Anthony Bernard McKeon

Military

Anthony McKeon was Top Turret gunner on B-24 # 42-52335 "Admirable Little Character", shot down by fighters over France on 25 April 1944. After landing in parachute near Ponthion (Marne Department), France, he was sheltered, fed, clothed, transported at and to different places. After reaching Toulouse, then Paris and Bordeaux, he crossed the Pyrénées mountains at the Franco-Spanish border, arriving in Spain on 3 June 1944. He reached Gibraltar on the 19th and left Gibraltar by air on 23 June 1944, arriving in Hendon, England the following day. Escape & Evasion Report #771. Evaded (EVD).

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

Richard Oren McCarthy

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32745523
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

17 April 1923 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Enlisted

28 January 1943 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Other

Bailed out

25 April 1944 of B-24 # 42-52335 "Admirable Little Character", landing in parachute near Ponthion, France

Other

Evaded capture

25 April 1944 - 19 June 1944 with the help of French citizens and members of the Résistance. He was back in England on 24 June 1944

Died

12 April 1994
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 4342
WWII Draft Card
NARA WWII Enlistment records
Escape & Evasion Report E&E #770
Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File

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