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| Sgt. Donald Fitzmaurice was part of the sixth bomber crew to take off on the Doolittle Raid. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3574467/donald-e-fitzmaurice https://childrenofthedoolittleraiders.com/crew-members/team-members/fitzmaurice/ |
Donald was born March 13, 1919 in Lincoln, Nebraska. His parents William and Margaret were born in Missouri and Kansas, respectively. His father was a farmer. Donald had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. In 1940, Donald was living at home with his parents and had completed one year of college.
Donald enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on August 13, 1940 and was trained as an aircraft mechanic at Chanute Field, Illinois, graduating in March 1941. His first assignment was to the 95th Bomb Squadron of the 17th Bomb Group at McChord Field, Washington, where he served as a mechanic and flight engineer on B-25 Mitchell bombers. In February 1942, Sgt. Fitzmaurice and other members of the 95th volunteered for a secret mission that eventually became the famous Doolittle Raid.
Sgt Fitzmaurice was the engineer-gunner on B-25 Mitchell bomber 40-2298, nicknamed Green Hornet, piloted by 1Lt. Dean Hallmark. The Green Hornet was the sixth to take off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on April 18, 1942 and after skimming across the Pacific Ocean, encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire on reaching the Japanese coast. After crossing the coast, the Green Hornet climbed to 1,500 feet and dropped its bomb load on a military target in Tokyo, then proceeded southwest off the southeastern coast of Japan and across the East China Sea toward eastern China. Running low on fuel, Lt. Hallmark was forced to ditch the plane in darkness in the waters off the coast. Lt. Hallmark and two of the crew were able to make it to shore, but the next morning the bodies of Sgt. Fitzmaurice and bombardier Sgt. William Dieter were found washed up on the beach.
After burying their two crewmembers, Lt. Hallmark and the other survivors of the Green Hornet, Lt. Robert Meder (co-pilot) and Lt. Chase Nielsen (navigator), were hidden by Chinese soldiers but were later betrayed by a Chinese officer and turned over to a Japanese patrol. Lt. Hallmark was eventually executed on October 15, 1942 in Shanghai, China. Lieutenants Meder and Nielsen were imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese. Lt. Meder died of dysentery in a prison camp December 1, 1943. Lt. Nielsen remained imprisoned until his release in August 1945 and passed away in 2007.
Sgt. Fitzmaurice was originally interred in Shatow, China. His remains were later returned to the United States and he was buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Chinese Breast Order of Yung Hui.
Thank you Sgt. Fitzmaurice for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Donald.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Pfc James Potts of the 113th Cavalry Group. You can read about James 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!
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