1st Lt. Robert James Nespor, Jr. was a B-24D bomber command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 344th Bombing Squadron, based at Benghazi, Libya, in North Africa. He was assigned to fly on the huge mission, Operation Tidal Wave, to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on on 1 August 1943. Lt. Nespor was assigned as a replacement pilot, along with Lt. John Clark Riley, his replacement copilot from the 93rd Bomb Group, with a replacement crew, some from the 376th Bomb Group, to fly his friend, Lt. John S. Young's regular airplane, the B-24D Liberator, Kickapoo, in place of Young and his regularly assigned crew. Nespor was an original member of the 98th Bombardment Group, but did not complete his tour at the same time as many of the original 98th Bomb Group airmen, as he had been grounded for a period of time with dysentery. Lt. Young, Kickapoo's regular pilot, and his crew had been reassigned by the 98th Bomb Group's Commander, Col. John R. Kane, to fly with him in his element's lead ship, the B-24D, Hail Columbia. This late crew change saved the lives of Lt. Young and his crew. But it cost the lives of Lt. Nespor, his copilot, John Riley, and all but two of their replacement crew.  - 

                                                                                                                                        At just after 0750 hours on the morning of the Ploesti mission, Lt. Nespor and John Riley, were at the controls of Kickapoo. As they were making their takeoff run, Kickapoo, had a complete number 4 engine failure and fire. The two pilots pulled their stricken B-24D into a shallow climb, turned out over the sea, jettisoned their bombs, and began a long curving sweep out of the bomber formation to the right. Although on fire and burning, Nespor, apparently, thought he could make it back to the Lete airstrip and save his valuable airplane. As he started his first approach back to the runway, the field was still a swirling fog of red dust stirred up by the prop wash of the planes taking off, and Nespor was turned away by the tower to circle around for a second visual approach. He was trying to make that second approach back to the runway when his right wing became completely engulfed in flames. Also, he began losing power from his remaining three engines and descended into a hard landing. Nespor and, Kickapoo, hit the runway, bounced twenty feet into the air, hit again, lost the center line, skidded down the extreme left edge of the runway, and crashed their left wing into a concrete pole, cartwheeling, Kickapoo, which came apart and exploded in flames, ultimately, killing Lt. Nespor, John Riley, and all but two of the rest of their crewmen. Eight of the ten man crew were KIA. Nespor and Riley could have crash landed, Kickapoo, on the beach or in the shallow water just off the beach after jettisoning their bombs over the water, but elected to try to try to save their plane after they had been cleared by the tower to return for a second landing attempt. Lt. Nespor, Lt. Riley, and all but two of their replacement crewmen were the very first casualties of Operation Tidal Wave. They died in place of the men they exchanged places with, Lt. John Young and his usual crew on, Kickapoo.



For his flying leadership and his sacrifice on the Ploesti mission, Lt. Nespor and his crew were posthumously awarded Purple Heart medals. Lt. Nespor and the names of his crew do not appear in the official AAF History Roster of Personnel for DFCs.



Lt. Nespor received his only DFC on General Orders #58, Hqrs Ninth U.S. Air Force, June 28, 1943.



Lt. Robert James Nespor was only 22 years old when he gave his life for freedom and his country. 1 Aug 1943.



Replacement Crew - B-24D - Kickapoo- Tidal Wave - August 1, 1943

1st/Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot

2/Lt. Thurman L. Ward - Bombardier

2nd/Lt. John C. Riley - Co Pilot

T/Sgt. Vaun D. Wenrick - Engineer

S/Sgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner

T/Sgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Op.

S/Sgt.Edwin J. Sliwa - Gunner

S/Sgt. George Warren Lawlor - Gunner

S/Sgt. John D'Amour - Gunner



Crash Report :

- "Lt. Robert J. Nespor – A B-24 bomber pilot in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, flew on Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, Lt. Nespor was assigned to fly Lt. John Young’s regular airplane, Kickapoo, as command pilot with a replacement crew partly from the 376th Bomb Group. The first abort came ten minutes after takeoff – at 07:50 – when Lt. Robert Nespor's number four engine failed and caught on fire. Nespor thought he could make it back to the Benina strip, but the field was still a swirling fog of red dust stirred up by the prop wash of the last planes that took off, which caused the tower to order him to go around for another try. On his second try, Nespor lost power on his remaining engines. Kickapoo sank and hit the runway, bounced and hit again, skidding down the extreme edge of the field, hitting a concrete telephone pole with it's wing and exploded in flames. Eight of the ten men were killed, burned in the flames of the fire. Eleven planes in all aborted the mission. "