William Lakeman

Military
media-7339.jpeg UPL 7339 Crew #606
Richard O. Foster Crew
466th BG - 786th BS

Standing Left to Right: Bernard F. Elliott (B), Stuart Park Glenn (N), Melvin C. Smith (R/O), James Springsteen (FE), John L. Gordon (BTG)

Kneeling Left to Right: Richard O. Foster (P), William Lakeman (CP), John E. Cane (TG), Vincent Burns (WG), John R. Martin (TT)

This crew completed a 30 combat mission tour.

466th BG Historian

Object Number - UPL 7339 - Crew #606 Richard O. Foster Crew 466th BG - 786th BS Standing Left to Right: Bernard F. Elliott (B), Stuart Park Glenn (N), Melvin C. Smith...

Bill Lakeman completed a 30 mission tour. After the war he graduated from the University of Maryland and then worked as a newspaper reporter for 36 years.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Three little girls hold up a balloon celebrating the 100th mission of the 466th Bomb Group in front of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-95592) nicknamed "Black Cat". Handwritten caption on reverse: 'On our 100 Mission party Day- 18 Aug 1944, Attlebridge, 466th- wouldn't it be something if we could identify these girls? How could I do it?'

466th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Richard O Foster

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-535724
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot -- Squadron Operations Officer

Aircraft

A crashed Liberator of the 466th Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on image: '466 BG 2nd Div 8th AF.' Image via Joh Bode.

42-52566

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Shack Date
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron

Places

Aerial photograph of Attlebridge airfield, looking north, the fuel store and a T2 hangar are in the upper centre, 31 January 1946. Photograph taken by No. 90 Squadron, sortie number RAF/3G/TUD/UK/51. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

Attlebridge

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

New York, NY, USA 12 August 1921

Other

466th BG Tour

Attlebridge, Norwich, Norfolk NR9, UK 22 March 1944 - 25 June 1944

Other

First Mission

Berlin, Germany 22 March 1944 "Our first mission was a fiasco, with heavy turbulence, contrails and flak, we missed the target.

Other

20th Mission

Stella Plage, 62780 Cucq, France 5 June 1944 We almost aborted due to foul weather that thwarted our formation, but six planes found a gap in the cloud deck and formed an ad hoc formation with our plane as the leader. We bombed a bridge at Stella Plage, France. The next day was D-Day
Silver Spring, MD, USA 911 Kingsbury Drive

Other

Graduated

University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA University of Maryland

Other

Assigned to the 466th BG

Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

Written Interview with Bill Lakeman
466th BG Archives

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

466th BG Archives

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

Chris Brassfield Collection - 466th BG Archives

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL by Wassom & Brassfield, page 347

William Lakeman: Gallery (1 items)

Object number: UPL 7339 - Crew #606 Richard O. Foster Crew 466th BG - 786th...