Military
Lt Dee J. Butler (courtesy of his daughter Kay Gamble, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)
![The Henry H. Northrop crew in Topeka, Kansas, just before leaving for England. They left Topeka on the morning of 27 April 1944 and, vie Goose Bay, Labrador, Iceland and Ireland, they arrived in England on 3 May,
Back row, from left to right :
Charles D. Clifford, Tail Gunner;
Joseph Risko, Waist Gunner;
Alexander Cardenas, Nose Turret Gunner;
Harold J. Flaugher, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner;
Lawrence E. Dean, Radio Operator;
Jack J. Gonzales, Ball Turret Gunner.
Front row, from left to right :
Frank C. Deimel, Navigator;
Henry H. Northrop, Pilot;
Dee Jack Butler, Co-Pilot;
Thomas F. Jeffers, Bombardier.
[ Photo : via Marilyn Jeffers Walton ]
[ Note : Waist Gunner Sgt Joseph Risko was suffering from frostbite endured during the 14 June mission, and was replaced on 18 June by 1st Lt William J. Brodek who assigned himself as a Waist Gunner that day. ]](https://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/media/media-17336.png?itok=jy2YcdWF)
The Henry H. Northrop crew in Topeka, Kansas, just before leaving for England. They left Topeka on the morning of 27 April 1944 and, vie Goose Bay, Labrador, Iceland and Ireland, they arrived in England on 3 May, Back row, from left to right : Charles D. Clifford, Tail Gunner; Joseph Risko, Waist Gunner; Alexander Cardenas, Nose Turret Gunner; Harold J. Flaugher, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner; Lawrence E. Dean, Radio Operator; Jack J. Gonzales, Ball Turret Gunner. Front row, from left to right : Frank C. Deimel, Navigator; Henry H. Northrop, Pilot; Dee Jack Butler, Co-Pilot; Thomas F. Jeffers, Bombardier. [ Photo : via Marilyn Jeffers Walton ] [ Note : Waist Gunner Sgt Joseph Risko was suffering from frostbite endured during the 14 June mission, and was replaced on 18 June by 1st Lt William J. Brodek who assigned himself as a Waist Gunner that day. ]
Dee J. Butler's POW card at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan (courtesy of his daughter Kay Gamble, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)
Dee Butler was Co-Pilot of B-24 'Rhapsody In Junk' #41-28733, shot down by flak on the 18 June 1944 mission to the Fassberg airfield, Germany. Crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein. Prisoner of War (POW) Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII-A.
Military | First Lieutenant | Right Waist Gunner | 458th Bomb Group
On 18 June 1944, William Brodek flew as a substitute for Joseph Risko, who had frostbite, on B-24 “Rhapsody in Junk” #4128733. The aircraft crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village of Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein. Brodek was taken as a Prisoner...
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 458th Bomb Group
Alexander Cardenas served as a waist gunner with the 754th Bomb Squadron of the 458th Bomb Group.
...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 458th Bomb Group
Crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein on 6/18/44 in B-24 “Rhapsody In Junk” #4128733. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft IV.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 458th Bomb Group
Crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein on 6/18/44 in B-24 “Rhapsody In Junk” # 4128733. Prisoner of War (POW) Stalag Luft IV.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 458th Bomb Group
Deimel had studied to become a priest. He crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein in B-24 “Rhapsody In Junk” #41-28733 when it was shot down by flak on the 18 June 1944 mission to the Fassberg airfield, Germany....
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner/Flight Engineer | 458th Bomb Group
Flaugher was Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-24 "Rhapsody In Junk" 41-28733 of 458th Bomb Group / 754th Bomb Squadron when it was shot down on the 18 June 1944 mission to Fassberg, Germany.
...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 458th Bomb Group
Crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein on 6/18/44 in B-24 “Rhapsody in Junk” #4128733. Prisoner of War (POW), Stalag Luft IV.
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Bombardier | 458th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Thomas F. Jeffers, bombardier, was shot down on 18 June 1944 on his 3rd mission. B-24 was named 'Rhapsody in Junk'. Was Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft III for 7 months and was a POW at Stalag VIIA for 3 more months. He was liberated from...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 458th Bomb Group
Crashed in Blick, Germany, near the village Süderbrarup in Schleswig-Holstein on 6/18/44 in B-24 “Rhapsody in Junk.” POW at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII-A.
...
Group
The 458th Bomb Group (H) entered combat with the 8th Air Force in February 1944. Based at Horsham St. Faith in England, the combat crews participated in the decisive Campaigns 'Big Week', 'Big B', D-Day and the assault on Germany's oil industry waged...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 754BS, 458BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Fassberg airfield, Germany shot down by flak on the 18-Jun-44. 9 x POW 1 x KIA. MACR 5908.
18 June 1944
Military site : airfield
Horsham St Faith was an RAF Bomber Command Station opened in June 1940. It was home to Bristol Blenheim medium-bombers, and was for a time occupied by fighters, including those of No. 19 Squadron and No. 264 Squadron. From September 1942 the airfield...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Idaho, United States | 11 August 1920 |
| Enlisted | Santa Ana, California, United States | 22 February 1943 |
|
in the Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet |
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| Captured | Kappeln, near Schleswig, Germany | 18 June 1944 |
|
Landed in parachute and was immediately captured |
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| Prisoner of War (POW) | Sagan, Poland | 18 June 1944 – 29 April 1945 |
|
Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Poland. Force-marched to Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military control 21 July 1945." |
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| Buried | Leavitt's Mortuary & Aultorest Memorial Park, Ogden, Utah, United States | 1992 |
| Died | Saint George, Washington County, Utah, United States | 25 September 1992 |
| Lived in | Ogden, Utah, United States | |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 11 October 2016 13:29:06 | Lucy May | Changes to biography and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Additional information sent through to the American Air Museum by Thomas F Jeffers' daughter, Marilyn. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 10:45:03 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, events, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 5908 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:12 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5908 & Page 273 of the book LIBERAORS OVER NORWICH by Mackay, Bailry & Scorza, 2010, D790G4582010 & 458bg.com - crew picture in Newell's crew in 754th BS |
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