Kenneth Marion Caldwell
Military ROLL OF HONOURLt. Caldwell was shot down by FW190 fighters near Orleans, France in the B-24D, 42-41013 named, "Trouble". Caldwell and his crew were killed in action (KIA). Jan 7, 1944.
Cropped from image media-15374.jpeg (media id 17072)
Best Web - B-24 - TROUBLE
Lt. Kenneth M. Caldwell from the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bombardment Group, and the 565th Bomb Squadron took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti with Col. Jack W. Wood, observing, on 1-Aug-43, flying the B-24D, 42-40629, named, THE SCORPION. He and his crew survived the mission and returned home safely. Major Caldwell and Col. Jack Wood, both, received Distinguished Service Cross Medals for their gallantry in bombing their heavily defended targets at Campina, Ploesti. 1 Aug, 1943.
Lt. Caldwell was shot down by FW-190 fighters near Orleans, France in the B-24, 42-41013, named, TROUBLE. Caldwell and his crew were killed in action (KIA), 7 Jan 44.
Major Kenneth Marion Caldwell was the son of Elmer Elzie Caldwell and Florence Marion Knetzer Caldwell. Elmer and Florence had six children, all boys except for one. The baby of the family was a girl. Imagine how spoiled she was. Here are the Caldwell kids in order of birth:
CCM Ralph Henderson Caldwell, USN, WWII
Maj. Kenneth Marion Caldwell, AAF Bomb Group Pilot, WWII
Raymond J Caldwell
Lt. Col. Robert Dean Caldwell, USAF Pilot, WWII
Merritt Lee Caldwell
Helen Jean Caldwell Marshall
On 8 Dec 1941, Kenneth married Ruth Faye Anderson in Kansas City, Jackson, MO, USA. At the time he was serving a two year stint in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was stationed at Dartmouth, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
In early 1944, Mrs. Kenneth M. Caldwell got the news that her husband's plane had been shot down, and he, along with 9 others on his mission were Missing In Action, 1-Jul-44.
- News Articles :
- The Kansas City Star Oct 1, 1943 : "Kansan Kenneth Caldwell Led Flight on Ploesti Raid",
Aug 1, 1943 : "Distinguished Service Cross Awarded To Maj. Ken
Caldwell"
- The Kansas City Star Jan 21, 1944 : Major Kenneth M. Caldwell Missing In Action
Major Kenneth M. Caldwell's DSC Citation Reads as follows :
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS -
DURING World War II
Service: Army Air Forces
Battalion: 565th Bombardment Squadron
Division: 9th Air Force
GENERAL ORDERS:
Headquarters, Ninth U.S. Army Air Force, General Orders No. 89 - 1943
CITATION:
- SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Army Air Corps Captain Kenneth Marion Caldwell, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as pilot of a B-24 Heavy Bomber in the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, and the 9th Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 1 August 1943, against the Ploesti Oil Refineries in Rumania. During a long and hazardous attack against a vital enemy oil installation made at low altitude by a formation of B-24D type aircraft, Major Caldwell flew through heavy enemy fire against impossible odds, and then brought his crew safely back to base without the loss of a single man. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Captain Caldwell on this occasion, even when confronted with practically certain destruction, exemplified the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces. The historian, Larry Smith. wrote about Ken Caldwell and his flight crew's war experiences and his book, "TROUBLE".
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: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15045876 / 0-325990
- Highest Rank: Major General
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 389th Bomb Group 2nd Scouting Force 567th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-23828
- Highest Rank: Brigadier General
- Role/Job: Bomber Pilot / Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19036088 / O-?
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18118007
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: - The Scorpion
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: - Trouble
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron 566th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Miss Liberty
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 492nd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron 567th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 7 January 1944
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Berka, al Birkah
Related videos and documents
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 34255
- Description: This video is a brief summary of the book titled "Trouble". A B-24 Liberator nicknamed Trouble was shot down over Nazi-occupied France on Jan. 7, 1944...
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
16 August 1914 | Son of Elmer Elzie and Florence Marion [Knetzer] Caldwell. | |
Died |
7 January 1944 | Shot down by FW 190 fighters near Orleans, France on 7-Jan-44 in B-24 42-41013 'Trouble N' Mind' Killed in Action (KIA). | |
Buried/ Commemorated |
Re-Interred East Hill Cemetery, Erie Neosho County, Kansas | ||
Based |
7 January 1944 | Assigned to 565BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF |
Revisions
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 99.
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 99.
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) passim.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1853 / MACR 1853, 8th AF Losses, WWII Memorial / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database