Edward Leroy Fowble
Military ROLL OF HONOUREdward L. Fowble was piloting B-24 42-40687 on a training flight on 25 June 1943 when he was involved in a mid-air-collision with B-24 42-40774 "Heaven Can Wait" piloted by 1st Lt Harold James. Fowble managed to land the aircraft at Hethel.
He flew on the Ploesti raid on 1 August 1943 in B-24 42-40773. First Lieutenant Fowble was recommend for the Silver Star for his part in the low-level Ploesti raid, but received the Distinguished Flying Cross according to the published general orders. He has a SS and DFC award card under the same general order, which is an anomaly, as dual recognition isn't authorized. No citation for the SS exists on the general order, only the DFC, which is a blanket citation for his respective squadron.
He was killed in B-24 42-40773 at Marrakesh, Morocco from fuel exhaustion, on 3 October 1943, and after he attained the rank of captain. His death according to NARA records reflect Died Non Battle.
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: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15045876 / 0-325990
- Highest Rank: Major General
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Eager Beaver / Fearless Freddie
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 446th Bomb Group 93rd Bomb Group Base Air Depot 2 328th Bomb Squadron 564th Bomb Squadron 704th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: I for Item
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Hobart, Ind | 28 October 1920 | Hobart, Lake County, Indiana |
Enlisted |
23 January 1942 | FT BENJAMIN HARRISON INDIANA | |
Died Died Non Battle |
Marrakesh, Morocco | 3 October 1943 | Left Tunis with insufficient fuel and a small leak headed for Marrakesh. As a result he crashed while trying to glide into the landing strip at Marrakesh. The crash killed all but two of his crew. |
Revisions
Updated decorations, ASN upon entry, middle name, biography data from NARA sources, general orders and Find a Grave.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30203082/edward-leroy-fowble
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 131-133.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ploesti by Dugan and Stewart page 186, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 165, NARA