Army Of Many Fallen Soldiers #4 USAF

THIS TRACKABLE IS DEDICATED IN HONOR OF USAF 1st Lieut. Edwin E. BodleySHOT DOWN IN A RESCUE MISSSION 3 DAYS BEFORE V-DAY

20th AF
4th ERS

USAAF c1945

Pilot  1st Lt. Edmund L. Eliason, O-415233 (KIA, BR) Ocean City, NJ
Co-Pilot  2nd Lt Lawrence H. Chandler, Jr., O-839976 (KIA, BR) Newport News, VA
Navigator  1st Lt Edwin E. Bodley, O-805246 (KIA, BR) E. Chicago, IL
Radio  SSgt David A. Kressler, 20301128 (KIA, BR) Clark's Summit, PA
Radio  Sgt Vernon R. Radmall, 39025623 (MIA / KIA) Lehi, UT
Engineer  Sgt Roger E. Regain, 38477693 (POW, survived) Mt. Pleasant, TX
Medical Tech  Cpl Philip W. Carter, 37193571 (KIA, BR) Ollie, Iowa
Crashed  August 13, 1945 at 17:30
MACR  14969

On August 13, 1945 took off from Motoyama No. 1 (Central Field) on Iwo Jima piloted by 1st Lt. Edmund L. Eliason on a "Dumbo" patrol to rescue a downed aviator. This Catalina code named "Playmate Nine Six" was escorted by two fighters.

This Catalina sucessfully landed into Tokyo Bay to rescue Lt(jg) William C. Henwood pilot of F6F Hellcat 78006 who ditched off Kisarazu.

After picking up the pilot, this OA-10 was attacked by eight A6M5 Zeros from the 302 Kōkūtai near Tateyama. Three of the attacking pilots were credited with the victory were: Lt Yutaka Morioka, Lt(jg) Hiroshi Kondo and Lt(jg) Hidekuni Ono. Leading the attack, Morioka made a head-on attack, firing his 20mm cannons and causing black smoke from the left engine. His attack was followed by Kondo who opened fire and caused it to catch fire, then the three Zeros climbed to avoid any escorting fighters.

Four other Zeros attacked the damaged Catalina before it crashed into the sea off Tateyama Airfield. On the ground at nearby Yokosuka Airfield, the dogfight between the Zeros and the Catalina was witnessed by many observers on the ground, who admired the courage of the flying boat crew.

Jim Sawruk adds:
"This OA-10 may have been sent as a duplicate for "PLAYMATE 97" which had just completed a rescue of a VT-87 crew from the Ticonderoga. 1st Lt Charles Oates and crew in OA-10A 44-34075 picked up Ens John Brega and his two aircrew from TBM Avenger 69066 right before this other OA-10 was shot down."

Search
Escorting fighters returned to find only wreckage and no survivors.

Fates of the Crew
Henwood and Regain survived the crash and was was rescued from Tokyo Bay by the Japanese. He was transported to Yokosuka and later to Ofuna Camp at Yokohama. When the war officially ended, he was liberated and returned to the United States.

Recovery of Remains
On September 12, Japanese fisherman discovered four bodies washed ashore, along the tip of Tateyama peninsula. Two were identified: Eliason and Bodley. The other two were noted as unknowns at the time, but were later tentatively identified as Chandler and Carter. The bodies were placed into wooden caskets by the Japanese and offerings made. Later, they were they were buried by the US Army at Tateyama and later moved US Armed Forces Cemetery #1 Yokohama at Yokohama.

please keep the trackable in the game. leave it in other caches for others to read about and pass on. Happy to travel to bases, military towns, war and vet memorials & cennters across the country and beyond.

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