Eugene Robert Garner

Military
media-50597.png UPL 50597 B-24D - Lt. Russell W. Polivka, photo left, navigator, and SSgt. Eugene R. Garner, gunner, on the right. Both escaped the fatal crash of the B-24D, Kickapoo, badly burned, but recovered. This fatal crash was the first crash with the first casualties of the Ploesti mission. The B-24D, Kickapoo, was Lt. John S. Young's regular airplane until the mission to Ploesti when he and his crew were reassigned to fly with Col. John Kane and Kane's lead B-24D, Hail Columbia. Kickapoo, crashed in flames on takeoff for the Ploesti mission at Lete Air Base, Benghazi, Libya, killing the entire replacement crew, except Lt. Russell Polivka, and Sgt. Eugene Garner, one of the gunners, both badly burned in the flames of the crashed and burning aircraft. Aug 1 1943

Removed all capital letters for aircraft names, for accuracy, readability, clarity, and uniformity. - Kickapoo

Object Number - UPL 50597 - B-24D - Lt. Russell W. Polivka, photo left, navigator, and SSgt. Eugene R. Garner, gunner, on the right. Both escaped the fatal crash of the...

Crew member Staff Sgt. Eugene Robert Garner flew on Operation Tidal Wave. He was assigned as part of a replacement crew from the 8th Air Force, for John Young's B-24D, Kickapoo, from the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force. Flown by replacement pilot, Lt. Robert Nespor, also from the 344th Bomb Squadron and the 98th Bomb Group, Lt. Nespor crashed shortly after takeoff for the Ploesti mission. Sgt. Garner was one of two survivors of the crash. On takeoff for the mission, Nespor's number 4 engine failed completely, just after getting airborne and caught fire while Lt. Nespor and John Riley attempted to land back at the Lete airfield. On Nespor's second approach to Lete Field, on short final, his left wing hit a concrete pole, cartwheeling the aircraft into the desert, and it exploded in flames. Only two crew members survived their burns caused by the crash, Lt. Russell Polivka, and SSgt. Eugene R. Garner. After long recoveries, they both returned to duty. RTD.



Assigned : 93rd Bomb Group in the U.K. TDY to the 98th Bomb Group in North Africa.



SSgt. Garner's Awards : Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters - American Campaign Medal - Distinguished Flying Cross - Purple Heart - World War II Victory Medal - European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 silver star



Pilot 1st Lt. Robert J. Nespor - KIA



Target: Ploesti - White IV - Astra Romano Refinery

Missing Air Crew Report Details

USAAF MACR#:

Date Lost: 1 Aug 43

Serial Number: 41-11768

Aircraft Model B-24D

Aircraft Letter: D

Aircraft Name: Kickapoo

Location: Crew of 10 - 8 KIA - 2 WIA - RTD

Cause: Kickapoo aborted the mission due to engine failures. Crashed.



Sgt. Garner had been assigned to fly on Operation Tidal Wave as a replacement gunner on the B-24D, Kickapoo. Tidal Wave was one of the most dangerous and costly raids of WWll, using, for the last time, the tactic of a large air force flying into their targets at tree top level, in order to try to surprise the enemy and destroy their targets, the Romanian oil refineries, before they could be engaged by enemy ground defenses. 1 Aug 1943.



The aircraft, Kickapoo, was flown by replacement pilot, 1st Lt. Robert Nespor and a crew of 10 on loan from the 98th, 93rd, and 376th Bomb Groups, briefed to fly in the extreme right hand position on the first wave, Flight 1, attacking Target White IV. But before even getting airborne, Kickapoo's number 4 engine failed on take off. Lt. Nespor successfully made his climb out, jettisoned his bombs at sea, and was being guided back to Lete for an emergency landing. But conflicting aircraft on the runway and crossing his approach, Nespor was forced to abort his first landing attempt and approached the field a second time from the west. On his second approach with his entire right wing in flames now, and losing power from his remaining engines, on short final approach, Lt. Nespor lost power on two more engines, sank, and hit the runway hard, bounced, and drifted off the centerline, hitting a concrete pole with his left wing cartwheeling the airplane into the ground, where it exploded in flames on impact, killing all but two of the crew members, Lt. Russel Polivka and Sgt. Eugene Garner, both of whom were badly burned, but survived, recovered from their injuries, and eventually returned to duty. RTD. 1944



Lt. Russell Polivka, Kickapoo's replacement navigator, also a survivor, though badly burned, briefed the accident board of inquiry that Nespor lost two engines on his starboard side and, then, one on the port side, just as they were coming in before the airplane hit the concrete pole and the ground. Lt. Polivka spent one and a half years in the hospital and went through many skin graft surgeries recovering from the burns he had suffered. Engineer/Gunner Sgt. Garner also went through numerous plastic surgeries. He returned to service and survived a total of 29 combat missions and three airplane crashes, one in Sweden in the B-24J, Mistah Chick, 2 Jun 1944, and the crash of Kickapoo. 1 Aug 1943



Staff Sergeant Eugene Garner served his country valiantly during WWll. He survived the war, three airplane crashes, and a short internment in Sweden. He died near his home in Dallas Texas, October 25, 2005.



Note : 2nd Lt. Robert Nespor was an original 98th Bomb Group copilot who had been grounded, for some time, with dysentery. So he had been out of service, sick, and could not finish his tour with the rest of the 98th's original crews. Lt. Polivka, Nespor's navigator, revealed the fact that his two pilots, Lt. Nespor and Lt. John Riley, could have easily chosen to ditch their crippled plane in the shallow water off Benghazi's beach in the Mediterranean Sea, or he could have ordered a bailout, but Nespor wanted to save his valuable airplane, if he could, as this was to be his last mission. He, apparently, made the decision to try to save his failing plane even before he had been cleared by the tower to return for an abort landing. Lt. Nespor was 27 years old when he and all but two of his young crewmen gave their lives for freedom, their loved ones, and their country. 1 August, 1943



Crew of, Kickapoo, on Operation Tidal Wave :



1st Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot - KIA



2nd Lt. Thurman L. Ward - Bombardier - KIA



2nd Lt. John C. Riley - Co Pilot - KIA



TSgt. Vaun D. Wenrich - Engineer - Top Turret Gunner - KIA



SSgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner - WIA - RTS



TSgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Operator - KIA



SSgt.Edwin J. Sliwa - Gunner - KIA



SSgt. George Warren Lawlor - Gunner - KIA



SSgt. John D'Amour - Gunner - KIA



Lt. Russel Polivka - Navigator - WIA - RTS



Due to the aborted mission after takeoff and subsequent crash, Lt. Nespor's crew did not receive mission credit and their names do not appear in the official AAF History Roster of Personnel for DFCs.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 389th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
The insignia of the 93rd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

A crashed B-24 Liberator (HP-U_, serial number 42-100146) nicknamed "Mistah Chick" of the 567th Bomb Squadron, 389th Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: '2100146. Mistah Chick. HP-U_. 389BG, 41 raids.'
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33278362
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18051855 / O-435980
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16006213 / O-?
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-519127
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Kickapoo
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
A crashed B-24 Liberator (HP-U_, serial number 42-100146) nicknamed "Mistah Chick" of the 567th Bomb Squadron, 389th Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: '2100146. Mistah Chick. HP-U_. 389BG, 41 raids.'
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Mistah Chick
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Soluch Airfield

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Musgrove County, OK 11 April 1923 Son of Elias and Martha Ada [Davis] Garner.

Other

Crash landed

Benghazi, Libya 1 August 1943 Replacement crew member on B-24D Liberator, 41-11768, Kickapoo, of 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Crashed on takeoff for the Ploesti mission and was severely burned. 1 Aug 43. Aircraft lost an engine after getting airborne and caught on fire and crashed and burned approaching Lete Field to land. Crashed into a concrete pole and burst into flames. WIA. 1 Aug 43.

Other

Hospitalised

1 August 1943 Hospitalized with burns from airplane crash accident. Recovered and returned to duty. RTD. 1944

Other

Force landed

Sweden 20 June 1944 Shot down by flak and landed in Sweden in the B-24, Mistah Chick, 42-100146. Interned in Sweden. INT. 20 Jun 44

Other

Interned (INT)

20 June 1944 Interned for 4 months prior to return to unit.

Died

Colleyville, TX 25 October 2005

Buried

Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas, Dallas County TX 28 October 2005 Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas, Dallas County Texas, USA.

Based

Assigned

Lete Assigned to 344th BS, 98th BG, 8th AF, Hethel, U.K. Temp assigned to 9th AF 98th BG as a replacement on the B-24D, Kickapoo, 9th AF, 98th Bomb Group at Lete for the Ploesti mission. 1943

Enlisted

Kansa City, IL, Kansa City, Illinois

Based

20 June 1944 Re-assigned to 567BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Details added. - Kickapoo

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Spelling, details added. - Kickapoo

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

SSgt. Eugene Robert Garner - Find-A-Grave Memorials

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Date
Contributordecwriter
Changes
Sources

NARA files verified a DFC (not for the low-level Ploesti raid on 1 Aug 1943) and AM with three Oak Leaf Clusters. Of note, Eugene Robert Garner is listed in newspapers.com in a Paris News, Texas newspaper on 1 Feb 1944 as having recovered a month after the 1 Aug 1943 crash. In the picture above in this entry, Lt Polivka is recovering from the burns he sustained in the crash.

Even more puzzling is there's a second entry for a Eugene R. Garner on this website that lists a crash and internment in Sweden under MACR 5924 and the crew lists shows the ASN is 18124310, so it's possible it is the same flier.

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Dallas Morning News - Obituary - Eugene Robert Garner

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Addition to text for accuracy and clarity - Kickapoo

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Dallas Morning News - Obituary - Eugene Robert Garner

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Wording and spacing changes for accuracy and clarity - Kickapoo

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

FindAGrave Memorial - SSgt. Eugene Robert Garner

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

FindAGrave Memorial - Lt. Eugene R. Garner

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Personal Archives - Kickapoo

Date
ContributorKickapoo
Changes
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - KICKAPOO

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

Eugene Robert Garner: Gallery (2 items)