Conner Daniel Brewster

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-38081.png UPL 38081 Extract from the first and only page of MACR 15553 linked to 42-30088 on the 5 November 1943 mission to Gelsenkirchen. Pilot Flesh gave the order to bail out. 8 men did so. Radio Operator Connor Brewster's parachute didn't open and he was killed. 4 others were immediately captured. 3 managed to evade with the help of the Belgian Comète evasion network.

NARA WWII Missing Air Crew Reports

Object Number - UPL 38081 - Extract from the first and only page of MACR 15553 linked to 42-30088 on the 5 November 1943 mission to Gelsenkirchen. Pilot Flesh gave the order to...

Radio Operator Conner Brewster was killed by Flak inside B-17 42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II' on the Gelsenkirchen mission, November 5, 1943. Pilot William Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. Brewster's parachute failed to open and he was initially buried at Prisoner of War (POW) cemetery at Saint Trond, Belgium and later re-interred in USA. (Note: His WWII Draft Card has his first name as Connor, but all other official documents, as well as his tombstone, mention it as Conner.)

Awards: PH.

Connections

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

Units served with

Three airmen of the 100th Bomb Group, Lieutenant Kenneth Menzie, Lieutenant Donald Strout and Lieutenant Norman Scott, plan the route they will take during the next mission in their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30380). Image stamped on reverse: 'Reviewed and passed U.S. Army 23 Aug 1943 Press Censor E.T.O. U.S.A.' [stamp]'. Passed for publication 23 August 1943 INTLD 16 General Section Press Censorship Bureau '[stamp], 'Associated Press' [stamp] and '280035.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reve

100th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Francis George Dolsen

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36507324
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Assistant Radio Operator; Ball Turret Gunner

William Richard Flesh

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17033849 at enlistment, then O-xxxxxx
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

George P Gineikis

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11045517
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Omar Jose Gonzales

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 100th Bomb Group 349th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18024533 at enlistment, then O-725967
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Navigator

John George Gossage

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 100th Bomb Group 349th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11063596 at enlistment, then O-798486
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot

Aircraft

A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30088) nicknamed "Squawkin' Hawk I" of the 100th Bomb Group, signed by personnel. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Thorpe Abbott. Home 17/5/44. 100th Bomb Group.' Printed caption on reverse: '53312AC - Proud Veteran Goes Home ... With hundreds of autographs on its sleek hull, the war-weary veteran Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Squawkin' Hawk I" is shown shortly before it took off from its 8th AAF bases in England to return to the U.S. for retirement. Covering 47,720

42-30088

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Squawkin Hawk II

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Welch, McDowell County, WV 12 November 1907 Son of Robert G. and Pearl H. Brewster.

Enlisted

Camp Blanding, Starke, Bradford County, FL 9 April 1942 Camp Blanding, Starke, Bradford County, Florida

Died

Killed In Action (KIA)

Gelsenkirchen, Germany 5 November 1943 Killed In Action (KIA) on board B-17 42-30088, over Germany
Marlboro County, SC

Buried

Saint-Trond, FR Interred at the Saint-Trond airfield Luftwaffe cemetery, Belgium

Buried

Montverde Cemetery Montverde, Lake County, FL Re-Interred Montverde Cemetery Montverde, Lake County, Florida

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
ChangesChanges to biography, events and unit associations
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/47348650
https://www.fold3.com/image/310953023
https://www.fold3.com/image/191779662
https://www.fold3.com/record/87827434-conner-d-brewster
https://www.fold3.com/image/191779662?terms=Conner%20D%20Brewster
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=527&…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57015354/conner-d-brewster

Date
Contributorjmoore43
ChangesChanges to biography
Sources

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

Date
ContributorED-BB
ChangesChanges to middlename, role, biography, events, person associations and media associations
Sources

US Census 1930
WWII Draft Cards
MACR 15553
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
VA Gravesite Locator
WWII Casualties for Marlboro County, South Carolina

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
ChangesChanges to service number, awards, events, unit associations and mission associations
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/47348650
https://www.fold3.com/image/310953023?terms=Conner%20D%20Brewster
https://www.fold3.com/record/87827434-conner-d-brewster
https://www.fold3.com/image/191779662?terms=Conner%20D%20Brewster
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=527&…

Date
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

100th BG unit history, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 511-2, NARA / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

Conner Daniel Brewster: Gallery (1 items)