Philip Ardery
Military | Major General | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Silver Star/ 2 DFCs/ 4 Air Medals/ Croix de Guerre.
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Military
Lt. Kenneth M. Caldwell from the 8th Air force, the 389th Bombardment Group, and the 565th Bomb Squadron took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti with Col. Jack W. Wood, on 1 August 1943, flying a B-24D Liberator, 42-40629 named 'The Scorpion'. He and his crew survived the mission and returned home safely. Major Caldwell and Col. Wood both received Distinguished Service Cross medals for their gallantry in bombing their heavily defended targets at Campina, Ploesti.
Caldwell was shot down by FW190 fighters near Orleans, France in the B-24D 42-41013 named, 'Trouble'. Caldwell and his crew were killed in action (KIA), Jan 7, 1944.
Major Kenneth Marion Caldwell was the son of Elmer Elzie Caldwell and Florence Marion Knetzer Caldwell. Elmer and Florence had six children, all boys except for one. The baby of the family was a girl. Imagine how spoiled she was. Here are the Caldwell kids in order of birth:
CCM Ralph Henderson Caldwell, USN, WWII
Maj. Kenneth Marion Caldwell, AAF Bomb Group Pilot, WWII
Raymond J Caldwell
Lt. Col. Robert Dean Caldwell, USAF Pilot, WWII
Merritt Lee Caldwell
Helen Jean Caldwell Marshall
On 8 Dec 1941, Kenneth married Ruth Faye Anderson in Kansas City, Jackson, MO, USA. At the time he was serving a two year stint in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was stationed at Dartmouth, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
In early 1944, Mrs. Kenneth M. Caldwell got the news that her husband's plane had been shot down, and he, along with 9 others on his mission were Missing In Action, July 1, 1944.
- News Articles :
- The Kansas City Star Oct 1, 1943 : "Kansan Kenneth Caldwell Led Flight on Ploesti Raid",
Aug 1, 1943 : "Distinguished Service Cross Awarded To Maj. Ken
Caldwell"
- The Kansas City Star Jan 21, 1944 : Major Kenneth M. Caldwell Missing In Action
Major Kenneth M. Caldwell's DSC Citation Reads as follows :
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS -
DURING World War II
Service: Army Air Forces
Battalion: 565th Bombardment Squadron
Division: 9th Air Force
GENERAL ORDERS:
Headquarters, Ninth U.S. Army Air Force, General Orders No. 89 - 1943
CITATION:
- SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Army Air Corps Captain Kenneth Marion Caldwell, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-24 Heavy Bomber in the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, NINTH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 1 August 1943, against the Ploesti Oil Refineries in Rumania. During a long and hazardous attack against a vital enemy oil installation made at low altitude by a formation of B-24D type aircraft, Major Caldwell flew through heavy enemy fire against impossible odds, and then brought his crew safely back to base without the loss of a single man. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Captain Caldwell on this occasion, even when confronted with practically certain destruction, exemplified the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.
Military | Major General | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Silver Star/ 2 DFCs/ 4 Air Medals/ Croix de Guerre.
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Military | Brigadier General | Pilot | 355th Fighter Group
Led 17 B-24s on the low level attack at Ploesti whilst with the 389th Bomb Group.
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Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40733.
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629. 13 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (2OLC), PH, WWII Victory, EAME
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight engineer / Top turret | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629.
Awards: DFC, AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629.
Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Major General | Commanding General
Major General James P Hodges served as Commanding General of the 2nd Air Division from 13 September 1942 to 1 August 1944. He retired 30 September 1951.
His son, James P Hodges II, served as a fighter pilot with the 56th Fighter Group.
Military | Captain | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40629.
Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
Originally assigned to the 8th AF, the 44th BG, and the 506th BS. Piloted by Lt. Kenneth Caldwell, "Trouble' flew on the low-level Aug 1, 43 mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Caldwell and the crew survived the mission and returned...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator 42-40629, 'The Scorpion', with the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bombardment Group, and the 565th Bomb Squadron, flew on the Ploesti oil refinery raid, "Operation Tidal Wave" piloted by Lt. Kenneth M. Caldwell and Col. Jack Wood...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
7 January 1944
The industrial areas of Ludwigshaven, Germany are the primary target for this mission. The formation has three elements. The bomber gunners of the entire force claim 30-6-17 of attacking German aircraft.
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Military site : airfield
Event | Location | Date |
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Born | Kansas City , Kansas, USA | 16 August 1914 |
Son of Elmer Elzie and Florence Marion [Knetzer] Caldwell. |
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Died | Orléans, France | 7 January 1944 |
Shot down by FW 190 fighters near Orleans, France on 7 Jan 44 in B-24D 42-41013 'Trouble N' Mind' Killed in Action (KIA). |
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Buried | East Hill Cemetery, Erie Neosho County, KS | 1948 |
East Hill Cemetery, Erie |
Date | Contributor | Update |
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20 December 2020 01:02:06 | Kickapoo | Changes to unit associations |
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Into the Fire - Duane Schultz |
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18 December 2020 11:28:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, awards and events |
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https://www.fold3.com/image/211229002 |
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18 December 2020 08:18:40 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Halls Of Valor - Major Kenneth Marion Caldwell |
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18 December 2020 08:03:25 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Halls Of Valor - Major Kenneth Marion Caldwell |
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18 December 2020 07:42:23 | Kickapoo | Changes to middlename and biography |
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The Hall of Valor Project - Major Kenneth Marion Caldwell |
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18 December 2020 06:05:12 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, role and biography |
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Find A Grave - Major Kenneth M. Caldwell |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
18 December 2020 05:35:46 | Kickapoo | Changes to awards |
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Into The Fire - Duane Schultz |
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18 December 2020 05:34:08 | Kickapoo | Changes to awards |
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Into The Fire - Duane Schultz |
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06 November 2019 14:15:16 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 January 2019 01:49:26 | Dieterle | Changes to person associations |
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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 99. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 January 2019 01:42:12 | Dieterle | Changes to person associations |
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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 99. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 January 2019 01:15:25 | Dieterle | Changes to place associations |
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Richard Dieterle. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 January 2019 01:14:12 | Dieterle | Changes to person associations |
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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) passim. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
08 April 2015 09:23:14 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
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08 April 2015 09:22:25 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, awards, events, unit associations and mission associations |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:17:57 | AAM | AAM ingest |
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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1853 / MACR 1853, 8th AF Losses, WWII Memorial / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |