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Military
Lt. Robert J Nespor, killed in action on 1 August 1943. Lt. Nespor was reassigned to fly Lt. John S. Young's regular airplane, 'KICKAPOO' with his copilot. Lt. John Clark Riley 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. 1 Aug 1943. 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.
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.
Operation Tidal Wave - Last Briefing. - 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, Thurman L Ward, John C. Riley, Darmond R Massort, Edward J Suwa, John P D'Amour, George W Lawlor.
1st Lt. Robert James Nespor, Jr. was a B-24D command bomber pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 330th Bombing Squadron. For the huge mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on Operation Tidal Wave 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, along with a replacement crew, also from the 93rd Bomb Group, to fly 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 Leader, Col. John R. Kane, to fly with him in his element lead B-24, '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.
The morning of Sunday, Aug 1, 1943, on the morning of the Ploesti mission, with Lt. Nespor at the controls, at 0750 hours, as he was making his takeoff run, 'Kickapoo' had a complete #4 engine failure and fire. Nespor and his copilot, Lt. John C. Riley, pushed their stricken B-24 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 Berca or the Benina 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 last planes that took 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 lost power from his remaining engines, on short final, 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 smashed their left wing into a concrete telephone pole, cartwheeling 'Kickapoo', which came apart and exploded in flames, ultimately, killing Lt. Nespor, John Riley, his copilot, 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 was posthumously awarded the Purple heart and another Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
Lt. Robert James Nespor was only 22 years old when he gave his life for freedom and his country.
Replacement Crew - B24D - '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
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Crew member of B-24 liberator 41-11768 'Kickapoo' of 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Crashed shortly after take-off for the 1-Aug-43 low-level Ploesti, Romania mission. She lost an engine just after getting airborne and then caught fire while banking back...
Military | Staff Sergeant | 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 | 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
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Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane (January 5, 1907 – May 29, 1996) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and later 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...
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 | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 344BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. 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...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Pilot Lt. Sam Neeley flew his B-24D, named, 'Raunchy' on "Operation Tidal Wave", the famous bombing raid to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, one of the most desperate and daring bombing raids of WWII.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 93rd Bomb Group
Navigator 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...
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
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, named 'The Sandman' and flown by Lt. Robert Sternfels in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, flew on the famous mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Lt. Sternfels flew in...
B-24 Liberator
- Not to be confused with #42-40608, 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN' of the 8th Air Force - 93rd Bomb Group - 328th Bomb Squadron - It also flew on the Ploesti mission, piloted by Lt. Claude Turner - Interned Turkey Aug 1, 1943 - Lt. Turner escaped from the...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, SN # 41-11768, 'KICKAPOO', was piloted by Lt. John S. Young from Dallas, Texas as part of the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron, which arrived in North Africa in early 1943. This airplane was...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D 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 B...
| 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 | 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 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 |
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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 |
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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 |
| Sources | ||
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 |
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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 |
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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 |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 October 2018 22:57:28 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
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 |
| Sources | ||
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 |
| Sources | ||
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 | ||
