George Islwyn Stanford Jr
Military
Corrected name of crew chief and made association.
Object Number - UPL 14030 - 1st Lt. George I. Stanford of the 335th Fighter Squadron with his Crew Chief S/Sgt Joe M Keefhaver.
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. On bomber escort to Budapest, shot down in the Budapest area after squadron engaged by 20+ Bf109’s. Lt Stanford Jr POW. 2-Jul-44. MACR 6799.
Awards: AM, DFC, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 4th Fighter Group 335th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Crew chief
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 21 June 1944
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Miford, CT | 12 December 1916 | Son of George Islwyn Sr and Grace Adelia [Merwin] Stanford. |
|
Enlisted |
29 November 1942 | ||
|
Other Assigned |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 25 March 1944 - 2 July 1944 | Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Other Promotion |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 17 June 1944 | Promoted to Captain. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 2 July 1944 | Captain Sanford was unable to release his drop tanks which he suspected that after an argument with his crew chief he had done something to prevent him from dropping them. Instead of aborting he attempted to keep up and threw a rod on his new P-51D. He put his plane into a spin to keep enemy fighters off of him and in addition his wingman Kidd Hofer followed him down. He landed in a cornfield by Csobankai road near Pilisvorosvar. There is a picture of his airplane in the field still smoking. A Hungarian Pilot was given credit, however a Hungarian researcher claimed the if there was an allied aircraft down in Hungary they would claim it as in this claim. He became a POW MACR 6799 |
|
Other Discharged USAAF |
17 November 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
|
Died |
Santa Barbara, CA, USA | 10 September 1991 | |
|
Buried |
Milford Cemetery Milford New Haven County CT | 13 September 1991 | Milford Cemetery Milford New Haven County Connecticut, USA. |
| Southport, Fairfield, CT 06890, USA |
Revisions
Kidd Hofer: The last of the Screwball Aces by Troy L. White, Debden Warbirds: Chuck Knowler
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- Personal research & 'The Debden Warbirds' by Frank Speer. (user : apollo11);
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- MACR 6799;
- Losses of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces Vol. IV by Bishop & Hey, p. 24 / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
MACR 6799 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database