Thurman Matson Geren
MilitaryDaughter
On a mission over Germany on 5, April 1945, the Bandwagon II was attacked by several enemy jet-propelled fighters, damage included all 4 engines, all trim tab cables were severed plus more. Sgt. David M Lesher was fatally wounded. The plane was forced to leave formation and Lt. Geren maintained full left aileron for over 2 hours until friendly territory was reached. The crew lowered Lesher and bailed seconds before the Bandwagon went into a nose dive and crashed. He was awarded the DFC for saving the crew. He flew 18 missions and completed 16.
Thurman also flew over 100 missions on the Berlin Airlift and was part of the "Big Push". He stayed in the reserves and retired a Major 25 Nov 1975. In civilian life he was an accountant at Marathon Oil for 25 years, a farmer of 3 farms, a carpenter, an avid gardener and had a 300+ tree apple orchard.
Air Medal
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer/Top turret gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: No. 2 Bandwagon, Mrs. Wing Ding
- Unit: 94th Combat Bomb Wing 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Benefield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Leipsic, OH 45856, USA | 25 November 1915 | |
Enlisted |
Toledo, OH, USA | 5 March 1941 | |
Other Retired |
Findlay, OH 45840, USA | 25 November 1975 | |
Died |
Toledo, OH, USA | 9 April 2005 |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / daughter, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=119