I am researching AAF personnel buried in a local cemetery.  Any info on SSGT John E. Slusser of the 729th BS would be appreciated.  He died on July 28, 1944.  Thanks.

Question...How about specifying the Bomb Group in your question ? I had to look up the 729th Bomb Squadron to ascertain that the Bomb Group is the 452nd .
 
I am changing this to the 452nd BG.

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)

Jim:
 
  Thanks for moving this thread.  I only had the information available from the headstone which only listed the 729th BS.  Thanks again.

I am sorry if I sounded too harsh, but the helpers on this forum, need all the information that a person has, when posting a message. I apologize if that was all the information that you had to work with.
 
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)

JB:
 Is Slusser buried in or near Liege, Belgium?
 
Terry T.
 
 

JB:
The reason I asked as only one John E Slusser listed on the Roster of the Dead (WWII) is a Capt. and his remains were removed from Liege, Belgium to his home state after the war.
 
 
Terry T.

Hello John,

On 28 July 1944, CAPT John E. Slusser was flying in the co-pilot's seat (as Deputy Leader) of B-17G 42-97764 on a 452nd BG/731st BS bombing mission to Merseburg, Germany.  (NOTE:  I found nothing for a S/Sgt John E. Slusser)

According to MACR-7828:

Quote

About three to four minutes after I.P. we had another Combat Wing coming in to our left.  After this Wing went in front of our Group we were bothered by prop wash.  The lead aircraft (B-17G 42-97616) seemed to pass over the top of #2 (B-17G 42-97764) and at the same time both aircraft were apparently hit by prop wash.  Also it is believed that the two aircraft were attempting to change positions so that 97764 would have the lead.  They collided with A/C 764 hitting the rear section of A/C 616.  The rest of the formation banked to the left to avoid the two aircraft.

One of the planes with its tail off decended rapidly for approximately 3,000 feet and then disintregated.  Bombs were observed falling from this plane as apparently they had been salvoed.  The other plane went into a vertical dive and disappeared into the clouds which were then at approximately 10,000 feet.  The tail gunner on one of the planes (believed to have been 616) parachuted.  In addition there were five other chutes observed.

Unquote

Also on 42-97764 were the following:

1st LT Malvin C. Franklin - pilot (KIA)
1st LT Warren S. Payne - navigator (RMC)
2nd LT Norman S. Willbach - bombardier (KIA)
1st LT William C. Crandall - "MO" (not sure what this stands for) (KIA)
F/O Harold Eastman, Jr. - tail gunner (EUS)
T/Sgt Raymond J. Keegan - radio operator (EUS)
T/Sgt Frank H. Parker, Jr. - turret gunner (KIA)
S/Sgt Martin E. Guyette - waist gunner (KIA)

Hope this help with your quest.

David Schmitt
d.schmitt@prodigy.net
son of 1st LT Donald J. Schmitt, USAAF, co-pilot
assigned to 493rd BG/863rd BS at Debach, England
from Nov 1944 thru May 1945

From the 452d Unit Load List the following information is provided:

A/C 42-97764 - PFF:

     Command P - Capt John E. Slusser
                   P - 1st Lt. M.C. Franklin
                 CP - F/O H. Eastman
Mickey Operator - 1st Lt W.C. Crandall
                   N - 2nd Lt W.S. Payne
                   B - 2nd Lt N.S. Willback
                  RO - T/Sgt R.J. Keegan
                  TT - T/Sgt F.H. Parker
                  WG - S/Sgt M. E. Guyette

A/C 42-97616 - PFF:

P - Capt F.J. Boyer
CA - COL Archibald Y. Smith
CP - Maj Gerald R. Carris
TG - 2nd Lt Kyle J. Gilmour
B - 1st Lt William E. Graham
N - 1st Lt William Kaplan
V - 2nd Lt G.R. Everett
TT - T/Sgt Leonard B. Nagengast
RG - T/Sgt Carl B. Omohundro
RW - S/Sgt Roger C. Haskell
LW - S/Sgt Lloyd B. Helms

Note:  Boyer crew was on there 24th mission.
 
(Edit:  Corrected spelling error)

Howard Keller (LTC, USA, Ret)

..

Howard Keller (LTC, USA, Ret)

Thanks for all of the info.  John E. Slusser is buried in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  How common was it for headstones to have the wrong rank on them?  I am surprised that his family wouldn't have had it changed to reflect his proper rank.  From all of the info that you guys have provided me, it appears that this is the same man as the crash date corresponds to the headstone.

BC,  This may simply be a case of when Capt Slusser was buried, there was no headstone at the time and the family never went back to the cemetary.  Example, my Father served in the Army and Air Force from 1941 to 1971.  When he passed away in 2003, we reviewed all the information for the head stone.  When I was sent a note that his headstone had been installed, I took my Mother to Arlington National Cemetary to see the grave site.  The headstone had WWII, Vietnam on it, but failed to mention Korea.  When I brought this to the attention of Cemetary Officials, they immediately ordered a new headstone and notified me of it's emplacement.  If we had never gone back to the cemetary, we never would have caught the error.  If the headstone is from the VA, you may want to check and see if they will make a new headstone.  Howard

Howard Keller (LTC, USA, Ret)

I have finally cross checked the serial number for Slusser's plane, but it is not listed in the AC #'s on the web sites that I have looked at.  Does anyone have the name of the plane and/or a crew photo?  Thanks for any and all help.

John

JC -
B - 17 # 42 - 97764
96th BG , 413 th Sq.
Lost in Mid - Air Collision 7/28/44
Note: 96th BG PFF B - 17 Flown by 452d BG Crew.
MACR # 7828
Mike

Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR) - if your research involves the loss of an aircraft in a combat situation and not in Allied territory, the MACR will be invaluable. This document was generated shortly after the loss of the aircraft (usually within a day or so) and lists the crew roster, aircraft, and basic details of the loss including eye witness statements if they were available. ArmyAirForces.com has a fairly complete index of MACRs which may aid you.

• These records are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration II in College Park, Maryland. Over time, the MACR report became a file, containing a collection of documents relating to the aircraft loss. You should request the entire file.
  
  Mailing address
  
  National Archives and Records Administration
  Textual Reference Branch
  8601 Adelphi Road
  College Park, MD 20740-6001
  
  
• NOTE: most 15th AF records are stored at AFHRA, Maxwell AFB (see below) instead of the National Archives. 

Howard Keller (LTC, USA, Ret)