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Lt. Robert J Nespor, killed in action on 1 August 1943. Lt. Nespor was reassigned to fly Lt. John S. Young's regular airplane, 'KICKAPOO' with his copilot. Lt. John Clark Riley for the Ploesti mission to bomb the oil refineries. Nespor and Riley were killed just after takeoff when 'KICKAPOO''s #4 engine failed and caught on fire. The plane's wing hit a concrete pole on landing cartwheeling the plane into the ground in flames. All but two of the plane's crew were KIA, with two WIA. 1 Aug 1943. Both pilots, Lt. Nespor and Lt. John C. Riley were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart for their bravery and sacrifice for the Ploesti mission.

Connections

Units

  • 9th Air Force

    9th Air Force

  • 98th Bomb Group

    98th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942. ...

  • 344th Bomb Squadron

    344th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron
    The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...

People

  • Robert Nespor

    Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot
    1st Lt. Robert James Nespor was a B-24D command bomber pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 330th Bombing Squadron. For the huge mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on Operation Tidal...

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Collection name
John Simmons Young Collection
Object number
UPL 39596

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
15 December 2020 14:52:56 general ira snapsorter Changes to person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

Removed associations not depicted in the image. Associated content should be added to the AIRCRAFT and/or PERSON records.
Date Contributor Update
15 December 2020 09:38:45 Kickapoo Changes to collection, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

John S Young Jr - personal archives
Date Contributor Update
18 September 2019 13:02:13 general ira snapsorter Changes to person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

Removed associations not depicted in image.
Date Contributor Update
08 September 2019 00:56:54 Kickapoo Changes to caption
Sources

Ploesti - Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives
Date Contributor Update
07 September 2019 17:08:37 Kickapoo Changes to caption, unit associations, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

Ploesti - Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives
Date Contributor Update
06 August 2019 12:49:08 Emily Changes to caption, unit associations, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

Removed associations not depicted in image, and transferred biographical information on Nespor to his person record.
Date Contributor Update
06 August 2019 08:02:44 Kickapoo Changes to person associations
Sources

Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Together We Served.com ---- Into The Fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives
Date Contributor Update
06 August 2019 08:00:23 Kickapoo Created entry with collection, caption, unit associations, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Together We Served.com ---- Into The Fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives

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