I am searching for the crew list of a B-24 shot down on Feb. 13 1943 near Shortland Is. in the Pacific. It was with the 424th. Bombardment Squadron of the 307th. There were 3 B-24's lost that day, but I am searching for the one piloted by Lt. Harold G McNeese. I believe the 3 planes had MACR's of 559, 560, and 561. But I do not know which is for the McNeese crew. Five survivors of that plane including the pilot reached Guadalcanal 3 weeks later.
 
This is part of my continuing research on Lt. Robert Rist of the 339th Fighter Squadron who was killed protecting the McNeese aircraft. I would like to contact any of the surviving members of McNeese's crew to see if they remember the incident.
 
Thanks,
Paul

Paul - there is an Excellent 2 page story about Rist and McNeese in Air and Space magazine , November 2006.
The MACR for Rist is # 586. Rist went down near Bouganville.
McNeese ditched off coast of Choiseul .
Author Paul Roales discovered witnesses and found Rist's 2 Sisters -
You can get all 3 MACRs for free from Archives Email Lynn.Gamma@maxwell.af.mil 
Mike

Mike,
 
Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned that I am the author of that article. I am continuing my research for the family and wanted to pursue the B-24 angle.
 
I was hoping that someone already had those MACR's. But thanks for the email address I'll try there if I do not get info in a couple days.
 
Paul

Hey Paul - Great story!
Good Luck,
Mike

Paul,
The story of the Feb13,43 shoot down of the McNeese plane can be found on pp19-23 of "The Long Rangers" by Sam Britt. Included in that book are endnotes listing microfilm rolls where further information can be found.  Endnote 99 states: "The members of the crew were Harold McNeese, pilot, H. Vanderslice, copilot, Wesley Carroll, navigator, D. DeClercque, bombardier, Roy Lund, engeineer, William Adams, assistant engineer, R. O. Smith radio operator, Lawrence C. Averett, assistant radio operator and Elton M, Hart tail gunner.  The survivors were McNeese, Vanderslice, Carroll, DeClercque, and Adams. ..."
It may be hard to find the book.  One source could be the 307th Associaton (contact listed above).  If not I will scan and send hard copy or PDF file of the pages.
Stan

We'll Say Goodbye

Stan,
 
Thanks for the crew list and the book lead.
Just today I got a reply from AFHRA/RSA on my request for the MACR of the Mcneese B-24. Here is what they said:
 
"Thank you for your e-mail. The MACR number is 559. However, the
microfiche is almost totally unreadable. You will need to ask the
National Archives to copy the originals for you (www.archives.gov).
I was able to decipher the crew list:
Pilot  Capt Harold G. McNeese
Co-pilot 2nd Lt Harvey R. Vanderslice
Nav  2nd Lt Wesley M. Carroll
Bomb  2nd Lt Donald DeClergue
Eng  SSgt Roy N Lund
Asst Eng SSgt William H. Adams
Radio  SSgt Robert O. Smith
Asst Rad Sgt Lawrence C. Averitt
Gunner Sgt Elton H. Hartt
 
Lynn Gamma"
 
There are some minor spelling differences in the crew names but only one name of the 5 survivors is spelled differently, so I will probably be able to overcome that. 
 
 
I'll try to find "Long Rangers" on Interlibrary Loan. It is not sold on the 307th Association page, but I did find a scan of 1 page from the book (p. 19) on their webpage. If I cannot get it by ILL I may ask you to copy the remaining pages for me.
 
Thanks again,
Paul

Paul,
The one name was my error the book gives DeClereque.  I have found other spelling problems in Britt's book so your source may be the best.  You might try to get the book from the 307th Association.  latest contact is:
cathy daniel, secretary
email: branscack@msn.com
phone; (804) 399-5563
I got mine from them after a special printing.  They may have soome left.
Stan
 

We'll Say Goodbye

Paul,
For what it is worth DeClergue graduated from bombardier training at Victorville, CA class 42-11.
 
Dave

Link to: Bombardiers of WWII Website

New email address as of Feb 2006: hfhmsite@comcast.net

My Uncle was Don DeClercque who was the bombadier on that B-24. I found your website when I Googled my last name. I don't know a whole lot about the incident other than what my Dad told me. We have a newspaper clipping from Ann Arbor, MI telling about the incident. I also have my Uncle's Bombadier wings and his order for his Silver Star.

MorganD,
Now that I have more details about your uncle, I post him to the site.  I'd be interested in scans of any photos and especially the article.  Please contact me at my site's email address seen below.
 
Thanks!
Dave

Link to: Bombardiers of WWII Website

New email address as of Feb 2006: hfhmsite@comcast.net

Today (March 7) I finally received the books: UP THE SLOT and THE LONG RANGERS on Interlibrary loan and have had a chence to review this incident in both books. A footnote in THE LONG RANGERS says: "DeClecque, Vanderslice and Adams were killed while flying with other crews". So that would only leave Capt Harold G. McNeese and 2nd Lt Wesley M. Carroll as possibly alive today. A web page at http://39th.org/39th/aerial/62nd/Crew_41/mcneese.html lists a Major Harold G McNeese of the 39th Bomb Group in the Pacific in 1945 which I think MIGHT be the same person (I am trying to sort that out). But states he died February 21, 1995. If this is the same person only Wesley M Carroll remains to be accounted for.
 
The SS Death Index lists a WESLEY M CARROLL, born 11 Apr 1928 died 13 May 2004 in Astoria, Queens, NY, but again I am not yet sure this is the same person.
 
Paul

Looking at my entry above, it is obvious that the WESLEY M CARROLL born 11 Apr 1928 from the SS Death list could not be the Navigator on that aircradt...if it was he was only 14 years old when the plane was shot down!
 
I also got some more info from the webmaster on the 39th. Bomb Group webpage sited above. He says the ASN of Major Harold G McNeese was 0726442. Does anyone know the ASN of the Lt/Capt. Harold G McNeese of the 424th?
 
Paul

Paul,
 
I am the nephew of Robert O. Smith, the Radio Operator on the Mc Neese B-24 MACR#561. He was my Mom's only sibling. In turn I was gifted with his name when I was born in 1949. In doing some research for the first time recently, I learned more than my family ever knew about the mission that day and the crew. In March of 1943, Capt Harold McNeese wrote a letter, which I maintain, to my Grandparents about their bombing mission that day with kind words and praise for my Uncle and the other crew members. In summary, he was dismayed and saddened to find the crew in the back of the plane, which included my uncle, had apparently bailed out before the plane ditched. Radio communications with the cockpit had been lost and the wing was on fire. Another B-24 in the Squadron had already exploded and crashed. They must have thought the McNeese B-24 would go down in the same manner.
 
In my research, I also learned that you were doing some additional research on the heroics of Robert Rist. I am sending this message at the end of a 10 day trip to Asia which included a visit to the Manila American Cemetery where my Uncle and Robert Rist's names are memorialized among along with over 36,000 others on the "hemicycle walls". This is the only place in the world that my uncle was officially memorialized. It is a beautiful cemetery and an experience I will always remember.
 
If you have any additional information about their mission that day it would be greatly appreciated. For example, it has always been my understanding that my Uncle also served as a waist gunner during their missions. I intend to research your article in the Air and Space magazine and the book by Sam Britt.
 
Thanks for Your Efforts!
Bob
 

Bob,
 
The best references I found on the B-24's involvement in that battle were:
1) "Guadalcanal and the Birth of the Thirteenth Air Force", Army Air Force Historical Studies #35, 1945. It is available on line and this battle is covered on p. 180+.
2) "Up the Slot" by Samuel I Walker, p. 75+
3) "The Long Rangers: A Diary of the 307th Bombardment Group (H)", by Britt, Sam S., Jr., Baton Rouge, Louisiana: The Reprint Company, Publishers, (Spartansburg, SC), 1990. p. 19+
 
I contacted AFHRA via email to get some more information on the B-24 and this was their reply:
"Thank you for your e-mail. The MACR number is 559. However, the
microfiche is almost totally unreadable. You will need to ask the
National Archives to copy the originals for you (www.archives.gov).
I was able to decipher the crew list:
Pilot Capt Harold G. McNeese
Co-pilot 2nd Lt Harvey R. Vanderslice
Nav 2nd Lt Wesley M. Carroll
Bomb 2nd Lt Donald DeClergue
Eng SSgt Roy N Lund
Asst Eng SSgt William H. Adams
Radio SSgt Robert O. Smith
Asst Rad Sgt Lawrence C. Averitt
Gunner Sgt Elton H. Hartt"
 
They indicate the MACR is 559, not the 561 you mention. Since I have not seen either one I do not know which is correct but AFHRA gave me the 559 number. I would suggest you obtain the MACR as it might contain more information.
 
Finally, I tracked down and contacted the last surviving member of the crew of that B-24 (Navigator Wesley Carroll) and talked with him on the phone. On March 20 I wrote him and on March 27, 2007 he phoned me. We talked for a few minutes. He said his position as Navigator in the B-24 prevented him from seeing much of the battle. The only other aircraft he saw during the battle was one P-40. He did not know (or did not remember) the names of the local islands, so when I asked him about specifics of where the B-24 flew he could not provide much help. He called the area Cholin(SP?) Harbor. He did indicate that the long account in the book "Up The Slot" was accurate. He had not seen my article so I promised to send him a copy. I sent it to him on March 28 with a map of the Bougainville Straight and asked him to plot the B-24's path. When I had not heard back from him by April 12 I sent a follow up postcard. I never got a reply to either letter. I would suggest you contact him.
 
Contact me at paroales@ionet.net and I'll give you his address.
 
If you come across anything on Lt. Robert Rist in your search I would appreciate hearing about it.
 
Good luck,
Paul

Donald DeClercque was my stepfather.  Morgan, not sure if we even ever met as I was still a kid when your dad moved west.  The only information I have is a newspaper article.  Always stayed in contact with him until his death.  Never would talk hardly about his service time.  Dennis