WWII bomber crew members awarded Distinguished Flying Cross

/26/2007 - WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) -- It was a warm summer morning when the crew of the Flak Man, a B-24 Liberator, joined other bombers and their escort fighters on a daring mission. They flew from Pantanella, Italy, and played a key role in the bombing of oil refineries 700 miles away near Ploesti, Romania. The location was of strategic importance -- Nazi Germany got 60 percent of their petroleum from the plants there.

En route, there was heavy resistance from the Luftwaffe in the air and from anti-aircraft fire on the ground. But despite heavy damage to the Flak Man, the crew was able to successfully deliver their munitions and returned to Italy, their mission complete and instrumental to halting the Nazi war machine.

The next morning, the crew was sent out again, but the Flak Man was too damaged to fly. The crew instead went out in the Black Fox, a B-24 so similar to their beloved Flak Man, they hardly noticed the difference. On the way to their target in Austria, the Black Fox was shot down, killing one of the crew, Tech. Sgt. William Magill. The others were held as prisoners until the end of the war.

In a ceremony on Capitol Hill April 24, the crew of the Flak Man was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in the Ploesti mission 63 years ago. The three living members of the original crew were on hand for the event, while representatives for the others accepted their medals. The honorees were:

-- 1st Lt. James E. Jatho -- 1st Lt. Edward L. "Mac" McNally -- 2nd Lt. Theodore D. Bell -- 2nd Lt. George N. Croft -- Tech. Sgt. Jay T. Fish -- Tech. Sgt. William A. Magill -- Staff Sgt. Frank G. Celuck -- Staff Sgt. Robert D. Speed -- Staff Sgt. Daniel P Toomey

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., awarded the DFCs and presented them all with American flags that had been flown over the Capitol.

"This is the legacy of today's Air Force and a sign of what young Americans are all about," General Moseley said. "They walked in the footsteps of Airmen before them just as they paved the way for us. Today's Airmen stand on the shoulders of giants and it's my honor to present these American heroes with the Distinguished Flying Cross."

The flight to properly recognize the Flak Man crew began at a reunion almost 10 years ago. Lieutenant Edward "Mac" McNally, the crew's bombardier, had heard one member of the crew had possibly been awarded the DFC.

But it was unknown if the award was for the entire team, so Lieutenant McNally launched a campaign for his crew to find out one way or another. He wrote letters to elected officials as well as Air Force leaders, but no records could be found detailing the DFC being awarded to any member of the Flak Man.

The former lieutenant had all but given up. But his family took up his plight, and his sons' requests finally reached the desks of General Moseley and Congressman Young.

"They worked together and did the right thing in honoring this crew," Lieutenant McNally said. "I can't tell you how grateful we are in what they've done for us. We're veterans of another generation and when the Air Force called to say we were being awarded the DFC, I was excited and nervous all at once ... and very, very thankful."

Surrounded by more than 100 friends and family members, the three living crew members, Lieutenant McNally, Tech. Sgt. Jay T. Fish and Staff Sgt. Robert D. Speed as well as representatives for the deceased Airmen began the day at the Air Force Memorial, which honors the sacrifices of Airmen past. Beneath its three curved spires, the Air Force Honor Guard set a wreath of remembrance for the Flak Man crew.

"It's an impressive site," said Sergeant Fish, the flight engineer for the Flak Man. "So many people put their lives on the line during wartime, and this is a great tribute to them."

Afterwards, the group went to the World War II Memorial, where family members searched the records for names they knew. They then visited House Armed Services Committee hearing room on Capitol Hill for the award ceremony.

"Honoring our past reinforces today's warfighting ethos," General Moseley told the crowd. "Today, for example, we have bombers over Afghanistan 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help ground forces fight the enemy, just like these Airmen did 63 years ago."

"Most Air Force members don't care if they ever get a medal or not," he said. "But should the Air Force see fit to honor me, I will not disdain it. I will cherish it."

Looking here, it appears that The Black Fox was shot down over Austria on July 16, 1944. Sounds like a match. (A Black Fox II went down over Germany in late 1944).

For Flak Man, it shows
01/20/45 Taxi Accident
03/19/45 Landing Accident

(PDF file) http://www.zplace2b.com/464th/images/464-AC-Jan07.pdf

My grandfather was one of the crew members. They received the medal for the mission in the Flak Man. The same crew was shot down on July 16 (the next day) in the Black Fox. One member was killed, the rest were prisoners until the end of the war.

Thank you very much for posting this story. I emailed the information to all the media outlets in my community, but not one has expressed any interest yet. My grandfather was on the crew that was awarded the medal. He died seven years ago, but our family attended the ceremony on Tuesday April 24 to receive the medal in his place. This has been an amazing experience, and we are so appreciative to the Air Force for all they did to honor our family members.

As with all Armed Forces Press Releases it was sent directly to all print media outlets and is available freely on the web. So, even though you sent the story to your local media outlets I'm not surprised at the contumeliousness (insulting display of contempt in words or action) of the media towards anything about the military.

The July 15th raid took place; what I couldn’t find was a reference to the plane having taken major damage in the raid. The damage was probably fairly minor, but enough to take the plane out of service for a period of time.

Here’s a reference to the attack:

SATURDAY, 15 JULY 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force):
In Rumania, 600+ B-17s and B-24s bomb 4 oil refineries in the Ploesti area and the Teleajenul pumping station; and P-51s and P-38s fly 300+ escort sorties.

and the one where they were shot down:

SUNDAY, 16 JULY 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, around 380 bombers attack oil and aircraft targets in the Vienna area, bombing Munchendorf Airfield, Winterhafen oil depot, Vienna marshalling yard, and Wiener Neudorf engine factory; P-51s and P-38s fly 150+ sorties in escort while 132 other P-51s sweep the Vienna area; 100+ fighters oppose the raids; 10 AAF aircraft are lost and several others are missing; AAF claims of fighters shot down total 30+.

Source: http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii/usaf/html/Jul.44.html

Thank you for that interesting information. Another interesting fact: one of the crew members insists that the Air Force made a mistake with the name of the plane. He believes that the July 15 and July 16 planes were one and the same — the Black Fox. That is according to his memory, although the Air Force does disagree and believes that it was the Flak Man. Perhaps that could explain why there is no record of heavy damage to the Flak Man. Either way, my grandfather and the rest of these men are still heroes!

Another interesting fact: one of the crew members insists that the Air Force made a mistake with the name of the plane. He believes that the July 15 and July 16 planes were one and the same — the Black Fox.

Either explanation is possible. The "too damaged to fly" could have been minor enough to have not been recorded, and could have occurred before the 15th rather on that date.

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