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39th Bomb Group (VH)

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"City Of Cleveland, OH"
B-29 # 44-69768
"Experiment Perilous"
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Crew 49

Kneeling L to R:
1st Lt John B. Keliiaa Pilot
1st Lt Gene H. Flewellen Airplane Commander
2nd Lt Warren E. McDowell Radar Observer
F/O Theodore "Ted" J. Kalenterides Flight Engineer
Standing L to R:
Sgt Hubert L. Benson Right Gunner
Sgt Houston T. Putney Left Gunner
Sgt Edgar E. Winstead CFC Gunner
Sgt Robert L. Pratt Tail Gunner
Not Pictured:
2nd Lt George E. Arthur Bombardier
2nd Lt Charles B. Gilford Navigator
T/Sgt Alfred J. Sepkowski (Szczepkowski) Radio Operator

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 Crew 49
Honor Roll 
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1st Lt John B. Keliiaa
Pilot

07 January 1962
Santa Fe National Cemetery
S/Sgt Carmen A. Catanese
Mechanic
 June 1968
2nd Lt George E. Arthur
Bombardier
 04 July 1990
Cpl Hubert L. Benson
Right Gunner
21 August 1973
1st Lt Gene H. Flewellen
Airplane Commander
April 1987
T/Sgt Alfred J. Sepkowski
Radio Operator
13 May 2005
F/O Theodore J. Kalenterides
Flight Engineer
23 January 2021

The "City of Cleveland, Ohio" is one of the few crews to be in the "Comics." A "One-plane Air Force" is what Sparkler Comics called the men of "Experiment Perilous." P-49 would fly 18 missions but would be remembered for that night air fire raid on Tokyo April 16.

 

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"Ted Kalenterides lives in Texas and Alfred Sepkowski is in Illinois. Ted stayed in the service and has retired. I know nothing of the other members of the crew except we have lost John Keliiaa, Gene Flewellen, and Hubert Benson." - Warren McDowell, Mooreland, Oklahoma

Anyone with any additional information about this crew (or their ground crew) please contact updates@39th.org

Source: "History of the 39th Bomb Group"