Military
JACK OGG CREW #13, 100th BG Front Row L-R: Jack Ogg-CP, Loren Van Steenis-P, Harold Becker-N, Lester Torbett-Bomb. Back Row L-R: Archie Holladay-TTG, Robert Goodman-BTG, James Yarnall-WG, Joseph Clouthier-WG, Walter Schneider-TG, Ed Butchino-WG, Earl Benham-ROG. Yarnall wounded Feb 24, 1944, replaced by Clouthier
A bomber crew of the 100th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Hard Luck" Top Row: T/Sgt "Hap" Holladay, S/Sgt Bob Goodman,S/Sgt Jim Yarnell, S/Sgt Clothier, S/Sgt Walt Schneider, S/Sgt Edward "Butch" Butchino, T/Sgt Earl Benham Bottom Row: Lt Jack Ogg, Capt. Loren Van Steenis, Lt Harold Becker, Lt. Les Torbett
Harold C Becker Air Medal Award Card
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 23 x combat missions. Killed instantaneously by flak on Berlin mission in B-17 42-38053 'Hard Luck II' Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (3OLC), PH.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. Flew on B-17 "Hard Luck" and 'Hard Luck II', 28 x combat missions.
Earl later wrote up his wartime experience in the book 'With Crew 13'
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew, replaced S/Sgt Yarnall (WIA) after Posen mission. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME..
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (1 battle star).
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Sternis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Sternis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 23 x combat missions. Wounded by flak on Berlin mission in B-17 42-38053 'Hard Luck II' 7-May-44; Wounded in Action (WIA) Subsequently grounded due to wounds.
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. 28 x combat missions. Flew B-17 "Hard Luck" and 'Hard Luck II'. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Stenis crew. 17 x combat missions. Wounded in hand and shoulder on Poznan mission in B-17 'Hard Luck II', grounded thereafter, taking up instructional role till wars end.
Awards: AM, PH.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 10/6/43; Dow Fd 18/8/43; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-V] Thorpe Abbotts 20/8/43; on mission to Berlin 7/5/44 with Loren Van Steenis, Navigator: Harry Becker (Killed in Action), Bombardier: Lester Torbett Wounded in Action, (8 Returned to...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/11/43; Wendover 20/12/43; Assigned 457BG Glatton 10/2/44; transferred 349BS/100BG [XR-G] Thorpe Abbotts 21/1/44; soon after t/off to Berlin 7/5/44 with Ralph Wright, Co-pilot: Jack Raper, Navigator: Rich Curran, Bombardier: Carl...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
Cemetery
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Fennimore, WI | 24 April 1921 |
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Son of Clarence Lester and Edna E. [Edington] Becker. |
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| Enlisted | Peoria, IL | 1 March 1942 |
| Commissioned | Hondo Army Air Field, TX | 3 June 1943 |
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Commissioned 2nd Lt, Hondo Army Air Field, Texas |
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| Died | Over Berlin | 7 May 1944 |
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Killed instantaneously by flak on Berlin mission in B-17 42-38053 'Hard Luck II' Killed in Action (KIA) |
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| Buried | 27 September 1948 | |
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Cambridge American Cemetery Coton, Cambs, UK |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 June 2021 11:51:34 | Al_Skiff | Changes to highest rank, biography, awards, events and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/310952151 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 June 2021 01:58:59 | acbernstein1 | Changes to middlename and events |
| Sources | ||
Ancestry.com |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 June 2021 00:29:35 | acbernstein1 | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
https://web.archive.org/web/20080208073233/http://www.web-birds.com/8th/... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 April 2021 00:07:56 | ktm | Changes to events and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
National Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 April 2021 00:02:52 | ktm | Changes to service number, awards and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
National Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:11:59 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Combat Chronology p. 130 Supplement p. 432 , Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces vol 3 pg 650 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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