WW2 Fallen - B-24 bombardier Richard Hanford

Lt. Dick Hanford was a B-24 bombardier for the 762nd Bombardment Squad
and was killed on the mission when this photo was taken.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92031446&ref=acom
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~webermd1/wwII.html 

Richard "DIck" A. Hanford never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 19, 1917 in Nebraska. His mother was also born in Nebraska while his father was born in New York. His father worked as a clothes merchant and later as a laundry dry cleaner when the family moved to Oregon. Still later he worked as a salesman. Richard had a older sister and a younger sister. By 1940 Richard had completed four years of high school and was still living at home while working as a salesman.

He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on October 19, 1943. Dick would serve for less than one year. He became a second lieutenant in the 762nd Bombardment Squadron, 460th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force which was equipped with B-24 Liberators. Lt. Hanford was trained as a bombardier.

On October 16, 1944 Lt. Hanford's plane, White K for Knight, took off from Spinazzola Airbase with a mission to bomb the aircraft factory in St. Valentine, Austria. Anti-aircraft fire over the target was intense and accurate. Lt. Hanford's B-24 exploded in mid-air. Eight of the crew were able to jump out, but Lt. Hanford and one other man did not and died when it crashed.

His grave is at Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland, Oregon.

Thank you Dick for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Dick.

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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - B-17 radio operator Cyril Curb + famous historian

Sgt. Cyril Curb and the crew of the B-17 "Pennsylvania Polka".
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=33274627 

Cyril Edward Curb never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 18, 1917 in Minnesota. His mother was born in North Dakota and his father was born in Holland. His father worked as a logging camp sawyer and later as a bar tender. Cyril had two younger brothers and one younger sister. During the war one brother was a pilot and the other was an army engineer. Cyril completed four years of high school.

He enlisted in the army on October 31, 1941, leaving a sawmill job. He became a tech sergeant radio operator in the 323rd Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group which was equipped with B-17s.

Sgt. Curb was on board the Pennsylvania Polka on his final mission on February 4, 1943. It was a mission to bomb the railroad marshaling yards in Hamm, Germany. On the return flight, Sgt. Curb's bomber was shot down by German fighter planes 12 miles northwest of Terschelling Island. The plane crashed into the North Sea with no survivors.

His cenotaph grave is at Evergreen Cemetery in Gemmell, Minnesota.

Thank you Cyril for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Cyril.

Clinton Rossiter

Also born on September 18, 1917 was Clinton Rossiter who became a well-known historian. He grew up in New York and graduated from Cornell University. In 1942 he earned a PhD from Princeton University. Shortly thereafter he joined the navy and served three years as a gunnery officer, mostly on the USS Alabama, and attained the rank of lieutenant. 

He became a professor of history after the war and a prolific writer. His best known book 1787: The Grand Convention is one of the best accounts of the Constitutional Convention. If you studied the Federalist Papers, there is a good chance the version you read was put together by Rossiter.

https://www.slideshare.net/atrantham/presidency-60928534

Rossiter died an early death at his own hand at age 52 attributed to depression brought on by student unrest at Cornell.

We will never know what great books remained unwritten by the 400,000+ fallen who never came home.

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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Thomas Cross, 82nd Airborne and bomber boy brother Robert

Sgt. Thomas Cross, 82nd Airborne and his B-17 tail gunner brother Sgt. Robert Cross.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30440110&ref=acom
http://asaapicardie3945.fr/index.php/english/airmen/127-boeing-b-17-judy-42-29963-379th-bomb-group-527th-bomb-squadron-30-december-1943-ully-saint-georges-oise 

Thomas G. Cross never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom. His kid brother did the same.

He was born on September 17, 1917 in Missouri. His parents were also both born in Missouri. His father worked as a farmer and later as a state highway patrolman. Thomas had an older sister and a younger brother, Robert, who became a B-17 tail gunner.

Thomas enlisted in the army on April 20, 1942. Two months later Robert, two years his junior, also enlisted in the army. Thomas decided to volunteer for the paratroopers and became a sergeant in the Headquarters Company, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Robert became a staff sergeant in the the 527th Bombardment Squadron, 379th Bombardment Group which flew B-17s.

Big brother Thomas was possibly not yet with the 82nd when they participated in the invasion of Sicily. We don't know if Thomas arrived in England in time to spend any leave time with his brother who was in England by late 1943. 

On December 30, 1943, Robert's B-17 Judy was part of a mission of 710 bombers to bomb the chemical works at Ludwigshafen, Germany. Robert  was the tail gunner. After successfully releasing its bombs, one of Judy's engines was knocked out by flak. The pilot tried to make it back to England as a straggler, but while flying over Oise, France, the damaged plane was attacked and shot up by three German fighter planes. Now uncontrollable, the pilot ordered everyone to jump. Three men did not get out and crashed with the plane, including Robert Cross.

Being the only remaining son, Thomas was most likely given the option of avoiding dangerous frontline duties. He chose to stay with the 82nd and jumped with his unit in the early hours of D-Day. Encountering heavy clouds, the 508th PIR troops were mostly scattered miles away from their drop zones. Despite being short on weapons, the 82nd Airborne kept the Germans from closing in on Utah Beach. Sgt. Cross was killed on D+4: June 10, 1944.

The Cross brother's graves are both located at Emery Chapel Cemetery in Bucyrus, Texas.

Thank you Thomas for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Thomas.

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 stated this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Navy Cross hero Andrew Ham, USS Bennington

Lieutenant Commander Andrew Ham was the squadron leader flying SB2C Helldivers from the USS Bennington.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=72518978
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/398427898264769436/
http://www.uss-bennington.org/hist.html 

Andrew Britte Ham never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 16, 1917 in Georgia. His parents were also both born in Georgia. His father worked as a manager for an electric battery company and later a motor plant proprietor. Andrew had an older brother and three younger sisters. 

Andrew entered the navy in June 1935 when he was accepted to the US Naval Academy. He graduated in 1939. Later he married Roberta Crittendon.

He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander in March 1944 and served as a dive bomber pilot and squadron leader on the USS Bennington no later than July 1945, flying SB2C Helldivers.

During the month of July Lt. Cmdr. Ham was involved in numerous missions to attack targets in Japan. Only a select few knew about the upcoming atomic bomb mission so most people were focused on reducing Japan's ability to wage war prior to an American invasion.

Lt. Cmdr. Ham was a fearless pilot who was recognized with numerous awards.

On July 14 Lt. Cmdr. Ham earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. For two hours, with a spotting officer in his plane's second seat, he flew over enemy targets, sometimes at dangerously low heights, to provide targeting coordinates to US Navy battleships and cruisers so they could hit major industrial targets around Kamaishi on Honshu Island. He was under constant fire from shore based and ship based anti-aircraft batteries.

Three days later Lt. Cmdr. Ham earned a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. On that day he volunteered to be the leader of the final division of dive bombers attacking the Japanese battleship Nagato in Tokyo Harbor at 3:30 in the afternoon. The Nagato was the Japanese flagship during the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. His late position in the attack guaranteed that the enemy would be fully alerted to throw up the most intense flak. Going in last he was able to photograph the execution of the attack by the planes ahead of him and afterward he made a low altitude sweep to obtain photographic evidence of the attack. Ham's bomb was a near miss, as were an incredible 60 bombs dropped. Only two bombs hit the battleship causing light damage. The task force went on to other targets the next day and did not return to sink the Nagato.

On July 28, Lt. Cmdr. Ham's final mission would result in him being posthumously award the Navy Cross. On that day the Third Fleet resumed its attack on Japanese Imperial Navy vessels at Kure Naval Base. Ham lined up for a dive bomb attack on the so far undamaged carrier Katsuragi and scored a direct hit resulting in heavy damage. He was shot down by enemy flak and his body was not recovered. The Navy lost 102 pilots during the attack on Kure.

His cenotaph grave is at Evergreen Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina. I don't know what happened to his widow.

Thank you Andrew for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Andrew.

Thanks to Darillyn Lamb Starr for recommending that Andrew be profiled.

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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Paulie Buss, 36th Infantry Division

Sgt. Paulie Buss, 36th Infantry Division
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=33834379&ref=acom 

Paulie C. Buss never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 15, 1917 in Texas. His parents were also both born in Texas. His father worked as a merchandise store clerk. Although only 28 at the time, he died of diabetes in 1923. His mother remarried a farmer. Paulie had a younger brother and sister plus a half-sister. By 1940 Paulie had completed two years of high school. He had moved out on his own and worked as a service station attendant.

He enlisted in the army on November 16, 1940. He became a sergeant in Company L, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. The 36th ID arrived in North Africa in April 1943. It was first assigned to guard the thousands of German POWs from the Africa Korps. It first saw action in Italy during the Battle of Salerno in September 1943 where it suffered more than 4,000 casualties. The 36th was given six weeks of rest before returning the front line in mid-November. It captured a number of enemy positions on the Bernhardt Line despite bad weather and strong enemy resistance. By mid-December the 141st IR was advancing on San Pietro. The engagement was later made famous by John Huston's documentary movie The Battle of San Pietro, released in 1945. The 3rd Battalion came under a minor counter attacks three different times on the morning of December 16, 1943. The enemy was unsuccessful in beating the Americans, but Sgt. Buss was killed. The regiment needed nearly 300 men to replace the soldiers it lost killed or wounded during December.

His grave is at Breslau Cemetery in Halletsville, Texas.

Thank you Paulie for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Paulie.

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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Tom Nishimoto, 442nd Infantry Regiment

Pvt. Tom Nishimoto served with these men in Italy in the 442nd Infantry Regiment
which was honored with a Congressional Gold Medal.
http://nisei.hawaii.edu/object/io_1149294490406.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/297026537906882653/
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7926424&ref=acom 

Tomika T. Nishimoto never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 14, 1917 in California. His parents were both born in Japan. His father came to America in 1899 and worked as a farmer and later as a grocery store owner. Tom had a younger sister. After the attack on Pearl Harbor the Nishimoto family was relocated to a camp in Southwestern Arizona in May 1942.

Tom left the camp on June 3, 1943 to find work in the midwest. On July 7, 1944, while in Illinois, he enlisted in the army and joined the 3rd Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment as a private. The men in the 442nd IR earned more decorations than any other regiment in World War 2. It suffered so many casualties that more than 14,000 men served in the 4,000 man unit. Nearly 10,000 earned Purple Hearts.

In early April 1945 the 442nd was given the assignment to attack the long entrenched Germans defending the Gothic Line. Pvt. Nishimoto's 3rd Battalion attacked Mount Folgorita on April 5. It took 30 minutes to dislodge the surprised Germans and their counterattack was not able to retake the high ground. Pvt. Nishimoto died during this battle. His parents received notice of his death while still living at the Poston relocation camp. Twenty-five other former Poston internees also died serving their country.

His grave is at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Thank you Tom for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Tom.

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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Tugboat cook Melvin F. Meyer

Seaman 2nd Class Melvin Meyer was a cook on the tugboat Sonoma.
The bottom right picture shows the unsuccessful attempt to put out the fires that sank the ship.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=123540229&ref=acom
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/64/64012.htm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/USS-Sonoma-AT-12/140588372633534

Melvin F. Meyer never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 13, 1917 in Michigan. His parents Herman and Elsa were also both born in Michigan. His father worked as a farmer. and later as a milk station car washer.  Still later he was a construction labor operator. Melvin had two younger brothers who both served in the war and a younger sister. On June 18, 1938 Melvin married Beatrice Langlois. They had two sons. He ran Mel's Hamburger Shop.

He enlisted in the Navy on April 21, 1944 and became a seaman second class and cook on the navy tug USS Sonoma. The Sonoma was built in 1912 and saw action in WWI. During WW2 the Sonoma served in the Pacific theater. It had a crew of 61.

By mid-October 1944, the Sonoma was in the Philippine Sea as part of the task force supporting the invasion of Leyte. On the morning of October 24 the task force came under attack from Japanese planes. A damaged Japanese bomber crashed into the Sonoma midship on the starboard side, causing two explosions that spread into a fire. Nearby ships tried to hose out the fires without success and the Sonoma sank. Seaman Meyer was either killed in the fire or died of his wounds the next day.

His grave is at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw, Michigan. His widow remarried and died in 2014. I don't know what happened to his sons.

Thank you Melvin for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Melvin.

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 share why I have created this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100