BODELL, LLOYD May 26, 1945 age 27 KIA Formosa

LLOYD EDWIN BODELL  b. May 6, 1918 Monroe, Mich d. May 26, 1945 Killed in Action  

Formosa (Taiwan)

1st Lt O-1041507 US Air Force 345^th Bomb Gr 498th Bomb Squad

14114 Archdale

Buried: Woodland Cemetery, Monroe, MI

Parents: Lloyd J. & Anna Marie

Step-Siblings: Roger, Evelyn   
 

Lloyd’s father was killed Aug 6, 1918 in WWI. Anna Marie remarried after 1920 where the census lists him living alone with his mother. In 1930 he lived at 14114 Archdale with his step father, mother and two step siblings.

 

 

He graduated from Redford in 1935 and Wayne State in 1939. He worked as shipping & receiving clerk for Sears & Roebuck. He must have worked at the store at Grand River and Oakman.

Draft registration was Oct 16, 1940 in Detroit; he was 5’8” 136 lbs with blue eyes and brown hair. His enlistment followed in April 1941. By March 1943 he was a student officer Army Air Force pre-flight school at Maxwell Field, Ala.

On May 26, 1945 sixteen B-25J Mitchell bombers from the 498^th Bomb Squadron took off from the base in the Philippines headed for Taiwan. Part of the 345^th Bombardment Group with the 5^th Air Force, they were stationed in the Philippines since November 1944 carrying out missions against shipping along the China coast as well as industrial and infrastructure targets in Taiwan. The mission that day was the Byoritsu Refinery in the northwestern Taiwan city of Miaoli. US intelligence estimated that it produced 100,000 barrels of gasoline, kerosene and heavy oil annually. The refinery was designated Target No. 85. Among the bombers heading across the sea towards Taiwan was #42-36192, ‘Jaunty Jo’ piloted by Robert J. Knauf with a crew of 5.

Bodell's plane is hit

 The 16 bombers approached the target almost grazing the treetops. They did this as the bombs they carried, Parafrag bombs, were designed to be dropped with great precision from low altitude before detonating and breaking into smaller fragments. Parachutes delayed impact long enough for the aircraft to escape unharmed.

Crash of #42-36192

As it released its Parafrag bombs the left side of the ‘Jaunty Jo’ cockpit was hit by shrapnel and a gaping hole opened next to the pilots. Trailed by a dense tail of smoke the bomber crashed seconds later killing all on board.

The official explanation was that a camouflaged anti-aircraft battery near the refinery shot down the plane. However, the extremely low altitude makes it possible that it was hit by Parafrag bombs descending towards the ground having been dropped by another bomber. The truth will never be known; either option has the same end result. There were no survivors. Incredible is that there are photographs of the plane being hit and then crashing.

 

Lloyd was reburied in Monroe in 1949, where his father already was interred. In April 1950 Roger W. Haines, Lloyd’s step brother, applied for headstones for each of them.

KRAINZ, JOHN J. Feb 6, 1945 age 29 KIA Luzon, Philippines

JOHN J. KRAINZ, JR  b. Mar 5, 1915 Mineral, Kansas d. Feb 6, 1945 Killed in Action

Luzon, Philippines

1^st Lt/Captain O-104905 Army Coast Artillery Corps

Buried Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

 
Parents: John & Katherine (Kozelle)
Siblings: Helen S. (Shaw), Stanley Anthony   

The parents were born in Slovenia and Austria, an area where cultural borders were overshadowed by the Austrian Empire. They immigrated before the assassination of the Archduke in Sarajevo that triggered WWI. They moved around after arrival as is evidenced by children born in Kansas, Ohio and Michigan.  John worked in a car factory then was janitor in a beer garden. As was a requirement of all men, in 1942 at age 58 John Sr. now employed by Copco Steel, did his draft registration.

Young John graduated from Redford in June 1931. When he registered for the draft in Detroit on Oct 26, 1940 he was 5’9”, 172 lbs with hazel eyes, brown hair and worked as a welder at the Dodge Main Plant. He enlisted at Ft. Custer in Battle Creek Jan 19, 1942 in the Coast Artillery Corps. Brother Stanley was a Corporal in Belgium.

John was with the 29^th Airborne Unit and then the 11^th Airborne Div. The Coast Artillery Corps defended coastal areas of the country but in time they redeployed the personnel usually to field artillery or anti-aircraft units.   In January 1945 the 11^th Airborne Division took part in the invasion of Luzon. A large number of civilian prisoners had been detained by the Japanese, mostly in internment camps scattered around the island. The largest of these was at Los Banos 40 miles SE of Manila. Manila was liberated on Feb. 5^th.

Capt John Krainz was awarded a Silber Star for leading his men out of an enemy ambush. He also received a Bronze Star for bravery on Leyte. Additionally he was honored by the naming of a camp on Hokkaido, Japan in his honor. In 1947 the city of Detroit named 16 parks for war heroes, 14 of whom were killed in action. Krainz Woods is still there, on the east side; it's also the name of the surrounding neighborhood on maps.

 

John’s internment at Arlington was on Oct. 21, 1948.

GLASSCOCK, ROBERT L May 18, 1945 age 25 DNB Bavarian Alps

ROBERT LYNCH GLASSCOCK  b. June 18, 1919 Missouri d. May 18, 1945  Died Non Battle Bavarian Alps, Germany

Pfc 3643741 Army  12^th Inf Reg 4^th Inf Div Co A

 

Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

Parents: John Yates & Ora Mae (Lynch)

Siblings: Dorothy Lee (William, Estes), Louise   

Spouse: Virginia Mae Paterson

Child: son

 

 

 

 

Up until 1935 Robert lived in Maysville, Missouri with his family. His father was the proprietor of a produce house in Missouri and later served as postmaster. After the war the parents moved to their daughters home in Royal Oak, Michigan.



Marriage License 1940

In Detroit Robert was a lodger at 16554 Chapel, just a block from the high school. The Meijer Superstore that replaced Redford uses a section of Chapel St. that bordered the west entrance to the school so houses are gone; that was where my father dropped me off at the school for early morning activities. Robert completed two years of college after high school. On May 22,1940 he married Virginia Mae Paterson in Detroit and they had a son.  Robert worked as a sales clerk in a retail drug store. On Aug 16, 1944 he enlisted.

The 4^th Division was named the Ivey Division – the Roman numeral IV was read as Ivey. The 4^th Division sped southeast across Bavaria. On 2^nd of May 1945 they reached Miesbach on the Isar River, a very scenic area near the Austrian border. They were relieved and placed on occupation duty. Sad irony to dying non battle after the war's end. Writer J.D. Salinger served with the 4^th from 1942-1945.

Robert was returned from the cemetery at St. Avold, France in 1948 to be buried at Arlington. The grave next to him is reserved for his widow.

 

With genealogy the information found in databases is one isolated moment in time; from that you piece together the in between information.  Robert’s obituary in a King City, Missouri newspaper states he had a wife and son. Virginia did remarry a Benny Olive, date not found. I was surprised to discover, as I wrote this post, that a James Robert Olive, born April 13, 1941 in Detroit to Benjamin and Virginia (Paterson) Olive, died March 6, 2020 in St. Helen, MI; he previously lived in Washington. James served in the Army 1962-65. Note the middle name is Robert, doubt it is a coincidence. This raises many questions; but would any of the answers made a material difference to young James life? Robert knew he had a child but anything else was irrelevant for him with his death.

WEAVER, HARRY died July 29, 1945 age 20 DNB Texas

HAROLD GEORGE WEAVER  b. Nov 30, 1924 Highland Park, MI d. July 29, 1945

Died Non Battle Segun, Texas

Aviation Cadet 2088210 Army Air Force 2548^th Base Unit, Curtis Field, Brady, TX

 

Buried Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit

Parents: Russell Martin & Glenna Lillian (Dailey)

Siblings: Martha Jane, Gloria Ann

Both parents came from Ohio to Michigan where Russell worked as an electrician. After living at 12282 Appoline they had a house in 1940 at 19342 Five Points on the Redford side of the street, not far from Hugh Weber’s house; did they know each other? Five Points got its name from its intersection with Grand River Ave and Seven Mile Rd – 5 points created. Still a confusing intersection when you try to make a turn.

Russell and Glenna died in Bryan, Ohio in 1985 – one month apart.

 

Redford HS

Ford Trade School

Harold registered Dec 26, 1942 at age 18 whle he was a student at Ford Trade School. He was 150 lbs blue eyes and brown hair, 5’11”.  In the yearbook for Ford School his ambition was electrical engineering; hobby, Hunting and he was in band 1940.

 

He went to Contract Pilot School at Curtis Field in Texas, class 45-B. Harold died in an airplane accident in Segun, Guadalupe Co. Texas. The death certificate describes horrific injuries. He was 20 years old.

FITZPATRICK, WM JAMES May 8, 1944 age 26 MIA/KIA Lindhorst

WILLIAM JAMES FITZPATRICK  b. June 9, 1917 Detroit d. May 8, 1944  

Killed in Action Lindhorst, Germany

1^st Lt O-747386 Army Air Force 96^th Bomb Group 338^th Bomb Squad

 

16574 Blackstone

Buried: Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit

 

Parents: Leo Alphomsus & Grace (Dagwell)

Siblings: Catherine, Edward Roland, Harry, Leo Jr., Grace, Barbara

Spouse: Loretta Dorothy Dupont

Child: Mary Jo 

14634 Rosemont

Parents Leo and Grace came from Northern Michigan – Au Sable and Indian River. He was a wholesale lumber salesman. Grace died in the flu epidemic of 1918 and Leo married her sister, Jane Elizabeth. They first lived in Redford Township in the 1920’s, but Redford Twp was primarily rural so streets aren’t identified on the census; Jane is identified as sister-in-law and they had a live in maid.  By 1930 the family was at 6574 Blackstone, then were at 14634 Rosemont.

 

 

The census data names him James. His military info is James William. Redford designates him Wm James. All other info indicates they are the same person.

William James graduated May 1934 and later worked at the Ford Rouge Plant. He enlisted in 1939 at 5’11” 192 lbs with hazel eyes and brown hair. Then in 1941 he transferred to the Air Corps. Marriage followed in July 1942 in California to Loretta Dorothy Dupont. He received his wings at Marsa Field, Marsa, Tx. March 12, 1944 they had a daughter, Mary Jo, that he likely never met. Loretta remarried in 1946.

In this case I found a wonderfully documented family tree on line which contained great photos and information.

 

On May 8, 1944 Lt Fitzpatrick and the crew of B-17G-30-DL #42-38190 left their base at Snetterton Heath, England for a bombing mission to Berlin. According to the casualty interrogation form, enemy fighter fire blew up the ship in mid-air at Lindhorst, Germany. T/Sgt Swift baled out and was captured in Hustedt with flak wounds to a leg and lungs. 9 members of the crew went down without a chance to bail out. Later saw unidentifiable remains scattered on the ground.

 

The casualties were first buried in Sülze Cemetery near Diesten. Later all were reinterred in the Ardennes Cemetery and four remain buied there. Five were returned for burial in the States. A service was held at Christ the King Church in Detroit on June 15, 1949 for Lt. Fitzpatrick who was buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery. He received an Air Medal with 2 Oak Clusters and a Purple Heart.

 



Fitzpatrick Crew

There is a video on training in a B-17; it uses several familiar actors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL-zRFEt9lI

 

 

ABBOTT, ROBERT H June 12, 1945 age 27 DNB Germany

ROBERT HENRY ABBOTT  b. Apr 17, 1918 Detroit d. June 12, 1945 Died Non Battle Germany

Sgt 36121558  Army

Buried Michigan per family

Parents: Arthur ‘Archie’ & Lela (Akey)

Siblings: Don Clarion, Leo A, Verne L
Spouse: Frances
Daughter: Barbara

Archie was born in Ohio and Lela in Indiana. They married 1892 in Mancelona. Family moved around quite a bit: Bellaire, Kalamazoo, back to Indiana, and various Detroit addresses. Maybe Archie followed construction jobs. In 1940 he was a plastering contractor.

Robert was the youngest child. He graduated from Redford in Jan 1938. Married to Frances by 1940  he lived with his family at 9144 Fulton Ave. He enlisted in June 28, 1941 in Detroit, 5’8” 145 lbs with blue eyes and blonde hair. There is no information available on his military service other than brief casualty information. Germany surrendered in May 1945 so that war had ended.

Hi Y Gray 1936

  

Indoor Track 1936

Sadly his mother Lela died Feb 1948 and a few months later in Aug father Archie died.  Arachie’s obituary on Aug 5, 1948 verifies family connections: Arthur Abbott, 21630 Santa Clara beloved husband of the late Lela Abbott dear father of Don C., Leo, Verne and the late Robert Abbott, brother of Lola & Lloyd. Service Van Valkenburg, Grand Lawn Cemetery.  Robert likely is interred at Grand Lawn.

 

 

 

 

And maybe young daughter Barbara, who never really knew her father, has photos of a man in a uniform that will be passed on as part of her family history.

 

HOY, RICHARD F. Aug 22, 1944 age 23 KIA Les Infruts

RICHARD FRANCIS HOY  b. Feb 7, 1921 Michigan d. Aug 22, 1944 Killed in Action

Les Infruts, France

2^nd Lt O-820291 Army Air Force 111^th Tactical Reconnaissance, 12^th AF

Buried: Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit

Parents: Richard F & Margaret (Lightbody)

Sibling: Margaret Helen, Zanella Catherine 
Spouse: Ruth Jean Bossardet

16874 Lawton

 

The Hoy family and either Richard in particular, posed research problems. There is another prominent Richard Hoy family in the area. I picked the one most fitting and this one has a great story of remembrance and honor to those that died.

Richard Senior married Margaret in 1917 when he was an advertising salesman for The Detroit News. They lived at 16874 Lawton along with an 18 yr old live-in maid, Neva Galehouse. Richard worked at the paper until his death by coronary thrombosis in Feb 1936. The Hoy family was fated for many sorrows in the years to come. In 1930 their 2 month old child Zanella died of pneumonia.

Margaret Helen RHS

Mother Margaret continued living in the Lawton home; interesting is that she had completed 3 years of college, unique for her generation. Richard graduated from Redford in June 1938 and soon married Ruth Jean Bossardet and in 1940 they were in their own home. He registered for the draft Feb 14, 1942 at 5’11” 145 lbs with brown eyes and hair; his complexion I indicated as ‘dark’. He and Ruth had a child in 1942 who died at birth from developmental problems.  Meanwhile mother Margaret had newlyweds with her in her home - daughter Margaret and husband Jack Wendt.

On Tuesday Aug 22 1944 the invasion of southern France had been ongoing for a week. At 1625 a two ship formation of P-51-F6A reconnaissance fighters left the field at Borgo, Corsica. The flight was led by Lt. Roy Simmons; his wing man was Lt. Richard Hoy#42-103428, in Europe only one month. They flew to Saint-Giles where they found and strafed German truck traffic. Then they proceeded to attack targets near Nimes and Arles. South of Millau they found a German column on the Larzazc plateau fleeing from Rodez, a major German garrison town. They attacked! At 1850 Lt. Hoy encountered light, intense and accurate flak. His left wing exploded and he spun into the ground striking a telegraph pole then exploding on contact. Hoy had no chance of surviving the crash.

Nowadays if you are travelling in the southern part of France near the village of Le Caylar you have to look fact not to miss the sign on the right side of the highway that announces a place named ‘Memorial De La Pecade’ with the admonition Remember. If you search hard you can find a French military cemetery with 24 simple white stone crosses; a French flags are chiseled into all the crosses except for one which has an American flag. Above the large stone listing the names of 23 resistance fighters is a simple slab with this inscription in French:  To the memory of Lt. Richard Francis Hoy, 111^th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 12^th USAAF, shot down at Les Infruts on 22 August 1944.

Richard was later reburied with the Hoy family at Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit. Ruth remarried in 1947.

End on a curious note: In researching news articles I found an ad in 2007 The Detroit Free Press: Information wanted for next of kin or descendants of 2^nd Lt Richard Francis Hoy…died in aerial combat at or near Les Infruts Aug 22, 1944. Pls respond to Don Bohler, Colonel USAF (Ret).

Full story of the crash and later reburial:

www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1081509

WEBER, HUGH died May 31, 1944 age 21 KIA Italy

F. HUGH WEBER  b. Jan 5, 1923 Michigan d. May 31, 1944 Killed in Action Italy

2^nd Lt 1305139 Army 133^rd Inf Regt 34^th Inf Div

18760 Five Points

Buried Rock Island National Cemetery, Ill

Parents: George E. & Elsie M (Findlay)

Siblings: Raymond Earl, Florence A., Mary Ellen
 

Esie was born in Toronto. George worked as a special clerk in the Post Office. They lived at 24226 Frisbee but by 1940 had moved to the Five Points address, Detroit. Also living with them were a lodger with his two sons in the Five Points house. Hugh lived a bit north of Harold Weaver; you wonder if they knew each other as they were only a year apart in age. The street got its name from the intersection with Grand River Ave and Seven Mile Rd – 5 points created. The house has undergone some great remodeling. In the 1920's it was quite a wild area, with raids on after hours drinking places.

Redford ROTC

 

Hugh enlisted Oct 15, 1940 with the National Guard., the date on which all units in Michigan were inducted into federal service. Many units were detached from their former organizations and attached to other units.

 

His unit, the 34^th Inf Div landed in the Anzio beachhead March 25, 1944. The 133^rd Inf Reg took its place in the line on April 14thand remained there generally along the Mussolinnit Canal until the break-out on May 23. Their stay was characterized by daylight raids, persistent night patrolling, enemy artillery coming from three directions, attacks by small German groups. After breaking out of the beachhead the Regiment fought a furious engagement at Lanuvio, attacked through Genzano di Roma.

 

ELLIOTT, BRICE Nov 20, 1943 age 20 KIA Tarawa

SAMUEL BRICE ELLIOTT  b. Nov 10, 1923 Tulsa, Oklahoma d. Nov 20, 1944  Killed in Action Tarawa, Gilbert Islands

Pfc 521492 USMC Co A 1^st Bn 8^th Marine Div

Buried: Honolulu Wall of Missing, Hawaii

16658 Lenore

Parents: Samuel Talbert & Geneva Mary (Blackford)

Siblings: Magdalene L., Garth Dalmond, Charles Louis, Ronald Keith, Colleen   

All of the family except for the two youngest children was born in Oklahoma. Samuel was a brick mason. Just one of those oddities noted when reviewing their family history is that the mother, Geneva, was the last of the family to die, in 1996; there is a sadness about this.

 

The sons of Samuel worked for their father in the building trades. The family, less Magdalene, all lived at 16658 Lenore in 1940.  Brice registered for the draft June 1942 when he was 5’11” 150 lbs with brown eyes and black hair. He had boot camp in San Diego.

Marines & cargo Cape Gloucester

 

The Battle of Tarawa (code name Operation Galvanic) was fought in the Pacific from Nov 20 to Nov 23, 1943. It took place as the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, located in what is now the nation of Kiribati. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio. Places that cost so many lives are now has disappeared from recognition.



Red Beach No 3 Tarawa

 

 

 

This battle was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific war that the US faced serious Japanese opposition of an amphibious landing.



 

Tarawa Beach

 

The film “With the Marines at Tarawa” won the 1944 Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. It runs 20 minutes and can be viewed online. As the images were too graphic for that day’s Hollywood standards it required permission from President Roosevelt to be released.

Brice received the Purple Heart.

INGHRAM, ROBERT W June 27, 1944 age 21 KIA Biak Island

ROBERT WILLIAM INGHRAM  b. May 15, 1923 Atalissa, Iowa d. June 27, 1944

Killed in Action Biak Island, New Guinea

Sgt 36573354 Army 163^rd Inf Reg 41^st Inf Div Co A

Buried: Parkview Memorial Cemetery, Livonia, Michigan

Parents: William & Lulu Rebecca (Oepping)

Siblings: Elsie Marie, Maxine
Spouse: Shirley Mae Carpenter 

The Inghram’s made their way to Detroit from Iowa. William worked as an auto mechanic in the Army Training Corp. The family lived at 17665 Kentfield, the house now gone as is their 1930’s home at 15077 Birwood.



18630 Santa Rosa

Shirley Carpenter

Robert graduated Redford in June 1941 and the next year did his draft registration. He is listed as 6’ at 165 lbs with blue eyes and blonde hair, employed by Atlas Engineering. On Jan 6 1943 he married Shirley Mae Carpenter in Detroit. They lived at 18630 Santa Rosa. Christmas Eve Thomas enlisted. Shirley remarried 1947.

The 41^st Division’s bloodiest engagement was on the island of Biak just off New Guinea’s coast. It marked the first time the division had fought as a whole and resulted in the defeat of over ten thousand well-entrenched and well-led Japanese forces. The campaign extended from May through Aug 1944. It earned the 41^st a new nickname – The Jungleers. Continuous heavy fighting, intense heat and scarcity of water tired the task force troops to a critical degree.



162rd Inf South Shore Biak Island

Capture of Biak cost 3, 000 casualties: 474 killed, the remainder wounded. Japanese in caves had a well dug in garrison. It was one of the most costly of MacArthur’s leapfrogging attacks on the north coast of New Guinea. Thomas died of a gunshot wound.

Video of the invasion of Biak Island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Dm4PvVO5Y

DIXON, JAMES W Feb 16, 1945 age 25 FOD Austria

JAMES WILLIAM DIXON  b. July 19, 1919 Walkerville, Canada d. Feb 16, 1945

Finding of Death Villach, Austria

T Sgt 36123970 Army Air Force 485^th Bomb Group 829^th Bomb Sq Group H

16875 Chatham

Buried Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit

 

Parents: Albert J. & Ethel Gertrude (McCubbin)

Siblings: Delma Grace, Ethel Beatrice   

Another family migrating from Canada. Father Albert came earlier in April and was in the house at 16875 Chatham, then mother Ethel and Delma came in June 1934. Young James arrived with sister Ethel in Sept 1935. Albert worked as a fur cutter and both daughters were stenographers, the leading career option for women in the 1940’s before they were needed in the factories.

Swim Team

James graduated from Redford in 1935; his yearbook quote was “Hold the fort, I’m coming.” He was part of that first wave of registrations on 16 Oct 1940; when he enlisted in July 1941 he worked as a billing clerk for a creamery. His registration lists him as 5’10”, 165 lbs with brown hair and eyes. He served 8 months in Alaska before a transfer to the European theater of war.



Dixon front row, far right

With the 485^th Bomb Group he flew first with the Cameron crew. That plane #44-49657 was shot down over Greece Sept 24, 1944, but there was a replacement in Dixon’s position. On Feb 16, 1945 Dixon was the replacement gunner on a mission to hit the Obertaubling A/C plant in Regensburg, Germany. The plane was piloted by Col John Tomhave, then Group Commanding Officer. It crashed near Villach, Austria. 2 were killed, others were captured, some evaded capture. Tomhave was captured by Germans but later died when on a POW train was strafed by Allied fighters.

James was shot down March 6, 1945 and classified MIA; a Finding of Death was made March 20, 1946.