Was killed in action defending our freedom. His first mission was the very first one flown by the 389th Bomb Group. They bombed a German Airfield at Meleme on the island of Crete. Other missions built up to a climax where the group flew in the daring "Ploesti Raids" on the Romanian oil refineries. Ploesti provided nearly a third of the petrol that fueled Hitler's tanks, battleships, submarines, and aircraft. This target was the largest and most important of all the vital oil installations and was very heavily protected and well defended. After the Polesti mission they bombed targets in both Italy and Austria. On August 27th they returned to England where they flew missions over France. September 16th, 1943 they were again ordered back to Africa. After a stop in Marrakech, Moroco they settled in Tunisia. From here they joined the allied offensive in Italy, Corsica, and on the beach head at Salerno. Their last mission was the bombing of the German Messerschmitt plant at Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The anti aircraft fire was intense and the Fowble crew took many hits some of which punctured the fuel cells causing leaks and fires. The following day, all the crews were headed back to England. The "I for Item" crew was the last to leave because they were endeavoring to stem the fuel leaks from the prior mission. The facilities in Tunisia were inadaquate for the repairs they needed and Capt. Fowble decided to try to get the plane to Maarakech where proper repairs could be made. They made it to within site of the base. At three miles out in the middle of the night they ran out of fuel, crashed and burned. They had fifteen men on board. Twelve died in the crash, three men were badly injured, two of which later died. One man survived. The crew was buried in North Africa and later most were reburied at Jefferson Barracks, Mo.