Class 43D

Alphabetic Listing of Class 43 - D
First Class at Freeman Field
Click on Underlined names for more information

Adams, John Q.,	43 D
Anderson , James M.	43 D
Ave, Baldwin C.,	43 D
Bailey, Captain Henry F.,	43 D
Baird , Francis R.	43 D
Baldinger, Lieutenant Colonel O. M.	43 D
Beatty, Charles R.,	43 D
Bellamy, James E.	43 D
Bison, Walter E.,	43 D
Blossom, George H.	43 D
Bodell, Vincent P.	43 D
Born, Raymond J.	43 D
Brady, John R.,	43 D
Brown, Robert B.,	43 D
Burkart, Rev. C. W.	43 D
Burrell, 2nd Lt. Edward Kihm	43 D
Cameron, Robert N.	43 D
Camp, Jr., Glenn E.	43 D
Cavanagh, Charles	43 D
Clark, Jr., 2nd Lt. William Bryan	43 D
Cool , Lee D.	43 D
Cowin, Fred P.	43 D
Crapsey, Arthur H., Jr.	43 D
Crepps , Bert H.	43 D
Dozier, Jr., Edward B.	43 D
Dreilinger, Herbert	43 D
Eisner, Harold J.	43 D
Fisher, Robert S.	43 D
Foster, James E. "Red"	43 D
Foster, William J.	43 D
Freeman, Mr. Ab	43 D
Fridgen, Francis N.	43 D
Girard, Frank D.	43 D
Hawes, Warren H.	43 D
Hayward, Maurice W.	43 D
Heaney, Elroy W.	43 D
Henderson, Phillips B.	43 D
Hendrickson, William C.	43 D
Heyroth, James W.	43 D
Hire, Louis	43 D
Hollenkamp , 1st Lt. Bernard Francis	43 D
Honaker, Jr., John P.	43 D
Howrey, James E.	43 D
Hubbell, 2nd Lt. Robert Higgins	43 D
Hughes, Major Albert E.	43 D
Ibert, John J.	43 D
Jarman, Roy L.	43 D
Jarrel, Willis E.	43 D
Johnson, Malcolm E.	43 D
Kaellner, Otto E.	43 D
Kaufman, Richard H.	43 D
Kaynor, Kenneth W.	43 D
Keysar, Wayne C.	43 D
Kirkhuff, Donald V.	43 D
Kurinsky, Herbert	43 D
Lavies, William R.	43 D
Layn , Roger W.	43 D
Leavey, Harry B. J.	43 D
LeBlanc, Ewing J.	43 D
Leigh, Richard E.	43 D
Leone, Major Peter P.	43 D
Leu, Arthur F.	43 D
Liedtke, Mervin J.	43 D
Liske, Paul L.	43 D
Lollar, William R.	43 D
Lybarger, Melvin F.	43 D
Lynch, James W.	43 D
Maki, Leonard W.	43 D
Mason, 1st Lt. Floyd Harris	43 D
Maupin, Robert S.	43 D
Mcllwain, John W.	43 D
Meder, Joseph F.	43 D
Meuli, Herbert O.	43 D
Mickow, Laurence H.	43 D
Moody, William N.	43 D
Moore, Captain James	43 D
Moore, W/O J. D.,	43 D
Morgan, Leon R.	43 D
Nowland, Brigadier General Bob E.	43 D
Suttie, W/O James	43 D
Tyler, Captain Robert A.	43 D
Weiland, Major George W.	43 D
Wray, Donald K.	43 D

James E. "Red" Foster

member of Freeman Class 43-D. Born 1922. Hometown: Schenectady, NY.

Enlisted 08 May 1942.

Pre-flight and Basic flight training at Maxwell Field, Alabama.

Primary at Walnut Ridge Army Air Field, Arkansas.

Commissioned and wings awarded at Freeman Army Air Field, Indiana, 29 April 1943.

Assigned as B-17 aircraft commander, 544th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group (Heavy), Grafton-Underwood, Northamptonshire, England, 17 Nov 1943.

Promoted to 1st Lt. February, 1944.

Killed in Action, 08 May 1944, age 21. Shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Sottevast, Normandy, France on 30th mission of his 30 mission tour. Body repatriated to USA in 1947.

Buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lt. Foster's Crew

above courtesy of Tim Holtman
Lt. Foster was a friend of Mr. Holtman's father

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Lt James W Lynch

Here is a copy of the letter my grandmother received from Gen HH Arnold from the War Department regarding my uncles death in a training accident in Montana on Aug 24, 1943. Jim was the pilot of a B-17F and they crashed on a bombing training mission returning from the Glasgow bombing range. The crash occurred at night in an electrical storm when they were turning the plane to return to the Glasgow airfield. All 11 men aboard were killed.

There were 2 first pilots on the plane. My uncle Lt James W Lynch was the pilot and Lt William L Luedke was the Co Pilot. Lt Luedke was a first pilot and instructor. They were in the 401st Bomb Group, 615th Bomb Squad that was stationed in Lewistown, MT for training. The 401st arrived in Great Falls, MT on July 1, 1943 and left for Deenethorpe, UK on Oct 18, 1943. The 401st Bomb Group had four Bomb Squads - 612th BS training base was in Great Falls, MT, 613th training base was in Cut Bank, MT, 614th Squad was in Glasglow, MT and the 615th training base was in Lewistown, MT.

I'm looking for information on my uncle from the time he was graduated from Freeman until he arrived in Montana. I also don't know when he arrived at Freeman. I found my uncles graduation picture on the Freeman Army Air Field web site. He is in the second row from the top, third from the left. And I found his name on the first graduation class 43-D that graduated on April 29, 1943.

I believe my uncle went to Hendricks Air Field in Sebring, FL for B-17 training after he graduated from Freeman, but I'm not sure when he left Seymour, Indiana.

I really would like people to contact me if they knew my uncle, James Wilder Lynch.

I talked to Harold Johnson at Walnut Ridge and he found my uncle in the Walnut Ridge Flying School graduation book. Harold said my uncle was at Walnut Ridge from Dec 28, 1942 until Feb 25, 1943.

I really would like people to contact me if they knew my uncle.
ezgo56560@yahoo.com

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT
Arthur H. Crapsey, Jr.
Class 43-D