Marvin Wright Garber
Military ROLL OF HONOURPhoto from my Genealogy file on Ancestry.com
Shot down on his 10th mission by fighters on the return from a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. MACR #2248. KIA.
NOTE: "Black Widow" #42-7542 was a stand-in for the damaged "Sad Sack" #41-29147, which had been commanded by Lt. Garber. "Sad Sack" crew was assigned to "Black Widow," a sister ship from 707 squadron. Sad Sack had been damaged when landing gear collapsed during a non-combat flight on 28 Jan 44, and was later declared beyond repair.
Comment in MACR 2248 about Lt Marvin Garber:
“Pilot was keeping Aircraft up for crew to bail out.”
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20726744 originally, then O-731007
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32258282 / O-752481
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14073575
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16050364 / O-684735
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32228136
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 4 February 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Flixton
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
15 March 1921 | ||
Enlisted |
8 April 1942 | ||
Buried |
8 September 1949 | PLOT Section 82, Site 111 | |
Died Killed in Action (KIA) |
4 February 1944 |
Revisions
Correspondence with Ray Bowden of the USAAF Nose Art Research Project, and also from an account of the 4 Jan 44 mission in Jansen's History of the 446th Bomb Group.
Noting that Sad Sack was damaged in landing on 29 Jan 44 which would have likely resulted in replacement by Black Widow for mission on 4 Feb 44.
Acknowledgment that there is some uncertainty as to whether the actual aircraft show down was Sad Sack or Black Widow, The crew was photographed with the Sad Sack but ship misidentified on 446 BG webpage as Black Widow. MACR reports the aircraft under Lt Garber's command shot down was Black Widow and tail number correct. Most parsimonious explanation is that Sad Sack crew in entirety transferred to Black Widow which was a newer aircraft, prior to mission.
Previously mentioned crew photograph where crew correctly identified. My uncle, Francis Stewart, was a member of Lt. Garber's Crew, but the aircraft was Sad Sack, not Black Widow.
Photograph of aircraft clearly identifiable as Sad Sack, but mislabeled as Black Widow. I am convinced that Lt. Garber was pilot of the Sad Sack when shot down 4 Feb 44.
Added the MACR #2248 to the "Summary biography" per info on Fold3 website.
Adedd officer S/N from recods for "WWII Army Casualties: Indiana" at the National Archives.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2248 / MACR 2248, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces; The History of the 446th Bomb Group, pg 50 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database