Crew 21, 61st Squadron - 39th Bomb Group (VH)

Original Crew	Mission List	DFC Awarded	Certificate of Commendation	MACR 14525
Ditching of 773	2 Members Honored	-	-	Replacement Crew 21

Crew 21's B-29 on the hardstand
Photo courtesy of Col. Michael Dickey, grandson of Sgt Howard V. Dickey, Camera Tech 61st BS

"City of Pittsfield" on the hardstand

Capt	William J. Senger	Airplane Commander
1st Lt	Garvin R. Kowalke	Pilot
1st Lt	Edward L. Bates	Navigator
1st Lt	George F. Bucher	Bombardier
1st Lt	Ernest D. Smith, Jr.	Radar Observer
1st Lt	Howard Kolbert	Sqd Radar Observer filled in for Ernest Smith on Nagoya Mission.
1st Lt	Rube F. Scheider	Flight Engineer
S/Sgt	Marvin N. Conley	Radio Operator
S/Sgt	Mervin L. Stanton	CFC Gunner
Sgt	Brooks N. Harris	Right Gunner
Sgt	Robert P. Harrison	Left Gunner
Sgt	Victor Durrance	Tail Gunner

	Crew 21 Honor Roll
1st Lt Howard Kolbert	Sqd Radar Officer	15 May 1945
S/Sgt Mervin L. Stanton	CFC Gunner	15 May 1945
Capt William J. Senger	Airplane Commander	Killed during a crop dusting accident soon after the war's end
1st Lt George F. Bucher	Bombardier	q
Sgt Robert P. Harrison	Left Gunner	January 1974
1st Lt Rube Scheider , Jr.	Flight Engineer	13 February 1994
1st Lt Ernest D. Smith	Radar Observer	27 March 1996
1st Lt Edward L. Bates	Navigator	26 August 2005
1st Lt Garvin R. Kowalke	Pilot	17 April 2011

Updates:

23 April 2011: Added: 1st Lt Garvin R. Kowalke, to Crew Honor. Thank you to his nephew, Rex Hinz for notifying us.

20 April 2009: Added Missing Air Crew Report 14425 - it is a PDF file. It can be viewed with a program like Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Click here to download

Continued
61st Squadron Crew Index