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603 602 601 600 398th BOMB GROUP MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION • 8th AIR FORCE • 1st AIR DIVISION • NUTHAMPSTEAD, ENGLAND VOL. 35 NO. 4 FLAK NEWS OCTOBER 2020 PROJECT RECOVER “Keeping America’s Promise To Bring Our MIAs Home” Pictured above to the left is Dr. Colin Colbourn, PH.D, Lead Historian for Project Recover. To the right is Colin’s Great Uncle st rd s “Buddy”, 1 Lt. Charles E. Howell, who was a pilot with the 603 SQ. 1 Lt. Howell and 6 of his crew were killed in action when enemy fighters shot down their B-17 on the November 21, 1944 mission to Merseburg, Germany. After college, Colin specialized in Military History. It was then, while he and a colleague were researching at the National Archives, he discovered the details of what had happened to his great-uncle on that fateful November day during WWII. This was a ‘find’ because his family seldom talked about their loss, which is so often the case. His personal experience of closure compelled Colin to want to help bring closure for other families, especially those families of MIA’s. So, in 2016 Colin began working as Lead Historian for Project Recover and now he is doing just that. Mellisa Ledlow’s excellent story about Dr. Colbourn and his work with Project Recover is on the following pages of this issue. FLAK NEWS – Vol. 35 No. 4 Page 1 Dr. Colin Colbourn and Project Recover By Mellisa Ledlow At the 2019 8th Air Force Reunion in St. Louis, a new, (though captured and taken prisoner). Their plane crashed th friendly face wandered into the 398 Bomb Group’s near Erfurt, Germany, killing the seven men still on-board. Memory/Hospitality Room. Initial conversations began with While conducting research at the National Archives, a introductions and the question: “What’s your connection to colleague of Colin’s found a German Flak Group report the 398th? and/or the 8th Air Force?” that had Charles Howell’s name in it recalling the crashed plane. Also in the report was a photo of the remnants of a nd Dr. Colin Colbourn joined several other 2 Generation few dog tags of some of the deceased crew members. reunion attendees and told about his background and also his connection and interest in the 398th. Colin earned a Ph.D. in U.S. History from University of Southern Mississippi and specialized in Military History for over ten years. It was in his role as a professional Military Historian and his work in the field of World War II casualties that he uncovered more details about his great-uncle, 1st Lt. Charles Edward “Buddy” Howell. B-17-G 43-38147 N8-L “Fuddy Duddy” This is the ship 1st Lt. Howell and crew flew on their final mission to Merseberg, Germany November 21, 1944. Enemy fighters shot down the B-17 killing 7 of the crew, including Lt. Howell. Th e crew that day: st Pilot: 1 Lt. Charles E. Howell KIA nd Co-Pilot: 2 Lt. William Bryan KIA Photo of recovered dog tags included with the st Navigator : 1 Lt. John J. Leyden, Jr. KIA nd Howell Crew’s German KU Report. Bombardier: 2 Lt. Robert T. Gaynor KIA Engineer: S/Sgt. Ralph F. Glancy KIA Top tag: Cole, Fred W. serial# 37607163 Radio Op: T/Sgt. John W . Bahling POW Bottom tag: John J. Leyden Jr serial# 0-787559 Ball Turret: S/Sgt. Brooks U. Atchison KIA Left Waist: S/Sgt. William H. Landrie, Jr. POW A KU report, short for ‘Kampfflugzeuge USA Reports’, Right Waist: S/Sgt. Jose M. Echevarria POW was prepared by the Luftwaffe if the loss of an aircraft occurred over German territory. These reports included Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. Fred W. Cole KIA the location of the aircraft wreckage and fate of the crew. Very similar to the American MACR reports (Missing Air Crew Reports) st th 1 Lt. Howell was a B-17 pilot in the 398 Bomb Group, 603rd Squadron. Though his family seldom talked about their loss, Colin’s research led him to learn a great deal Early in Colin’s career, he started a Historical about his Great-Uncle Buddy’s military career and details Fellowship at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency about his final mission with the 398th to bomb the Leuna Oil — his introduction into searching for MIAs. Colin says, “I Refineries at Merseburg, Germany on November 21, 1944. knew I wanted to continue helping bring MIAs home to Howell’s plane, the “Fuddy Duddy,” was attacked by their loved ones.” He began working as Lead Historian for German fighters and badly damaged. Howell and his co- Project Recover in 2016 and has been on missions to six pilot, 2nd Lt. William Bryan, maintained control of the plane different countries. long enough for three crewmen to bail out and survive… Continued on next page Page 2 FLAK NEWS – Vol. 35. No. 4 - Continued from Page 2 Dr. Colin Colbourn and Project Recover He described what Project Recover is about and shared several research and recovery stories. Project Recover began in 1993 when founder Dr. Pat Scannon envisioned bringing MIAs home from Palau in 1993. Research and searches by the team of professionals and volunteers have led to locating more than 30 US World War II aircraft associated with more than 100 MIAs all over the world. Project Recover’s Mission Statement reads: “Project Recover is a collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans missing in action since World War II, in order to provide recognition and closure for families and the Nation.” The partnership is composed of researchers from the University of Delaware (UD), Scripps Institution of Oceanography – University of California, San Diego (SIO) and the not-for-profit organization Project Recover. Project Recover staff and its group of volunteers have over 20 years of experience dedicated to locating and identifying Americans Missing-in-Action (MIA) from World War II. Professional oceanographers and underwater Chrysta Moore and Colin th archaeologists from UD and SIO are equipped with state- at the 8 AF Reunion, October 2019 of-the-art survey technologies including various Chrysta Moore's brother-in-law was Corporal James W. Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) platforms, Moore. He was a gunner on a B-24 that went missing on scanning sonars, high-definition and thermal cameras, and a mission over Celebes, Indonesia. underwater robots. Chrysta’s family had never learned anything about the missing plane and crew. They really had no idea how to find out or where to start. After explaining the situation to Colin, he did a little digging and, while at the reunion , was able to show her “I do this work because I the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report). In the post mission debriefing the crew of another plane had seen Cpl. am not only passionate about Moore’s plane in their formation after they had radioed “Mission Accomplished”. Then the B-24 suddenly did a the historical challenge, 180 and headed back to the island. Though Cpl. Moore’s plane had radioed “Mission Accomplished” they did not but also because with our radio again or explain why they had turned back. Their disappearance is still a mystery. team and our technology, Chrysta was so happy to finally discover a piece of the I can transform the puzzle. Perhaps Colin and his team will be able to research and find this crash site at some point in the mundane days at archives future but so much depends on their current list of projects and of course, the host country’s cooperation. and museums into real answers * Note: Chrysta’s late husband was S/Sgt. Cecil R. “Tex” nd for families who have Moore, 602 SQ tail gunner on the Woodson Crew. mourned the loss of their In several situations, Project Recover has been loved ones with no answers contacted by family members of MIA’s that are still hoping for so many years.” for any information and ultimate discovery of what happened to their loved one, his crew and his plane. Even 75 years later, families long for closure and in some successful missions, remains have been found and Dr. Colin Colbourn returned to their loved ones. In those circumstances, full military burials have been conducted with the family, friends, veterans, local community groups and members of Project Recover in attendance. Continued on next page FLAK NEWS – Vol. 35 No. 4 Page 3 - Continued from Page 3 Dr. Colin Colbourn and Project Recover Several Project Recover missions stand out for Colin. His very first on-site mission was to New Caledonia to dive and identify a plane that local authorities had located. It took many dives to determine that the aircraft in a lagoon off the coast was, in fact, a B-17. It allowed Colin an opportunity to become very familiar with the type of plane his Uncle Buddy had flown back in Europe. Colin diving on the B-17 crash site in New Caledonia. The group has also done a great deal of work in Papua New Guinea and Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon. The family of a MIA B24 and crew had done their own research and provided Project Recover with information about where the Project Recover set its sights on finding “Heaven Can plane might have gone down in Papua New Guinea. After Wait” after being presented with four years of research lots of additional preparation, a search began. It took quite on circumstances of the crash, compiled by family a few days and dives, but the team was finally able to members of one the B-24 crew members seeking closure for their lost relative.
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