8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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42-102416
B-17 Flying Fortress
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John A Miller, a waist gunner of the 100th Bomb Group wears an A-2 Flying Jacket decorated with the nose art of the B-17 Flying Fortress he flew in, a B-17 (serial number 42-102416) nicknamed "Lady Luck". John A Miller has handwritten on reverse: 'July 1944 349th BS- 100th BG. S/Sgt John A Miller & Jacket (A-2 Jacket). The artist was 5 bombs short, but I shipped out before he got the chance to paint on 5 more. I'm only foolin'! I'm not doing what it looks like I'm doing!'
Cheyenne 1/3/44; Hunter 14/3/44; Grenier 11/4/44; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-H] Thorpe Abbotts 19/4/44; Missing in Action St Lo, 25/7/44 with Larry Townsend, Co-pilot: Andy Burkhart, Navigator: Arnold Holmes, Bombardier: George Gardner, Radio Operator: Lou Glasser, Ball turret gunner: Chalmers Anderson, Waist gunner: Gordon Lane, Tail gunner: Earl Milam (8 Prisoner of War); Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Walt Kolar (EVD, joined US tank crew); flak KO’d #2, crashed coastal area of France. Missing Air Crew Report 7837. LADY LUCK.
Service
Units
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100th Bomb Group
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many... -
349th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Chalmers Anderson
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416 B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW) POW -
Andrew Burkhart
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416. B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
George Gardner
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier
Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416. Prisoner of War (POW) -
Louis Glasser
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
Evaded (EVD) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416 -
Arnold Holmes
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator
EVD Shot down by flak and crashed in Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416 DFC; AM w/3OLC -
Walter Kolar
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner
Evaded (EVD) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416. He connected with an American Army Tank Crew and fought alongside them until he was wounded, he was taken to an Army Air Station, he was found to be AAF not... -
Gordon Lane
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner
Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416 B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Earl Milam
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
Prisoner of War (POW) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416 -
John Miller
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
John Miller served as a waist gunner with the 349th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Thorpe Abbotts, England. -
Lawrence Townsend
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot
Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416. B-17 Lady Luck Prisoner of War (POW). POW
Places
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Thorpe Abbotts
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | France | 25 July 1944 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 23 January 2020 04:23:02 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 January 2020 04:21:03 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added a unit connection to the 8th AF. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:09 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 7837 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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