department that he was killed in action on 28 September 1944 over Magdeburg, Germany.
I know the sorrow this message has brought you and it is my hope that in time the knowledge of his heroic sacrifice in the service of his country may be of sustaining comfort to you.
I extend to you my deepest sympathy.
Sincerely yours,
Edward F. Witsell
Major General
Acting the Adjutant General of the Army1 Inclosure
WD Pamphlet No. 20-15
Pamphlet 20-15 was a pamphlet outlining survivor benefits.
The telegram and confirming letter certainly brought sorrow to Mary Brodie’s heart, but comfort was probably a long way off.
Thank you to Larry Miller, great-nephew of James Joseph Brodie, for sharing this piece of his family history.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Two Hundred Eighty-Two Days
It had been two hundred eighty-two days since the mid-air collision between Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana. James Joseph Brodie had been among the missing on Lazy Daisy since September 28, 1944. All the other Daisy crew members had been accounted for, but James’ parents and young wife had been waiting all this time for some word.
Today, July 6, 1945, the dreaded telegram had come. An explanation was not offered as to why the wait had been so long for this terrible news. Perhaps the letter that was to follow would provide more information, but for today the only news was:
It has now been officially established from reports received in the war department that your husband First Lieutenant James J. Brodie who was previously reported missing in action was killed in action Twenty Eight September Nineteen Forty Four in Germany. The Secretary of War extends his deep sympathy. Confirming letter follows.
Edward F. Witsell Acting the Adjutant General of the Army
Thank you to Larry Miller, great-nephew of James Joseph Brodie, for sharing this piece of his family history.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Seven Months
Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, known as Yano to family, was the only Buslee crew member who was still unaccounted for. George Edwin Farrar’s family knew he was a POW and all of the other families had heard that their sons had been killed on September 28, 1944 in the mid-air collision between Lead Banana, carrying the John Oliver (Jay) Buslee crew, and Lazy Daisy, carrying the James Joseph Brodie crew.
On the Brodie crew, all of the families had been notified except for Brodie’s family. Three of the Brodie crew were POWs – Harry Allen Liniger, Wilfred Frank Miller, and George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. The rest of the crew had been reported killed in the collision.
Seven months of not knowing the fate of their son gave the Pelusos hope that he was still alive.
April 20, 1945
Dear Mrs. Farrar,
I should have thought of writing you sooner. Kindly forgive me for putting this letter off so long. I am hoping that your letter in return will have some good news about your dear son. Since many German Prison Camps have been liberated by our armies. I do pray, and have prayed, that George was fortunate enough to be one of the many boys to be released.
As you know, the 28th of this month will make 7 months since the time our boys went down in Magdeburg – and since then, not much has happened. As yet, we have not received any news concerning our dear son, Yono. My husband and I strongly believe that our son is hiding somewhere. Lately we have all been impatient for some kind of news since Magdeburg is just about being captured by the 9th Army. I pray and hope that by the time this letter reaches you I will get the news I have been waiting for for 7 months.
Have you heard from any of the other parents and wife’s of the crew members? If so I will deeply appreciate you letting me know. May I hear from you soon – God Bless You – and may your son be with you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. & Mr. Peluso
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
James Joseph Brodie
James Joseph Brodie
James Joseph Brodie, the pilot of Lazy Daisy, which was involved in the September 28, 1944 mid-air collision with Lead Banana, piloted by John Oliver (Jay) Buslee of Park Ridge, Illinois, was also a Chicago boy. James was born on November 14, 1917 to Michael and Mary Golden Brodie. Both parents, Michael and Mary, were born in Ireland. James was the youngest in the family and had a brother, Francis, and two sisters, Veronica and Mary. While Veronica was only three years older than James, Mary was ten years older, and Francis twelve years older. All the Brodie children were born in Illinois.
In the early days, the Brodie family lived in Antioch, Illinois, where the children attended Antioch High school. In the late 1930’s, the family moved to Chicago when their father was offered a job in a large electrical company. They lived in the two flat on North Kostner Avenue in Chicago until 1963. James continued his education at University of Illinois, completing four years of college.
As a young man, James planned to be a priest and enter the seminary. He shocked the entire family when one day he announced he was joining the military.
James Joseph Brodie
James entered the service from Illinois, enlisting in the Army Air Corps on July 11, 1941. His path was probably very similar to Jay Buslee’s through the pilot training program. James probably earned his wings about the same time as Buslee, on January 7, 1944. Jay had a short furlough after earning his wings, and Brodie probably did, too, taking this time to marry Miss Mary Elizabeth Clarke on January 10, 1944 before heading to transition pilot training.
Both Brodie and Buslee were assigned to serve with the 384th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force at Grafton Underwood , but while Jay Buslee was assigned to the 544th Squadron, James Brodie was assigned to the 545th. Both James and Jay flew their first combat missions on August 4, 1944, and both flew only two training missions as co-pilot before piloting their own forts with their own crews.
I don’t know if Jay Buslee and James Brodie ever crossed paths in their similar military careers before – anywhere from training in the states to on base at Grafton Underwood, or in any of the local pubs in town – but their lives both ended within moments of each other as their two flying fortresses, Lead Banana and Lazy Daisy, collided over the skies of Magdeburg, Germany at ten minutes past noon on September 28, 1944.
Not long before James lost his life in the mid-air collision, his wife, Mary, gave birth to a son. Soon after the family was notified of James’s death, which wasn’t until July 1945, his wife and son vanished and stopped communicating with the Brodie family.
Mary Elizabeth Clarke was born on January 20, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Mary Elizabeth Clarke, Northwestern Illinois yearbook “Syllabus”, 1943, Education School, Alpha Chi Omega
Mary died at the age of 82 on December 18, 2005 in Rochester, Minnesota. According to her obituary, she had gotten married again the year after James was declared killed in action on October 27, 1946. Her married name at the time of her death was Mary Elizabeth Wagner. Her obituary also indicates that James and Mary’s son, who was born around the time of the mid-air collision had died in infancy.
James Joseph Brodie is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, the Netherlands in Plot J, Row 13, Grave 4. He was awarded the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.
Thank you to Larry Miller, great-nephew of James Joseph Brodie, for providing photos and information for this post. Also thank you to Buslee crew NexGen, Derral Bryant, an ace researcher, for finding and providing dates and other details for this post.
© 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
October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
Twenty-three days after the mid-air collision between the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana, a Telegram Form dated October 21, 1944 reported the fate of one more of the crew from the two planes, and provided the identification of four of the previously unidentified. It reported “one more dead has been found: Byron L. Atkins.” The newly identified men were identified as:
- John Buslee (identified on the form as Jon Busslee)
- David F. Albrecht
- Lloyd Vevle (identified on the form as LLoyd Ovevle)
- Lenard Bryant (identified on the form as Lenhard J. Eyret)
Atkins and Vevle were from the Brodie crew aboard Lazy Daisy. Buslee, Albrecht, and Bryant were from the Buslee crew aboard Lead Banana. Atkins was probably located away from both crash sites as he was carried away with the nose of the Lazy Daisy during the initial impact of the collision.
In determination of the fate of the two crews, eighteen total men, this report updates the count to fourteen (14) recovered dead, with twelve (12) identified, and four (4) P.O.W.s.
MACR9753 does not include any more Telegram Forms or Reports of Captured Aircraft and does not provide any information on the identifications of Sebastiano Joseph Peluso aboard Lead Banana or James Joseph Brodie aboard Lazy Daisy.
Buslee Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee Reported dead on October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht Reported dead on October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
- 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 Reported dead on October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
- 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 Reported dead on October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
- Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. Reported P.O.W. on October 6, 1944 Report on Captured Aircraft
- Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins Reported dead on October 21, 1944 Telegram Form
- 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
The October 21 Telegram Form notes also:
- Time: 0925
- From: L L E N
- Remarks: SSD L B K M 157 19 Oct.44 -1740-
This information can be found on pages 18 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
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
Map of September 28, 1944 Collision and Crash Sites
Maps of the area show the location of the mid-air collision and subsequent crash sites of the Lead Banana and Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944. Two maps are included below.
The first map shows the collision site and crash sites of the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana. The mid-air collision occurred after coming off the target at Magdeburg, at 12:11 pm on September 28, 1944 at 52°06’N 11°39’E (X on the first map, just past the second “g” in “Magdeburg”). Both planes crashed approximately 20 miles northwest of the mid-air collision. Lazy Daisy crashed near Erxleben (E on the first map) and Lead Banana crashed approximately one and one-quarter miles north of Ostingersleben (O on the first map).
X = Collision Site, 52°06’N 11°39’E
O = Ostingersleben
E = Erxleben
The second map is a map of Germany with the area of detail outlined.
Royalty free map of Germany obtained from http://www.tourvideos.com/maps-Germany.html.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
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
Lazy Daisy
-
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
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