Albert Lee Findley
MilitaryRadio Operator
Crew #657 - Byron R. Johnson Crew
466th BG - 786th BS
shot down 6 February 1945
This is his POW photo
466th BG FB Page
Crashed at Graft on 6 Feb 45 in B-24 #42-110188, Prisoner of War (POW).
He was also shot down on his first mission; his pilot, Byron Johnson, crash-landed their ship near Epernay, Champagne, France.
He lost four crewmates in the second crash, and memorialized with plaques that surround his at the San Luis Obispo County Veterans Museum in California.
He made the Air Force his career, attained the rank of Chief Master Sergeant, married and started a family. He and his wife, who pre-deceased him, owned an antique shop in the UK.
Al retired to Los Osos, California, was a docent at the San Luis Obispo Veterans' Museum, and was known for his consistent optimism and good humor. In terms of friends, when Al died on 28/4/2019, he was a wealthy man.
Al Findley was a key source for a book I wrote, "Central Coast Aviators in World War II." He was one of the finest men I've ever met.
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: 466th Bomb Group 784th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-2000270
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 786th Bomb Squadron 466th Bomb Group 784th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Shot Down/Captured |
Graft, 30419 Hannover, Germany | 6 February 1945 | |
Died |
San Luis Obispo, California USA | 28 April 2019 | Albert Lee Findley died in San Luis Obispo, California, USA at age 96. |
Born |
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA |
Revisions
From Jim Gregory, author of "Central Coast Aviators in World War II," which featured several passages on Findley's wartime career.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12220
"Attlebridge Arsenal" Brassfield & Wassom - page 142
http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=64336
MACR 12220 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database