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Military
A bomber crew of the 458th Bomb Group with their B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51110) nicknamed "Top O' the Mark.' The crew are: (back row, left to right) Carl Johnson - Nose Gunner, Chuck Frazer - Gunner, Charles Gretz - Top Turret Gunner, "Bubba" Monroe - Co-Pilot, (front row, left to right) Dick Eselgroth - Navigator, Al Miller - Bombardier, Billy Duke - Pilot "Luke" Lucas - Radio Operator, Baldamore Garcia - Engineer, "Pan" Panarese - Tail Gunner . Image via RM Eselgroth. Written on slide casing: 'Crew 22, 458th Bomb Gp. 754th Squadron, Horsham Jan 1945.'
A bomber crew of the 458th Bomb Group with their B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51110) nicknamed "Top O' the Mark.' The crew are: (back row, left to right) Carl Johnson - Nose Gunner, Chuck Frazer - Gunner, Charles Gretz - Top Turret Gunner, "Bubba" Monroe - Co-Pilot, (front row, left to right) Dick Eselgroth - Navigator, Al Miller - Bombardier, Billy Duke - Pilot "Luke" Lucas - Radio Operator, Baldamore Garcia - Engineer, "Pan" Panarese - Tail Gunner . Image via RM Eselgroth. Written on slide casing: 'Crew 22, 458th Bomb Gp. 754th Squadron, Horsham Jan 1945.'
Nose art by Albert Knowles 458 BG. A bomber crew of the 458th Bomb Group with their B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51110) nicknamed "Top O' the Mark.' The crew are: (back row, left to right) Carl Johnson - Nose Gunner, Chuck Frazer - Gunner, Charles Gretz - Top Turret Gunner, "Bubba" Monroe - Co-Pilot, (front row, left to right) Dick Eselgroth - Navigator, Al Miller - Bombardier, Billy Duke - Pilot "Luke" Lucas - Radio Operator, Baldamore Garcia - Engineer, "Pan" Panarese - Tail Gunner . Image via RM Eselgroth. Written on slide casing: 'Crew 22, 458th Bomb Gp. 754th Squadron, Horsham Jan 1945.'
Pilot of B-24 #4410491 'Iron Duke'. Shot down over Bieber, Germany and crashed at Hainhausen on 22 February 1945. He and his co-pilot Lt. A. B. Monroe and waist gunner Sergeant Charles Frazer were murdered by German civilian police. (Story of 'Iron Duke' and its crew, written by George Reynolds was published in Air Wars magazine.) Killed in Action (KIA).
Group
The 458th Bomb Group (H) entered combat with the 8th Air Force in February 1944. Based at Horsham St. Faith in England, the combat crews participated in the decisive Campaigns 'Big Week', 'Big B', D-Day and the assault on Germany's oil industry waged...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
Crash-landed 29 June 1944 at Horsham St Faith on return from Aschersleben mission after being hit by Anti-aircraft fire and set ablaze. The order to bail out was given, but before the fire was extinguished, two airmen bailed out due to failure of...
B-24 Liberator
Shot down 22 February 1945 on raid on marshaling yards at Peine, Germany. MACR 12675
Military site : airfield
Horsham St Faith was an RAF Bomber Command Station opened in June 1940. It was home to Bristol Blenheim medium-bombers, and was for a time occupied by fighters, including those of No. 19 Squadron and No. 264 Squadron. From September 1942 the airfield...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Jonesboro, Arkansas | 7 October 1924 |
| Died | 22 February 1945 | |
| Buried | Oxford, Mississippi |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 December 2017 17:07:43 | Kauko56 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
"Review and Recommendations" paper in US case # 12-2000, page 30 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:27:41 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Bettye Duke Jackson, sister; MACR 12675 & Page 275 of the book LIBERATORS OVER EUROPE by Mackay, Bailey & Scorza, D790G458 & 458bg.com (detailed info including story of final mission) / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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