I am doing research on Captain John W. Long, Jr., a navigator who served with the 38th Bombardment Group from January 1945 until Auguust 9, 1945 when he was killed in the attack on the Japanese carrier Kaiyo in Beppu Bay, Japan. Long served with the 822nd Bombardment Squadron from January to June 1945 and was the squadron navigator most of the time. In June 1945, he apparently was assigned to the group headquarters. He was the lead navigator for Lt. Col Hawes on the attack on the Kaiyo on August 9, flying in a B-25 from the 822nd. Any information on his service would be helpful.
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There is a picture of the carrier that Lt.Col.Hawes and his men were lost attacking on gallery #16.
My question about Capt. Long is: Was he a member of the headquarters squadron or the 822nd. at the time of his death? He's not listed on any of the KIA paperwork that I have.
Sincerely,
Christopher Guest
Webmaster
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I don't have a confirmation yet on his assignment with the 38th between June 1945 and August 1945. He probably was assigned to the group headquarters. He also may have had a brief temporary assignment with the 71st Bomb Squadron. I will be getting a copy of his flight records in a few weeks which might clear up the mystery.
I have the names of the other four crewman killed on August 9, 1945 in addition to Long and Hawes. They were 2nd Lt. Paul F. Kringel, Jr. (co-pilot), Tech. Sgt. Frank L. D'Arcy (engineer/turret gunner), Staff Sgt. Edward C. Mitchell (radio operator/waist gunner), and Sgt. Morris Zissman (tail gunner).
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The only person listed with the American Battle Monuments Commision is Lt. Col. Hawes out of this crew. These other brave men deserve to be remembered too! If anyone can tell me what squadron these men were in, I'll list them in our KIA list and notify the ABMC.
Thank you,
Christopher Guest
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Hawes was flying a B-25 from the 822nd Bomb Squadron on that mission. The co-pilot and four enlisted men were from that squadron. I have copies of the mission narrative and air/sea rescue report from the 822nd identifying the KIAs. There were three aircraft from the 822nd and three aircraft from the 405th that participated in the attack on the Kaiyo. The flight from the 822nd was in the lead in the treetop attack. The flight from the 405th followed close behind. I have written a narrative of the mission if you are interested. Capt. Long's body was the only one recovered after the crash. A Japanese civilian found it and buried it along the beach. When American occupation troops arrived, they were informed of the grave.
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Andy,
I'd love to see what you've gotten so far. Any information I can put into my files eventually helps me to piece together puzzles later. It's happened a few times already!
I'd love to read what you've put together.
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I have come across a limited amount of information about your uncle in my research. He joined the 822nd Bomb Squadron at the same time as Capt. Long in January 1945 while the squadron was at Morotai in the Moluccas, Dutch East Indies. Frank D'Arcy was a corporal at the time. He flew with Long on Long's first combat mission in late January 1945 as the waist gunner/radio operator. On their last mission on August 9, 1945, he was a technical sergeant and serving as the engineer/gunner. I will send you an email directly with more information. I am getting lots of pop-ups on this forum.
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