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"Big Butch" and J. J. Walker Crew, 745th Bomb Squadron
Back row L-R. Fred Sherwood, co-pilot; J.J. Walker, pilot; Bohman, Navigator?; Robert Swan, Bombardier.
Middle row L-R Don Talbert, engineer; Forrest Beck, top turret; Harold Bern, nose turret.
Front row L-R Francis Davis, radioman; William Whitworth, tail turret; Allan Miller, ball turret.
Big Butch was shot down on 17 Aug. 44 over Ploesti, Rumania. All of the crew were POW or evadees, and were able to return to the US. Sherwood, Bohman, Whitworth, and Talbert were not on Big Butch that day. Whitworth was on “The Reluctant Beaver” as a member of H.J. Majors crew, and was shot down on 13-Oct-44 on a mission over Bichammer, becoming a POW. Sherwood was a co-pilot on "Short Snorter", the Tom Curtis crew, and was wounded 11-Dec-44.
Information supplied by Bob Sherwood, nephew of Fred Sherwood
The attached photos show my dad, Doug Campbell, in his flight gear. (below) The other photo (above) is of his crewmates, perhaps before shipping out to Italy. The names listed on the back of the picture are in order left to right, beginning with the 4 standing; Lt. William "Jarvis" Cartwright, pilot-Elizabeth City, NC; Lt. Andrew Cooney, co-pilot (KIA)-New York City; Lt. David W. Lander, bombadier (KIA)-New York City; Sgt. George W. Walters, L/WG-Paducah, KY; kneeling from left, Sgt. Joe M. Cooper, R/WG-Oakland, MS; Sgt. Walter C. "Doug" Campbell, NG-Columbia, SC; Cpl. Ralph J. Schwab, T/TG-Decatur, IL; Sgt. Larry J. LeBlanc, TG-Narco, LA; Sgt. George A. Swantner, BG-Chili,IN. Dad wrote on the back of the photo "The Fighting "69th" and gave an "efficiency" rating next to each name. George Walters wrote, "It is very easy to tell who did the efficiency rating, ha! Then Doug answered, "He's just jealous because I'm handsome." And G.W. replied, "That's a funny one."
This crew flew together and were shot down on Feb. 28, 1945. They flew out of Stornara Field Italy and were last sighted at an altitude of 25,000 ft. over their target, the Isarco/Albes RR Bridge Italy. As reported by witness Capt. James G. Flick, the aircraft received a direct flak hit to the rear of the nose wheel doors and parts of the bottom of the aircraft appeared to break loose. The plane feel back in the formation, then turned left to a northwest heading. The aircraft appeared to be under control and flyable. Dad told me that the flak blew the bombadier out of the plane and he had to reach across the hole in the plane to retrieve his parachute. They thought the plane had made it over the border to Allied territory when they bailed out, only to run into a German patrol when he began walking down a road after landing. He would never talk about the war or his experiences for many years and only answered a few questions, giving few recollections in his later years. He kept in touch with the pilot and several other of the crew for a while, but having moved 5 or 6 times in his career with Nabisco finally lost touch. I saw on the 456th website that this crew is listed among the 3,000 lost touch with...
Jim Campbell - Charleston, SC - Nov. 26, 2001
More on "The Lady Corinne" Here.
A picture of our crew that you might want to add to your crew list. We were with the 746th squadron, 456 Bomb group. I will give you the names of the crew members because I don't think they are legible.
Top row left to right: Evans Dadison, Navigator; Harold Jarvis, Bombardier; Lee Leavell (me), Co-pilot; Irving Hoppock, Pilot.
Bottom row left to right: Ray Pillard, ball gunner; James Sullivan, radioman; Tom Porter,tail gunner; Len Liddic, engineer; Herb Million, gunner; Wendel Place, nose gunner
Click here to hear SOUNDS of the times: Music and more
Created 11/13/01 RJF Last Edited 04/20/03 RJF
