Donald Leslie Lash

Military
media-42098.png UPL 42098 The Johnston crew, Framlingham, 22 November 1944. 390th Bomb Group / 568th Bomb Squadron (Official USAAF photo).
Top row, from left to right :
1st Lt Gerald W. Johnston; 1st Lt Matthew R. Robinson, Co-Pilot; 1st Lt Donald L. Lash, Navigator; 1st Lt Frank D. O’Neill, Bombardier.
Front row, left to right : T/Sgt Russell P. Hardy, Top Turret Gunner; T/sgt William J. Parks, Radio Operator; S/Sgt Ben Marshall, Ball Turret Gunner; S/Sgt Dayton C. Kelly, Waist Gunner and S/Sgt James S. Lawman, Tail Gunner.

NARA WWII Air Force photos - B-71195A.C.

Object Number - UPL 42098 - The Johnston crew, Framlingham, 22 November 1944. 390th Bomb Group / 568th Bomb Squadron (Official USAAF photo). Top row, from left to right : 1st...

Donald Lash was Navigator on B-17 "Bob Tail Battler" #42-102677. Crashed at Garlitz, Germany on 14 January 1945. Prisoner of War (POW)

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 390th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35790365
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14095884 at enlistment, then O-817574
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18124447
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35752433
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18135419
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Mississippi Mission, Bob Tail Battler
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron

Missions

  • Date: 14 January 1945

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

19 August 1920 Redwood Falls, Redwood County, Minnesota (Note : his WWII Draft card has 17/8/1920...)

Enlisted

25 September 1942 San Diego, California

Other

Captured

14 January 1945 near Garlitz, 15km North of Brandenburg, Germany, after the crash of B-17 #42-102677

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

14 January 1945 Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Force-marched from there to Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. NARA WWII POW records : Returned to Military Control 31 May 1945.”

Died

19 September 1981 Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois
Heyworth, McLean County, Illinois

Buried

Donald Lash rests at the Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 11725
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
NARA WWII POW records
NARA - German captured documents : KU-3569 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147911915

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 11725

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Added S/N and POW camp information from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11725 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Donald Leslie Lash: Gallery (1 items)