AUSTIN, EDWARD L. June 7, 1945 age 20 MIA Saipan

EDWARD LEON AUSTIN  b. June 14, 1925 Michigan d. June 7, 1945

Missing in Action Saipan

2^nd Lt. O-2076496 Army Air Corps 421^st BS 504^th BG #5 Very Heavy

Buried Memorial Tablet of the Missing, Honolulu

Parents: John & Ruth (Keller)

Sibling: Bernice   

High School 1943

Spouse: Margaret Dolores Thornton


Parents came from Arkansas & Missouri, repeating that common migration trail looking for work in Detroit’s burgeoning auto factories. In 1930 John was a laborer in an auto factory but by 1940 he had a more specialized position as a trimmer. Ruth was the manager of an apartment house. Their home addresses don’t place them near the high school, but possibly Edward took the bus across town to Redford.

He graduated January 1943 and registered that same year on his birthday for the draft in Detroit. He worked with the Army Map Service was 137 lbs, 5’9” with brown eyes and black hair. Already in the Air Corps, he married Margaret Dolores Thornton in Detroit Jan 22, 1945. They had an all too brief war time marriage; Margaret remarried 1947.

B-29 over Japan

He served in the Army Air Force with the 504^th Bomber Group, Very Heavy, 421^st Bomber Squad. Because of aircraft availability initial training missions were flown with Boeing B-17 Flying fortress aircraft. Once the squadron completed training it moved to Tinian in the Mariana Island in the Central Pacific in January 1945. Its mission was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese Home Islands and the destruction of Japan’s war-making capability.

Mission 189 – 409 B-29’s escorted by 138 FC-P-51’s attacked Osaka with 2, 592 tons of incendiary bombs. Two B-29’s and on P-51 are lost. The crew of B-29 #42-24834, Albatross, commanded by Capt James B. Collier, departed from Tinian June 7, 1945. Edward was the radar operator on the crew of 11.

From MACR 15700 report: Everything seemed quite normal. No-one realized that the fuel was so low. At 1915k without warning, Number 2 engine backfired, was out of fuel, and was feathered. The airplane commander told the men in the back to prepare to bail out. He then started calling his distress to Lotus Tower on VHF Channel “B”. No use of the regular emergency frequencies was made. At 1935K Number 3 engine was out of fuel, and the men in the back stated to bail out. The pilot asked the navigator to give the radio operator a position report to send, but it was discovered that the radio operator had already left the plane. At the start of the bail out the altitude was 3500 ft, IAS 170 miles per hour. Preparation for Bail Out: Bomb-bay doors were opened and wheels were let down. The crew fastened their parachutes and secured their one-man rafts to their parachutes.

Bail-Out – Personnel: In back, the gunner went first from the rear bomb-bay, followed by the left gunner and the right gunner. Bail out of tail gunner unknown. In front, the radio operator and the navigator left through the front bomb-by. The radar operator probably left by the front bomb-bay. The bombardier, engineer, co-pilot, and airplane commander went through the nose wheel well in that order.
The sea was rough with 10 ft. swells. 4 crew members were MIA, 2 KIA; remainder returned to duty.