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Blades

MACR 16368

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Missing Air Crew Report (MACR)  16368 for the loss of a B-25 "Lonesome Polecat" with the crew of Blades, Weaver, Lee, Shirley, Minden, Cave, Lyman, Frederick, and Kelly in 1943 near Tian Hoa (Tianhe), Canton.

Image courtesy of Tony Strotman.

Hubert F. Blades, S/Sgt., from Vicksburg, Mississippi, aerial gunner on the B-25, lost in China on 8 May 1943. A marker listing him and most of the crew was placed at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Section 82 Site 202, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, Mo. (Image, and much information, courtesy of Tony Strotman.)
A marker listing him and most of the crew was placed at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Section 82 Site 202, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, Mo. (Image at top, and much information, courtesy of Tony Strotman.)
Clearly deeply missed by his family, a memorial for Douglas C. Weaver was embedded within the tombstone for his parents, Harry Elwood Weaver (1878 - 1964) and Nora R. Weaver (1885 - 1972) at Hill Grove Cemetery, Miamisburg. (Images thanks to Mary Downing-Mahan.) Douglas C. Weaver, Capt, from Miamisburg, Ohio, pilot on the B-25, lost in China on 8 May...
The loss of Frederick Burton Lee mentioned in Princeton Alumni Weekly during October 1943, where he is called 'Burt'. Frederick B. Lee, 2nd Lt., from Salem, Massachusetts, navigator on the B-25, lost in China on 8 May 1943. A marker listing 2nd Lt. Frederick B. Lee, and most of the crew was placed at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Section 82...
According to Lt. Lyman's family, Lt. Lyman did survive the exit from the burning B-25 only to be killed in his parachute by the Japanese soldiers on the ground. This was witnessed and reported by a Chinese teen who worked in the hospital where his body was taken. Years later that teen became a Catholic Priest and stayed in touch...
Elden E. Shirley, S/Sgt., from Saco, Maine, bombardier on the B-25, lost in the CBI on 8 May 1943. A marker listing him and most of the crew was placed at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Section 82 Site 202, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, Mo. (Image at top, and much information, courtesy of Tony Strotman.)
On 8 May 1943, ten B-25 bombers of the 341st Bomb Group, 11th Bomb Squadron, targeted Tien Hoa Airport, Canton. While the formation was approaching the target the plane piloted by Capt Douglas Weaver exploded just as bomb bay doors were opening. The remaining aircraft dropped all of their bombs in the target area scoring three direct hits on the...