B-24 liberator #41-11768, 'Kickapoo', of the 344th Bombing Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. This was Capt. John S. Young's second regular aircraft after he lost his first B-24 in theater, which was shot down earlier in 1943 in an air fight near the island of Crete. Later in August of '43, for Operation Tidal Wave, the low-level mission against Ploesti, Capt. Young and most of his regular crew on the 'Kickapoo' were assigned by Col. John R. Kane to fly with him in the 98th's lead ship, the B-24, 'Hail Columbia', renamed by Kane for his alma mater, Columbia University. The 'Kickapoo' was reassigned to the 376th Bomb Group's Lt. Robert Nespor and a replacement crew for the mission. But fate dealt Lt. Nespor and his crew a very bad hand when 'Kickapoo''s number 4 engine failed at the worst possible time, on takeoff just after getting airborne for the mission. Lt. Robert Nespor crashed the Kickapoo desperately trying to maneuver his stricken and now burning B-24 back to land, trying heroically to save his valuable ship instead of ditching it in the Mediterranean Sea. After jettisoning all bombs over the water, Nespor requested being guided back to the field for an emergency landing, but was forced to abort and circle around, due to conflicting aircraft on the runway. He again made a second approach the field from the West. In doing so, he quickly lost the remaining three engines. On short final approach, now on fire and sinking with no power, 'Kickapoo''s wing tip clipped a concrete pole, cartwheeling the plane into the ground where it exploded in flames, killing Lt. Nespor, copilot Lt. John Riley, and all but two of the rest of the crew, who survived despite severe burns. The photo above, of the crew standing in front of 41-11768, shows Capt. John Young on the far right hand side of this photo and his crew, the original crew of 'Kickapoo', which was named by Capt. Young after "Kickapoo Joy Juice" from Al Capp's cartoon, "Dogpatch". Capt. Young was one of the tallest man in the 98th Bomb Group at 6'3". Also pictured are Lt. Norman, "The Baron", Whalen, his navigator, and Lt. Harold Korger, his bombardier, all hand picked by Col. John R. Kane to fly with him in 'Hail Columbia' along with the rest of Young's crew. - John Kane, John Young, and all the men in 'Hail Columbia' survived the Ploesti mission without injury, although the rest of 98th Bomb Group sustained 46% casualties over their target, White IV, and returning from the mission.
- Capt. John S. Young - Pilot - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission
- Lt. Norman M. Whalen - Navigator - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Lt. Harold F. Korger - Bombardier - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Fredrick A. Leard - Waist Gunner - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti Mission - William Leo - Tail Gunner - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Raymond B. Hubbard - Radio Operator - Reassigned To 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Joseph J. LaBranche - TB - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Harvey L. Treace - Engineer Top Turret - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - Nevill C. Bensen - Waist Gunner - Reassigned to 'Hail Columbia' for Ploesti mission - 'Hail Columbia' completed mission, crash landed Cyprus. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- 1st Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot (KIA) - 2nd Lt. John C. Riley - Co Pilot (KIA) Detached Service from 93rd BG
2nd Lt. Russell W. Polivka - Navigator (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
T/Sgt. Vaun D. Wenrich - Engineer/Top Turret (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG T/Sgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Op (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
S/Sgt. George W. Lawlor - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG S/Sgt. Edwin G. Sliwa - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
S/Sgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG S/Sgt. John P. D'Armour - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG. ~ 'Kickapoo' crashed on takeoff for Ploesti mission.

Service

Events

Event	Location	Date
Crashed	Benghazi, Libya	1 August 1943
Crashed shortly after take-off for the August 1, 43 low-level Ploesti, Romania mission. She lost No 4 engine just after getting airborne, after jettisoning all bombs at sea, Kickapoo was guided back for an emergency landing. Due to a conflicting aircraft on the runway, 1st Lt Nespor was forced to approach the field from the West. In doing so a wing tip smashed into a concrete pole and burst into flames, killing Nespor and all but two of the crew.