The Crew of the Billie B: a Virtual Cemetery - Find a Grave

Advertisement

See all by Ray Justus

A Virtual Cemetery created by Ray Justus

The Crew of the Billie B

In early 1943 ten airmen were sent to Topeka, Kansas and assigned to duty as the crewmembers of a B-24 Liberator bomber. They flew to Sacramento, California and then later to San Francisco from where they left for Honolulu on April 2, 1943. There they trained for eight weeks longer, before being sent to the Solomon Islands, to be stationed at Carney Field on Guadalcanal Island. The crew was reported missing in action on July 6, 1943 in the South Pacific. They were on their eighth mission from Guadalcanal to Dahlia Field on Bougainville. Their aircraft was last seen two-thirds of the way back over the island of Choiseul. The Japanese controlled the island. Circumstances were more mystifying because the weather was not bad, nor had the crew forwarded any signal of distress. An extensive search failed to reveal any trace of the missing craft or its crew. Searches for the crew continued until January 21, 1946 when they were officially declared killed in action. The entire crew is memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery, Fort Boniface, Manila, Philippines. All crewmembers were awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart posthumously.

10 memorials

SSGT Thomas Richards Brady Jr. Veteran Flowers have been left.

27 Feb 1921 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the missing

TSGT Cyril B. Cluff Jr. Veteran Flowers have been left.

1919 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

1LT Leonard Barton Conway Veteran Flowers have been left.

12 Apr 1917 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

SSGT Harold Alden Denison Veteran Flowers have been left.

8 Apr 1920 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

2LT George Lanson Goddard Veteran Flowers have been left.

12 Jul 1921 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

TSGT Harold Hutton Justus Veteran Flowers have been left.

29 Jun 1914 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

1LT Joseph Robins Littlepage Veteran Flowers have been left.

1 Oct 1919 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

SSGT Clifford H. Muhlhausen Veteran Flowers have been left.

1923 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

SSGT William Posledni Veteran Flowers have been left.

1920 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

2LT James Henry “Jimmie” Scholl Veteran Flowers have been left.

4 Mar 1919 – 6 Jul 1943

Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines

Plot info: Tablets of the Missing

Javascript required: We're sorry, but Find a Grave doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. You will need to enable Javascript by changing your browser settings. Learn how to enable it.