1Lt David Wayne Carson was pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, the 'California Comet,' tailnumber 42-3179. Both plane and crew belonged to the 99th Bomb Group, 347th Bomb Squadron. The bomber was flying back from a bombing mission in Greece and was heading for their base in North Africa (same locale that the fictional book 'Catch 22' was based on).
While attempting to land the damaged plane and in bad weather, they hit a rock wall in a farmer's field, north of Marina-di-Ragusa in Sicily.
Lt Carson and his crew were killed in the crash on 19 Nov 1943. Wayne was 25 years old. All were buried in the temporary American GELA Cemetery in grave I-95-115. Date of burial was 21 Nov 1943. After the war his remains were repatriated and buried in Melrose Cemetery in Bridgeville, PA.
Wayne was married in March of that year to Mary Jane Menk of PA. He had no children, but many namesakes.
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Below is an excerpt from a letter written a few months prior, to his parents, discovered in the family attic 70+ years later.
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Monday, May 24, 1943
Dear Mother, Dad, and Boom (Ray),
….My crew is almost complete. We won’t get a Navigator until arriving at another field. Besides the Navigator, I only need an assistant radio operator. I have been very fortunate in getting all fellows who are very friendly and seem very eager to learn all they can about the Fortress. My first flight with them gave me a kind of funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just to sit in the pilot’s seat and realize that all the responsibility of the plane, along with the entire crew falls on you, is quite a feeling. I just hope and pray that I can fulfill my obligations and truly be a good plane commander.
Your loving son and brother,
‘Kit’
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While attempting to land the damaged plane and in bad weather, they hit a rock wall in a farmer's field, north of Marina-di-Ragusa in Sicily.
Lt Carson and his crew were killed in the crash on 19 Nov 1943. Wayne was 25 years old. All were buried in the temporary American GELA Cemetery in grave I-95-115. Date of burial was 21 Nov 1943. After the war his remains were repatriated and buried in Melrose Cemetery in Bridgeville, PA.
Wayne was married in March of that year to Mary Jane Menk of PA. He had no children, but many namesakes.
---------------------
Below is an excerpt from a letter written a few months prior, to his parents, discovered in the family attic 70+ years later.
-------
Monday, May 24, 1943
Dear Mother, Dad, and Boom (Ray),
….My crew is almost complete. We won’t get a Navigator until arriving at another field. Besides the Navigator, I only need an assistant radio operator. I have been very fortunate in getting all fellows who are very friendly and seem very eager to learn all they can about the Fortress. My first flight with them gave me a kind of funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just to sit in the pilot’s seat and realize that all the responsibility of the plane, along with the entire crew falls on you, is quite a feeling. I just hope and pray that I can fulfill my obligations and truly be a good plane commander.
Your loving son and brother,
‘Kit’
----------------------
1Lt David Wayne Carson was pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, the 'California Comet,' tailnumber 42-3179. Both plane and crew belonged to the 99th Bomb Group, 347th Bomb Squadron. The bomber was flying back from a bombing mission in Greece and was heading for their base in North Africa (same locale that the fictional book 'Catch 22' was based on).
While attempting to land the damaged plane and in bad weather, they hit a rock wall in a farmer's field, north of Marina-di-Ragusa in Sicily.
Lt Carson and his crew were killed in the crash on 19 Nov 1943. Wayne was 25 years old. All were buried in the temporary American GELA Cemetery in grave I-95-115. Date of burial was 21 Nov 1943. After the war his remains were repatriated and buried in Melrose Cemetery in Bridgeville, PA.
Wayne was married in March of that year to Mary Jane Menk of PA. He had no children, but many namesakes.
---------------------
Below is an excerpt from a letter written a few months prior, to his parents, discovered in the family attic 70+ years later.
-------
Monday, May 24, 1943
Dear Mother, Dad, and Boom (Ray),
….My crew is almost complete. We won’t get a Navigator until arriving at another field. Besides the Navigator, I only need an assistant radio operator. I have been very fortunate in getting all fellows who are very friendly and seem very eager to learn all they can about the Fortress. My first flight with them gave me a kind of funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just to sit in the pilot’s seat and realize that all the responsibility of the plane, along with the entire crew falls on you, is quite a feeling. I just hope and pray that I can fulfill my obligations and truly be a good plane commander.
Your loving son and brother,
‘Kit’
----------------------
While attempting to land the damaged plane and in bad weather, they hit a rock wall in a farmer's field, north of Marina-di-Ragusa in Sicily.
Lt Carson and his crew were killed in the crash on 19 Nov 1943. Wayne was 25 years old. All were buried in the temporary American GELA Cemetery in grave I-95-115. Date of burial was 21 Nov 1943. After the war his remains were repatriated and buried in Melrose Cemetery in Bridgeville, PA.
Wayne was married in March of that year to Mary Jane Menk of PA. He had no children, but many namesakes.
---------------------
Below is an excerpt from a letter written a few months prior, to his parents, discovered in the family attic 70+ years later.
-------
Monday, May 24, 1943
Dear Mother, Dad, and Boom (Ray),
….My crew is almost complete. We won’t get a Navigator until arriving at another field. Besides the Navigator, I only need an assistant radio operator. I have been very fortunate in getting all fellows who are very friendly and seem very eager to learn all they can about the Fortress. My first flight with them gave me a kind of funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just to sit in the pilot’s seat and realize that all the responsibility of the plane, along with the entire crew falls on you, is quite a feeling. I just hope and pray that I can fulfill my obligations and truly be a good plane commander.
Your loving son and brother,
‘Kit’
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Bio by: Jan Bos from Nijmegen, Holland
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KIA, 1st LT, 347th BOMB SQ, AAF, ENLISTED 1-29-1942,
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