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| Major Richard T Henning was the commander of the 436th Bombardment Squadron. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52064715/richard-t-henning |
Richard T. Henning never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 13, 1918 in Badin, North Carolina. His parents Ernest and Laura were born in Illinois and North Carolina, respectively. His father worked as a cotton mill bookkeeper and later as a hosiery mill assistant manager. Richard had two younger sisters. As a youth he earned an Eagle Scout award. By 1940 Richard was living at home, having completed two years of college.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on August 15, 1941, having completed four years of college and leaving his job at his father's mill.
Richard was trained as a B-24 pilot and was assigned to the 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group, 10th Air Force which operated in India during WW2.
While serving with this unit as a co-pilot he set the record for the longest B-24 mission ever flown at that time - 3,250 miles. He earned the Silver Star for a mission where he bombed the Burma-Siam Railroad. He rose to the rank of major while flying 65 missions of 550 combat hours.
He was killed while piloting a B-25 Mitchell that crashed on takeoff in Kharagpur, India. The book 7th Bombardment Group/Wing 1918-1985 says Captain Henning was commander of the 436th BS at the time and had just the day before received orders home. The book says he died on January 7, 1944 but USAAF accident records show November 19, 1944, the date shown on his gravestone.
His grave is at Hearne Cemetery in Albemarle, North Carolina. A Boy Scout camp was named in his honor.
Last year on this date I profiled Joseph Stubbins, who served on the first US submarine sunk in WW2. You can read about Joseph here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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