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Military
Assigned to 357FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF.
Awards:
Post war: Earned a BS in Chemistry at Texas A&M University, subsequently entering a long career as a research chemist with Monsanto St. Louis, MO.
Group
Where the 353rd Fighter Group had pioneered ground strafing techniques, it was the 355th Fighter Group who destroyed more enemy aircraft by ground strafing than any other Eighth Air Force Group. Based at Steeple Morden from July 1943 to July 1945, the...
Squadron
Depot
Military site : airfield
Originally used from 1940 as a small, grass airfield, satellite for nearby RAF Bassingbourn, Steeple Morden was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a potential bomber base. It was used briefly by the 3rd Photographic Group during the...
Military site : airfield
Built as a satellite airfield for Squires Gate, it was earmarked for US use even before America entered the Second World War. Its location made it ideal for use as a depot station, where incoming US aircraft could be processed and moved on to active...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | San Antonio, TX, USA | 10 October 1922 |
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Son of James Vere and Augusta Bernadine [Kaiser] Cavender. |
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| Lived in | Bexar County, TX, USA | 1941 |
| Enlisted | 53 Military Plaza, Universal City, TX 78148, USA | 28 October 1942 |
|
Randolph Field |
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| Based | Steeple Morden | 17 August 1944 – 9 November 1944 |
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Assigned to 357FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Based | Warton | 9 November 1944 – 9 December 1944 |
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Detached Service to AAF Station 582 (Warton) |
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| Promotion | Steeple Morden, Royston SG8, UK | 9 November 1944 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
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| Returned | Steeple Morden, Royston SG8, UK | 9 December 1944 – May 1945 |
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Returned to 357FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| End of War | Europe | May 1945 |
| Died | Texas City, TX, USA | 25 March 2012 |
| Buried | Webster, TX, USA | 29 March 2012 |
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Forest Park East Cemetery Webster |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2017 13:51:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, suffix, service number, highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/84844074-james-v-cavender-jr |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:14:56 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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