| Posted By | Comments |
|---|
Mark Whelan
11/7/2004 8:06:55 PM | I have some questions about R.M.Fowler and crew. 1. In a copy of the 613th squadron history, he is listed as flyingon these missions. #4,5,6,83,90,109,115,130,174,181 Then transfered on Feb.1945 Why the big gap between these missions. 2.He is listed in BDO book as having two crews yet pilots name for second crew is 2nd Lt.D.C.Pruitt 3.Lt. Fowler is listed in 613th Squadron History as Crew to have named 42-31081 (Son of a Blitz) does anyone know if this is true?
|
Charles D. Kashner
11/27/2004 10:14:19 PM | lso perplexed by the info on the crew of RMFowler.I served as Tail gunner on this crew from the time we originally formed in Ephrata WA. in June of 1943 thru May 221944.The crew at that time P RMFowler, CP Sandy Lew,N Jack Priest,B Buc Buchanan,TT A Tryba,R HWCharnes,BT Marinez,RW D.Hadsell,LW,L Florez TG CDkashner. S.Lew got his own crew after we moved to Great Falls MT.and was replaced by WJ.Murphy.who was still CP when I finished my 30 missions and I was trnsfered to the 398 BG where I seved on base defense until mid Sept '44.In the spring of '44 Russ Fowler spent time in the Hospital with a contagious bug and missed several missions during which C.Hess Piloted us, As I had flown several trips with other crews,all except Fowler and Charnes,who had been wounded on a earlier flight, had 2 or more missions to go to complete their tours.Jack Priest was <MIA at this time.As we were forbidden to keep personal diariesin the war zone,My memory does not allow me to recall all the details of this period. Also,the crew members in the photo listed on ths web site are complete strngers to me.Due to Fowlers illnes,he had 6or7 missions to go when I finished my tour and he probably had to serve 35 missions instead of the 30 I served. Hope this answers some of your questions chas.
|
Charles W. Hess
8/15/2005 11:20:46 PM | I was interested to note that you flew with my uncle, Lt. Charles F. Hess, on several missions. Do you recall anything about those missions in particular? Do you recall anything about my uncle and how he interacted with the crew? My uncle did not survive the war, and my entire family is trying to fill in the blanks in his record. His crew bailed out on the Solingen mission (Misison #2) and his plane was forced land at an RAF base. So, he was restricted to flying a desk until Lt. Fowler got sick. I would love to know how many missions he flew with the Fowler crew, and anything you can remember about Lt. Charles F. Hess.
|
Gavin Larson
9/7/2006 4:36:50 PM | Mr. Kashner,
I'm not sure if you ever check this forum for replies anymore (it's been a while since you posted your message), but it looks like you may have also flown with my grandfather, Dean Larson (ball turret). I'm looking for information on his service, but haven't found much. According to the combat crew listing on this web site, his pilot (and your's for a time) was D.C. Pruitt. However, it looks like D.C. Pruitt's crew was almost identical to Fowler's crew that you have listed. Did you happen to know my grandfather, and if so, do you have any memories of him? I'd appreciate any info that you could provide. Thanks.
|