Richard Oren McCarthy

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Richard McCarthy was Tail Gunner on board B-24 # 42-52335 "Admirable Little Character", hit by German fighters on 25 April 1944. After bailing out, his chute got entangled in either a wing or the tail of the Liberator and Richard went down with the plane, which crashed in Ponthion, Marne Department, France. Killed In Action (KIA)

Connections

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Units served with

Personnel of the 458th Bomb Group gather around a B-24 Liberator (serial number 41-29303) nicknamed "Liberty Lib" in order to transfer a casualty into a waiting ambulance. Image via Harry Holmes. Written on slide casing: '458th BG.'

458th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Robert Otto Behrens

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36435582
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner

Charles George Bieber

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-688166
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

John Harley Combs

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14114918 at enlistment, then O-742065
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Eugene Maurice Hoag

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16057259 at enlistment, then O-682183
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Anthony Bernard McKeon

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33580391
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

42-52335

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Admirable Little Character
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

27 July 1924 Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania

Enlisted

28 January 1943 Utica, New York

Other

Killed In Action (KIA)

25 April 1944 in the crash of B-24 # 42-52335 "Admirable Little Character” in Ponthion, Marne Departement, France (his parachute got caught on a wing or the tail and he went down with the plane)

Buried

26 April 1944 most probably in the cemetery of Brusson, a small village next to Ponthion
Apex, Delaware County, New York

Buried

after the liberation of the area, he was re-buried in the Temporary American Cemetery #3515 at Champigneul-Champagne, SW of Reims, France

Buried

at the Temporary American Cemetery in Epinal, France

Buried

after the war, his remains were brought back to the USA, where they rest at the Paige Cemetery in Downsville, Delaware County, New York

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 4342
WWII Draft Card
NARA WWII Enlistment records
VA Gravesite locator
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/78247755/richard-o_-mccarthy

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 4342

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4342 & Page 279 of the book LIBERATORS OVER NORWICH by Mackay, Bailry & Scorza, 2010, D790G4582010 &

href="http://www.458bg.com/crew44combs.htm">http://www.458bg.com/crew44combs.htm>