I have been writing about the men of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII for many years, particularly those airmen who served on the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron. The 384th was a B-17 heavy bomber group based in Grafton Underwood, England during the war.

My connection with these two crews is my father, George Edwin Farrar, who was a waist gunner on the Buslee crew.

Both the Buslee and Brodie crew departed the states from their final combat crew training in Ardmore, Oklahoma at the same time. Both crews were assigned to the 384th Bomb Group within days of each other.

On 28 September 1944, the Buslee and Brodie crews participated in the 384th’s Mission 201 (which was the 8th Air Force’s numbered Mission 652).

On the mission, coming off the bomb run on the target, the B-17 42-31222, Lazy Daisy, piloted by James Joseph Brodie, collided with the unnamed B-17 43-37822 piloted by John Oliver Buslee with my father manning the machine guns in the waist.

All aboard Buslee’s aircraft were killed in the collision, ensuing explosion, and crash except for my father, the sole survivor of his fortress. Eight of my father’s bomber brothers perished on this one B-17 on this one day.

Three men survived aboard Brodie’s aircraft, and the remaining six perished, a total of fourteen killed in the collision of the two aircraft.

I have been researching the lives of these airmen for many years and am about to embark on another search for new information on each, so I thought it was time to recap what I have already learned and share links of what I have previously written about them.

Keep in mind, there are more than eighteen men (the number of airmen that made up the two crews on 28 September 1944) involved in this story. Each crew was originally made up of ten men, although neither crew ever flew missions with all ten aboard. All of their missions were flown with a crew of nine containing only one waist gunner instead of two, a change from earlier in the war.

And neither crew flew as all original members on every mission. Substitutes were more common on missions for the Buslee crew, but both crews flew with substitute airmen on the fatal mission of 28 September 1944. My histories of the men of the Buslee and Brodie crews include both original members and those who were substituting for them on that final mission.

Including original crew members and substitute crew members on 28 September 1944 for both crews, plus two key witnesses to the collision, the number of airmen whose family history I research is twenty-nine, thirty including Lloyd Vevle’s twin brother, Floyd.

In the list below, I’m listing all of the airmen by position in the B-17 and noting who were original crew members, who were crew substitutions, and who were key witnesses to the mid-air collision. I’m also including very brief biographical information (birth, death, and burial data), links to each airman’s personnel record on the 384th Bomb Group’s website, and links to histories I’ve previously written about them.

This post will also be available as a permanent page which will be updated with additional links to posts of any new findings from my research.

The Pilots

John Oliver Buslee, pilot of the 544th Bomb Squadron

• Born 24 June 1923
• Died 28 September 1944, age 21
• Buried Saint Joseph Cemetery, River Grove, Cook County, Illinois, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• John Oliver Buslee

James Joseph Brodie, pilot of the 545th Bomb Squadron

The Co-pilots

David Franklin Albrecht, assigned Buslee crew co-pilot

• Born 1 March 1922
• Died 28 September 1944, age 22
• Buried Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, Plot C, Row 2, Grave 11
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• David Franklin Albrecht

Lloyd Oliver Vevle, assigned Brodie crew co-pilot

• Born 9 December 1922
• Died 28 September 1944, age 21
• Buried Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium, Plot C, Row 37, Grave 20
• Lloyd’s twin brother Floyd Martin Vevle (Born 9 December 1922 – Died 14 January 1945, age 22) of the 390th Bomb Group is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at  the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Lloyd Oliver Vevle
• Floyd Martin Vevle
• The Vevle Twins

The Navigators

Chester Anthony Rybarczyk, assigned Buslee crew navigator

• Born 18 January 1923
• Died 2 September 1967, age 44
• Buried Calvary Cemetery, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Chester Rybarczyk
• Chester Rybarczyk After the War

William Alvin Henson II, Sammons crew navigator, but navigator of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944

• Born 8 June 1923
• Died 28 September 1944, age 21
• Buried Eastview Cemetery, Conyers, Rockdale County, Georgia, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• William Henson, Killed in Action

• Born 26 November 1918
• Died 4 January 1998, age 79
• Buried Florida Memorial Gardens, Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.

The Bombardiers

Marvin Fryden, assigned Buslee crew bombardier

• Born 8 January 1921
• Died 5 August 1944, age 23
• Buried Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England, Plot E, Row 2, Grave 4
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• The Family of Marvin Fryden

James Buford Davis, Jung crew bombardier & Buslee crew replacement bombardier after Fryden’s death

• Born 5 October 1921
• Died 20 December 2009, age 88
• Cremated, Greater South Side Crematory, Greenwood, Johnson County, Indiana, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• James B. Davis
• More Information About James B. Davis

Robert Sumner Stearns, Durdin crew bombardier, but bombardier of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944

• Born 25 August 1923
• Died 28 September 1944, age 21
• Buried Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA, Section B, Site 302
• Memorial marker at Family/Home Cemetery at Juniper Haven Cemetery, Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Robert Sumner Stearns

William Douglas Barnes, Jr., assigned Brodie crew bombardier

• Born 20 May 1919
• Died 6 December 1990, age 71
• Buried Riverside Cemetery, Hastings, Barry County, Michigan, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• William D. Barnes, Jr.
• More Information About William D. Barnes, Jr.

Byron Leverne Atkins, Chadwick crew flexible (waist) gunner, but togglier of the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944

• Born 10 November 1924
• Died 28 September 1944, age 19
• Buried Oak Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Byron L. Atkins

The Radio Operators/Gunners

Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, assigned Buslee crew radio operator

• Born 8 July 1924
• Died 28 September 1944, age 20
• Buried Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA, Plot J, 15423
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Sebastiano Joseph Peluso

William Edson Taylor, assigned Brodie crew radio operator

• Born 21 April 1923
• Died 29 January 2002, age 78
• Cremated
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• William Edson Taylor

Donald William Dooley, Headquarters, but radio operator of the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944

• Born 26 July 1919
• Died 28 September 1944, age 25
• Buried Valhalla Memory Gardens, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Donald William Dooley

The Engineers/Top Turret Gunners

Clarence Burdell Seeley, assigned Buslee crew engineer

• Born 12 December 1921
• Died 18 March 1980, age 58
• Buried Kilfoil Cemetery, Merna, Custer County, Nebraska, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Clarence Burdell Seeley

Robert Doyle Crumpton, assigned Brodie crew engineer

• Born 27 July 1920
• Died 28 September 1944, age 24
• Buried Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, Plot E, Row 19, Grave 22
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Robert Doyle Crumpton

The Ball Turret Gunners

Erwin Vernon Foster, assigned Buslee crew ball turret 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

George Francis McMann, Jr., Gilbert crew ball turret gunner, but ball turret gunner of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944

• 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.

Gordon Eugene Hetu, assigned Brodie crew ball turret 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

The Tail Gunners

Eugene Daniel Lucynski, assigned Buslee crew tail gunner

• Born 22 December 1919
• Died 14 April 1981, age 61
• Burial information unknown, but parents (Gustave and Dominica Lucynski) are buried All Saints Church Cemetery, Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, USA
• Also known as Eugene D. or Dan Lucyn
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Eugene D. Lucynski

Gerald Lee Andersen, Carnes crew tail gunner, but tail gunner of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944

• Born 20 June 1923
• Died 28 September 1944, age 21
• Buried Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Maxwell, Lincoln County, Nebraska, USA, Section F, Site 1229
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Gerald Lee Andersen

Wilfred Frank Miller, assigned Brodie crew tail gunner

• Born 15 February 1925
• Died 29 June 1991, age 66
• Buried Saint Isidore Catholic Cemetery, Meeme, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Wilfred Frank Miller

The Flexible (Waist) Gunners

Lenard Leroy Bryant, assigned Buslee crew waist gunner, reassigned to top turret gunner after 5 August 1944 mission

• Born 7 March 1919
• Died 28 September 1944, age 25
• Buried Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, Plot G, Row 7, Grave 22
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Lenard Leroy Bryant, Top Turret Gunner for the Buslee Crew

George Edwin Farrar, assigned Buslee crew waist gunner

• Born 3 September 1921
• Died 5 November 1982, age 61
• Buried Floral Hills Memory Gardens, Tucker, DeKalb County, Georgia, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• George Edwin Farrar, Growing Up in Atlanta, Georgia

Leonard Wood Opie, assigned Brodie crew waist gunner

• Born 14 September 1921
• Died 20 May 1974, age 52
• Buried Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Longview, Gregg County, Texas, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Leonard Opie

Harry Allen Liniger, assigned Brodie crew waist gunner

• Born 9 August 1924
• Died 8 October 1947, age 23
• Buried Powells Point Christian Church Cemetery, Harbinger, Currituck County, North Carolina, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew
• Harry Liniger After the War

Witnesses to the 28 September 1944 Mid-air Collision

Wallace Arnold Storey, Gross crew co-pilot

• Born 19 November 1922
• Died 4 September 2020, age 97
• Buried Greenville Memorial Gardens in Piedmont, Greenville County, South Carolina, USA
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Wallace A. Storey
• Blue Skies, Wallace Storey

Robert McKinley Mitchell, Jr., Allred crew ball turret gunner

• Born 21 November 1921
• Died 12 May 2015
• Buried Oakwood Cemetery in Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama
• 384th BG Personnel Record
• Robert McKinley Mitchell

Thank you to Fred Preller, webmaster of 384thBombGroup.com, and his volunteer researchers for providing and sharing information of the Group.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021