My uncle, Maurice Chrisman, flew with Stanley Black's crew on the Thunderin Loretta and was killed in action on the Tinny Anne on May 28th or 29th, 1945. Maurice Chrisman was the radio operator. I am interested in contacting anyone with information about members of his crew. His sister, my Mother, is still living and she has a few pictures and letters to share. Does anyone know if the bodies were recovered?

Dixie Sullivan

Dixie...You might, also, ask your questions on a B-29 forum  http://b-29.org  that is set up for the B-29s of WW II and Korea.

Unless someone from the 9th BG is also monitoring this forum, it is more likely that you will find your answers quicker there.

Jim :-)

James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt
B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions
99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF
Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy
My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45
M/Sgt USAF (Retired)

Ms. Sullivan,
From what we can ascertain, the bodies were never recovered. The plane crashed in Moji City on the 29th. It was shot down on a mining mission over the Shimonoseki Strait.  Moji is now part of the greater city of Kita-Kyushu City on the north tip of Fukuoka.
 
The details are contained in the Missing Air Crew Report "MACR" 14522, Plane 44-69811. Chrisman was the Radioman for the Black Crew "Tinny Anne". 11 were KIA- no survivors. We do not have a copy of the actual MACR.
 
The plane received a direct hit from anti-aircraft. No parachutes were seen according to Japanese reports. The bodies were buried at the Okuda Awashima Shrine. Presumably, they were cremated and simply dumped into the semblance of a mass grave for the ashes. Oddly enough, we do not see his name on any of the usual monuments in Manila, Hawaii or at Jefferson Barracks. We would be interested to know if you have found him on a memorial stone somewhere.
 
Lest we forget.
Roger Mansell

Roger Mansell
Director
Center For Research
Allied POWS Under The Japanese

Thank you for your information. After my posting, I sent for and received a report regarding my uncle's air crew being shot down on May 28/29th, 1945. The report gave the names and addresses for the next of kin and information that the tail gunner, Sgt Charles E. Palmer, was victim of western army atrocvities, 20th June 1945, Japan. The remaining crew members were shown as KIA.

I later received a copy of the Graves Registration Report that describes what happened to the bodies of the crew. Six of the crew, including my uncle, Maurice Chrisman, were found in 1946 and transferred to the USAF Cemetery Yokohama, then sent to the US. The rest were found in 1948. Executioners of Sgt Palmer are dealt with in Investigation division Case 420.

Maurice Chrisman is buried in the Ft. Leavenworth National Cemeteryin Kansas. I called the cemetery and I asked them to give me the date of burial. He was buried on April 6, 1949, nearly 4 years after his date of death of May 28, 1945.

Dixie Sullivan