Production-block:
B-17F-35-BO: 42-5079 to 42-5149
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 331st Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 461st Bomb Squadron
Fate:
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History of
B-17 42-5102
Delivered Geiger 25/9/42; Assigned 461BS/331BG Casper 23/10/42; crashed 25 miles north Glenrock, WY with Lewis Machala due to poor weather (crew Killed in Service) 25/2/43; Written off 16/3/43.
Last updated: 18. October 2021
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B-17 42-5102 Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2LT | Louis E. Machala, Jr. | KIS | - |
| CP | 2LT | Ned J. DeVries | KIS | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Harry M. Cannon | KIS | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Joseph N. Hershman | KIS | - |
| ENG/TT | S/SGT | John W. Madden, Jr | KIS | - |
| RO | S/SGT | Alfred W. Fuller | KIS | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Robert C. Parrott, Jr. | KIS | - |
| TG | SGT | James C. Fisher | KIS | - |
| --- | S/SGT | John F. Elson | KIS | ENG |
| --- | S/SGT | Eugene “Gene” Giles | KIS | RO |
14. April 2021 access_time 5:17
The crash site location of 42-5102 has been a mystery for many decades. Using terrain as a guide, the site was found on Saturday, April 10, 2021. Wreckage is typically very small and scattered over a wide area. Nothing would suggest it’s a B-17, or even an airplane to most casual observers. We are looking for relatives of the crew for a memorial service in 2022.
14. October 2021 access_time 5:04
Hello, and thank you for all the great information on your web site. Staff Sergeant Gene Giles was my cousin. From time to time, our family members have talked about flying to Wyoming to see the museum and possibly visit the crash site, but we had no idea how to find it. It’s great to hear the site was located and a memorial service might happen next year. We would be interested in learning more about possible dates in 2022 for a ceremony to honor these heroes.
– Mark Perry, Zionsville, Indiana
USAAF 2nd AF 331st BG 461st Sq – AAB, Casper, Wyoming
B-17F Flying Fortress; 42-5102 “The Casper Kid”
2nd Lt. Louis E. Machala, Jr; Pilot – Houston Texas
2nd Lt. Ned J. DeVries; Co-Pilot – Medford, Oregon
2nd Lt. Harry M. Cannon, Navigator – Columbiana, Ohio
2nd Lt. Joseph N. Hershman, Bombardier – Beverly Hills, California
S/Sgt. John W. Madden, Jr; 1st Engineer – Owensville, Indiana
S/Sgt. John F. Elson, Engineer – Waynesburg, Ohio
S/Sgt. Alfred W. Fuller; 1st Radio Operator/Gunner – Southwick, Massachusetts
S/Sgt. Eugene D Giles, Jr; Radio Operator/Gunner – Lafayette, Indiana
S/Sgt. Robert C. Parrott, Jr; Gunner – Modesto, California
Sgt James C. Fisher; Tail Gunner – Charlotte, North Carolina
18. October 2021 access_time 16:03
Hello Mark,
thank you for the comment and the crew list.
I have updated the crew list.
I also informed Mark Milliken about your comment.
I hope he will response.
Cheers
Jing
11. July 2022 access_time 16:31
The Machala crew memorial service will be 10 AM, July 23 at the crash site. The WY ANG will conduct full military funeral. The crew monument is located on Ross Road, off highway 93, about 25 miles NW of Douglas, WY.
11. July 2022 access_time 16:41
All Machala crew relatives, veterans, and other interested in honoring fallen heroes are welcome to attend the funeral service on July 23, 2022. Contact Mark Milliken for an information sheet. Millikenmark99@gmail.com.
11. November 2021 access_time 7:56
My name is Brandon Sivek. Pilot Louis E. Machala was my Great Cousin. I still have his possessions from his time in service. I have corresponded with Mark through e-mail. I would very much like to attend the memorial service.
26. September 2022 access_time 3:39
Brandon please contact Mark Milliken by Email. Thanks.
01. May 2023 access_time 3:44
A military funeral service was held for the Machala crew in July, 2022.
The Wyoming National Guard conducted a military funeral with a flag folding.
Over the past year, volunteers with the Friends of the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum have attempted to donate the flag to a living relative, with no luck.
On May 12, 2023, the flag will be entrusted to the people of Converse County by way of the Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum. The event will be at 11:30 at the Converse County Roads and Bridges shop. A remembrance of the crew will be conducted, and refreshments served. Contact Mark Milliken at millikenmark99@gmail.com to rsvp.
06. October 2024 access_time 9:05
Louis Edward Machala – age 23, a native of Houston, Texas, he had just celebrated his birthday three days before the crash. He worked in the Texas oil fields before entering the service on 27 Jan 1942. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Houston.
Ned Junior Devries was born in Yakima, WA in 1919 and was a resident of Medford, OR. He had graduated from flight school just a month before the crash. His remains were buried in Siskiyou Memorial Park in Medford.
Harry Michael Cannon’s middle initial was “M”, not “N” as engraved on the memorial. He was born in 1918 in Pennsylvania, but was a resident of Columbiana, Ohio at the time of his death. He had just graduated from the Army Air Force’s Navigator School in January.
Joseph Nathan Hershman (not Hirshman) was born in Boston in 1915, but was a resident of California when he died. He attended two years of college before joining the service in 1942. He was buried in Mount Zion Jewish Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA
John W. Madden, Jr. was born in 1919 and was from Owensville, IN. He was buried there in the town cemetery after his death.
John F. Elson was born in Waynesburg, OH in 1907. He worked in a ball bearing factory in Canton, OH before entering the service. He was interred in Sandy Valley Cemetery in his hometown of Waynesburg.
Eugene Giles, Jr. was born in Lafayette IN in 1924. Giles enlisted at Ft. Ben Harrison, IN in July 1942. He was only 18 years old when his plane crashed. His remains were returned to Lafayette, and he was buried in the Spring Vale Cemetery.
Alfred Fuller was 19 years old and a native of Westfield, MA. He had recently graduated from radio operator and gunnery school at Pullman, WA. Fuller’s funeral was held two weeks after the crash in Westfield, and he was buried in Westfield’s Pine Hill Cemetery.
Robert C. Parrott, the eldest crew member, was 36 years old and had been employed at the California Fruit Exchange in Plumas County, CA when he entered military service at Sacramento in July 1942. He was buried in Vacaville.
James Fisher was 22 and from North Carolina. He had been in the service a little more than a year, and was a carpenter by trade. He was buried in Charlotte, NC