A biography and wartime history of Major Earl Oxford Hall of Crawford Texas, with details as known about crew members and the 42nd Bombardment Group.
 
Major Hall was killed on his last mission with his crew. Four planes were all the 42 had left and only one returrned. 
 
This was just written in March of 2008. It is wonderfully done and gives great detail concerning the 11 BG H the 42 Squadron of 7 TH Army Air Corps. It is written by a son of the pilots of the last mission of the 42 Squadron in February 1943. By this time the 42 Squadron had been in the worse of the Pacific fighting living under the worse of conditions.
 
They only had 4 B-17s left and they were sent out again, three of the four planes and crews never returned. It was the end of the 42 Squadron in the Pacific Theater for now.
 
Who and what were left were brought back immediately to Hickam. There were was no one left to send out. My father was a Armorer Officer in the 42 Squadron. I only regret he never shared more, there was a great lose of friends and fellow warriors. He was a Hickam and that was only the beginning of the lose of men and and close friends to the Japanese before things turned around. 
 
This is an excellent report a current report from 3/2008 of this year. It is a PDF file and is 14 MB. I would download it and save it. It is filled with information and names of these last crews.
 
Go to the bottom of the page and you will see the PDF to be downloaded. 
 
http://repository.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/6421?show=full
 


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Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

P.A. Dutchman, I read thru this biography and history of Captain Earl Oxford Hall. What a great document. So much history and information in these pages. Thanks for posting this.  Phillip

What really excited me was my father was in the 42 Sq. at this very time as a senior or ranking Tech Sgt. Armorer 911. He had been in the F.A. for 3  years before reenlisting in the Air Corp in 1940. 
 
A Lt. Krey is still alive and he had told me my father had been ordered not to go up as a Gunner and longer because they had lost so many men and he was so well trained as a Armorer 911 they needed on the group to keep the planes armed and flying.
 
My father never told me all this or complained. I did not find out to Third Grade when a teacher read an interview with him that he was at Hickam on 12/7/1941. He was so surprised that night when I asked him about it.
 
It is easly to see why I never found anyone who served with him in the 42 Squadron during this time. I have only found men who enlisted or were drafted after 1943. It sounds like many of these men died during this period.
 
 


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Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

Great reference material.

The early combat history of this unit is generally so skimpy,
this has some excellent background information.

Thanks for the posting.

Bob

Dear Bob,

It excitement me because when I first came here I soon realized there is a small representation from the Pacific Theater.

In Europe if the Veteran died his place of burial is usually known and can be visited. I have been moved by the young people of Belgium etc that come here to let a Veterans family know they are going to take care of their loved ones' plot.

But with the Pacific there is no site or cemetery, no place to visit loved ones, they are gone. A few of the World War II Veterans have told me this, there aren't too many that survived to come here.

Three men who fought with my father in 1943 in the 11 BG H said it was known the USA lost more planes than ships in the Pacific and with them the crews and individuals flying them.

So when I found this report and I have made contact with the author it was exciting. This is as close as I have come to someone who served with my father in the 42 Squadron in 1942 at Hickam on 12/7/1941,  Midway, the Solomon Islands and a lot of places in between.   


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Attached Image(s)

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942