Thomas Brooks Wheeler
MilitaryIWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Thomas Brooks Wheeler (listed as "Tom B. Wheeler" at NARA's Enlistment records) was Engineer/Top Turret gunner in the 384th Bomb Group/546th Bomb Squadron.
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid , ac B17 42-5848 'Patches' landed at Boxted with 6 crew members injured and extensive BD.
Shot down on the Schweinfurt mission 14 October 1943 in B-17 42-29800 'Me and My Gal', Tom was made Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
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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: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14090837 and O-673460
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20323830 and O-515826
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13057282 and O-738710
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12180110
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32140430
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Me An' My Gal
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 384th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron 422nd Bomb Squadron 546th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Little America
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron 547th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 14 October 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Grafton Undermud
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Tupelo, Texas, United States | 19 September 1916 | the son of Levin Brooks Wheeler and Mattie Virginia (McMullan) Wheeler |
Enlisted |
Camp Wolters, Mineral Wells, Texas, United States | 11 February 1942 | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Żagań, Poland | 14 October 1943 | Wounded, immediately captured. Interned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Poland. Repatriated in a prisoner exchange program. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Allied military control 28 April 1944." |
Died |
Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, United States | 26 July 2002 | |
Buried |
Resthaven Memorial Park, Corsicana, Texas, United States |
Revisions
Merged with duplicate entries to include details from:
- http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=4228;
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey p. 214;
- MACR 840;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=4228
Combat Crew Loading List, 1943-10-14, 384th Bombardment Group, 546th Squadron
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=…