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Military
Lt. Robert J Nespor, killed in action on 1 August 1943. Nespor was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombardment Squadron. Lt. Nespor was reassigned to fly Lt. John S. Young's regularly assigned airplane, Kickapoo, with his replacement copilot. Lt. John Clark Riley, from the 376th Bomb Group, for the Ploesti mission to bomb the oil refineries. Nespor and Riley were killed just after takeoff when, Kickapoo's #4 engine failed and caught on fire. The plane's wing hit a concrete pole on landing cartwheeling the plane into the ground in flames. All but two of the plane's crew were KIA, with two WIA. Both pilots, Lt. Nespor and Lt. John C. Riley were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart for their bravery and sacrifice for the Ploesti mission. 1 Aug. 1943
B-24 liberator #41-11768 'Kickapoo' of 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Crashed shortly after take-off for the August 1, 43 low-level Ploesti, Romania mission, initially due to loss of No 4 engine. 8 KIA / 2 WIA.
- The B-24D - Kickapoo, with it's regular crew, and pilot, Lt. John S. Young on the far right, before the mission to bomb Ploesti. Lt. John Young and his regular crew member's lives were spared when Group Leader Col. John R. Kane reassigned them to fly with him in his plane, Hail Columbia, on Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti. Kickapoo crashed and burned on takeoff for the Ploesti mission, killing the two replacement pilots and all but two of it's replacement crew, Lt Russel Polivka, navigator, and SSgt Eugene Garner, gunner. - Aircraft Destroyed - Lete, Libya - 1 Aug 1943 Kickapoo's reassigned crew for the Ploesti bombing mission : --- 1st Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot - (KIA) - 98th BG - Died two weeks later from his burns 2nd Lt. John C. Riley - Co Pilot (KIA) Detached Service from 93rd BG - Died from his burns 2nd Lt. Russell W. Polivka - Navigator (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Severely Burned - Recovered after long rehabilitation T/Sgt. Vaun D. Wenrich -Engineer/Top Turret (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Died of his injuries T/Sgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Op (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Died of his injuries S/Sgt. George W. Lawlor - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Died of his injuries S/Sgt. Edwin G. Sliwa - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Died of his injuries S/Sgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG - Badly burned - Survived and recovered after long rehabilitation. S/Sgt. John P. D'Armour - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
Operation Tidal Wave - General Brereton's last Tidal Wave briefing to the flying officers of the 98th Bomb Group. 1943
"White crosses mark the graves of American soldiers in a military cemetery somewhere in North Africa. 8 November 1943." L-R : Robert J. Nespor John C. Riley Thurman L. Ward Darmond R. Massort Edward J. Suwa John P. D'Amour George W. Lawlor.
Communal burial - Headstone.
1st Lt. Robert James Nespor, Jr. was a B-24D bomber command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 330th Bombing Squadron, based at Benghazi, Libya, in North Africa. He was assigned to fly on the huge mission, Operation Tidal Wave, to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on on 1 August 1943. Lt. Nespor was assigned as a replacement pilot, along with Lt. John Clark Riley, his replacement copilot from the 93rd Bomb Group, with a replacement crew, to fly his friend, Lt. John S. Young's regular airplane, the B-24D Liberator, Kickapoo, in place of Lt. Young and his regularly assigned crew. Nespor was an original member of the 98th Bombardment Group, but did not complete his tour at the same time as many of the original 98th Bomb Group airmen, as he had been grounded for a period of time with dysentery. Lt. John Young, Kickapoo's regular pilot, and his crew had been reassigned by the 98th's Group Commander, Col. John R. Kane, to fly with him in his lead ship, the B-24D, Hail Columbia. This late crew change saved the lives of Lt. Young and his crew. But it cost the lives of Lt. Nespor, his copilot, Lt. Riley, and all but two of their replacement crew.
At just after 0750 hours on the morning of the Ploesti mission, Lt. Nespor and John Riley, were at the controls of Kickapoo. As they were making their takeoff run, Kickapoo, had a complete number 4 engine failure and fire. The two pilots pulled their stricken B-24D into a shallow climb, turned out over the sea, jettisoned their bombs, and began a long curving sweep out of the bomber formation to the right. Although on fire and burning, Nespor thought he could make it back to the Lete airstrip and save his valuable airplane. As he started his first approach back to the runway, the field was still a swirling fog of red dust stirred up by the prop wash of the planes taking off, and Nespor was turned away by the tower to circle around for a second visual approach. He was trying to make that approach back to the runway when he began losing power from his remaining engines, and descended into a hard landing. Nespor and, Kickapoo, hit the runway, bounced twenty feet into the air, hit again, skidded down the extreme left edge of the runway, and crashed their left wing into a concrete pole, cartwheeling, Kickapoo, which came apart and exploded in flames, ultimately, killing Lt. Nespor, John Riley, and all but two of the rest of their crewmen. Eight of the ten man crew were KIA. Nespor and Riley could have crash landed, Kickapoo, on the beach or in the shallow water just off the beach after jettisoning their bombs over the water, but elected to try to try to save their airplane after they had been cleared by the tower to return for a second landing attempt. Lt. Nespor, Lt. John Riley, and all but two of their replacement crewmen were the very first casualties of Operation Tidal Wave. They died in place of the men they exchanged places with, Lt. Johnny Young and his usual crew on his plane, Kickapoo.
For his flying leadership and his sacrifice on the Ploesti mission, Lt. Nespor and his crew were posthumously awarded the Purple heart. Lt. Nespor and the names of his crew do not appear in the official AAF History Roster of Personnel for DFCs.
Lt. Nespor received his only DFC on General Orders #58, Hqrs Ninth U.S. Air Force, June 28, 1943.
Lt. Robert James Nespor was only 22 years old when he gave his life for freedom and his country. 1 Aug 1943.
Replacement Crew - B-24D - Kickapoo- Tidal Wave - August 1, 1943
1st/Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot
2/Lt. Thurman L. Ward - Bombardier
2nd/Lt. John C. Riley - Co Pilot
T/Sgt. Vaun D. Wenrick - Engineer
S/Sgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner
T/Sgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Op.
S/Sgt.Edwin J. Sliwa - Gunner
S/Sgt. George Warren Lawlor - Gunner
S/Sgt. John D'Amour - Gunner
Crash Report :
- "Lt. Robert J. Nespor – A B-24 bomber pilot in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, flew on Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, Lt. Nespor was assigned to fly Lt. John Young’s regular airplane, Kickapoo, as command pilot with a replacement crew partly from the 376th Bomb Group. The first abort came ten minutes after takeoff – at 07:50 – when Lt. Robert Nespor's number four engine failed and caught on fire. Nespor thought he could make it back to the Benina strip, but the field was still a swirling fog of red dust stirred up by the prop wash of the last planes that took off, which caused the tower to order him to go around for another try. On his second try, Nespor lost power on his remaining engines. Kickapoo sank and hit the runway, bounced and hit again, skidding down the extreme edge of the field, hitting a concrete telephone pole with it's wing and exploded in flames. Eight of the ten men were killed, burned in the flames of the fire. Eleven planes in all aborted the mission. "
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Herbert W. Arens was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew the B-24D Liberator bomber, 41-11803, named, Rosie Wrecked 'Em, on the mission to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Staff Sgt. John D'Amour was killed in action (KIA) after being reassigned as a replacement gunner, from the 93rd Bomb Group, in the 8th Air Force, reassigned to Lt. John S. Young's regular B-24D, 41-11768, named, Kickapoo, as part of the 344th Bomb...
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Crew member Staff Sgt. Eugene Robert Garner flew on Operation Tidal Wave. He was assigned as part of a replacement crew from the 8th Air Force, for John Young's B-24D, Kickapoo, from the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force....
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24D Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Ronald Lee Helder was a B-24 pilot in the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bomb Group, and the 564th Bombing Squadron in WWII. He flew as Co-pilot with his friend, Command Pilot Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes, in the B-24D Lt. Helder called, Ole Kickapoo,...
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Lloyd Herbert Hughes Jr., better known to his friends, as "Pete," flew his fifth mission, as pilot of a B-24D Liberator bomber in an attack against the Axis oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. He was killed August 1, 1943 when his plane was severely...
Military | Brigadier General | B-24 Command Pilot - Commanding Officer 44th Bomb Group | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Col. Leon Johnson, the commander of the 44th Bomb Group from the 8th Air Force in Britain provided superior leadership in planning and training his pilots from the 8th Air force from the U.K. to employ very low altitude flying, before and during...
Military | Colonel | B-24 Bomb Group Commanding Officer / B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and, later, in the United States Air Force. He received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor, in World War II, for his leadership, courage, and...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Crew member B-24 liberator 41-11768 'Kickapoo' of 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Crashed shortly after take-off for the August 1, 43 low-level Ploesti, Romania mission. She lost an engine just after getting airborne and then caught fire while banking back...
Military | Captain | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Royden Louis LeBrecht was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew his B-24D, he named, The Squaw, on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at...
Military | Flight Officer | Co-Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. James Rex Lindsey was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's co-pilot on Hadley's B-24D, Hadley's Harem, in North Africa. He participated in, and had completed his part of the bombing mission, Operation Tidal Wave. But, Lt. Lindsey and Lt. "Gib" Hadley were...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
...
Squadron
The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, named, The Sandman, was named, and flown, by Lt. Robert Sternfels and his co-pilot, Lt. Barney Jackson, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, on Operation Tidal Wave, the famous mission to...
B-24 Liberator
- The B-24D, 41-24198, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron, was one of 2 B-24Ds in the MTO based at Benghazi, Libya, with identical nose art pictures, and both named, The Vulgar Virgin, this one, 41-24198, flown...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, Raunchy, 41-11819, was in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, based at Benghazi, Libya, North Africa, in early 1943.
...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, 41-11768, named, Kickapoo, was Lt. John S. Young's regularly assigned B-24D, after his 98th Bombardment Group moved out of Egypt, to the air bases at Benghazi, Libya. John Young was from Dallas, Texas, like so many of the men...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Oklahoma, USA | 1921 |
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Son of Robert John Sr and Christine [Borek] Nespor. |
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| Lived in | Oklahoma, USA | 1941 |
| Enlisted | Oklahoma | 14 July 1941 |
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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | 1943 |
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Assigned to 330th BS, 98th BG, 8th AF. |
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| Died | Benghazi, Libya | 1 August 1943 |
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Reassigned as part of a replacement crew from his own 98th Bomb Group to fly as command pilot for the B-24D 'Kickapoo' behind Element Leader Col. John Kane in the 98th Bomb Group in place of Lt. John S. Young for Operation Tidal Wave. Nespor crashed shortly after take-off for the August 1,1943, low-level mission. Nespor lost the #4 engine just after getting airborne and, then, lost all three of the remaining engines and caught fire while banking back toward the field trying to land. After losing all power on short final approach, the left wing hit a a concrete pole. The plane cart wheeled into the ground in flames killing Lt. Nespor, his copilot Lt. John C. Riley, and all but two of the rest of the replacement crew. |
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| Buried | Fort Scott National Cemetery Fort Scott, Bourbon County KS | 27 July 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 10 January 2022 00:54:28 | decwriter | Changes to biography and awards |
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NARA files verified DFC (not for the Ploesti low-level raid on 1 Aug 1943) and AM with five Oak Leaf Clusters. He earned at least one bronze service star on the EAME Campaign Medal and earned the American Defense Service Medal for entry prior to 7 Dec 1941. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 December 2021 18:26:55 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
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https://www.fold3.com/record/708267594/nespor-robert-j-us-veterans-grave... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 20:05:52 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, biography and unit associations |
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Spelling and detail changes for accuracy. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 October 2021 14:28:16 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Details added. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 February 2021 08:27:26 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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FindAGrave - 2nd Lt. Robert James Nespor, Jr. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 February 2021 08:21:03 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography and awards |
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FidAGrave - 2ndLt. Robert J. Nespor, Jr. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 January 2021 10:54:47 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, biography, events, person associations, unit associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/310952932 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 September 2020 08:22:46 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Changes to biography : John S. Young, Jr. -- personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 June 2020 19:00:36 | Kickapoo | Changes to events |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 June 2020 18:55:19 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 June 2020 18:43:14 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 June 2020 17:59:00 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 June 2020 16:41:43 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday ~ Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2020 08:54:47 | Kickapoo | Changes to role, biography and unit associations |
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FindAGrave.com ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into The fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2020 08:43:44 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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FindAGrave.com ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into The fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 September 2019 07:20:23 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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FindAGrave.com ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into The fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 August 2019 19:56:48 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography, person associations and media associations |
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FindAGrave.com ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into The fire - Duane Schultz ---- John S. Young, Jr. - personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 August 2019 08:12:50 | Kickapoo | Changes to middlename, service number, role, biography, events, unit associations and place associations |
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FindAGrave Memorials |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 August 2019 13:18:25 | Emily | Changes to role, biography, events and unit associations |
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Consolidated repetitive biographies of Nespor into one narrative, corrections and further information from Ploesti Roster, Sortie Reports for the Ploesti mission held in Roger Freeman's document collection , in which the circumstances of Nespor's crash are widely reported, and Fortress Ploesti by Jay Stout. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 August 2019 08:12:12 | Kickapoo | Changes to role |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti - Anatomy Of A Disaster - HistoryNet - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg - Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 March 2019 02:44:00 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti - Anatomy Of A Disaster - HistoryNet - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg - Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 February 2019 10:15:07 | Emily | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Transferred information from Media record to biography added by user Kickapoo sourced from Find a Grave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 January 2019 13:59:18 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 October 2018 22:57:28 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography and events |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 August 2018 11:29:36 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Find A Grave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 August 2018 08:53:13 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography and person associations |
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Merged with duplicate entry to include details from: |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2018 09:48:57 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography and unit associations |
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Black Sunday - Ploesti ! by Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2018 09:42:25 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Ploest ! by Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2018 09:14:46 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Ploesti ! by Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 March 2017 15:08:37 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from: |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 April 2015 14:25:47 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, suffix, nationality, service number, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
