B-24J-175-CO "Lonesome Lady" Serial Number 44-40680

USAAF
7th AF
494th BG
866th BS

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D. Looper 1945

 

Pilot  Thomas Carwright (survived)
Co-Pilot  Durden Willam Looper (POW / KIA)
Engineer  Buford J. Ellison (POW / KIA)
Radio  Sgt. Hugh Atkinson (Seattle, WA) (POW/KIA)
Crew  2nd Lt. James Ryan (POW/KIA)
Crew  S/Sgt. Ralph Neal (POW/KIA)
Crashed  July 28, 1945

Mission History
Attacked Hiroshima, Kure and Eta Jima anchorage. Shot down over the Inland Sea, and crashed in a field, outside Hiroshima (need to confrim crash location).  All of the crew were taken prisoner. Several of the crew members were interned at the Chugoku Military Police Headquarters which was near the epicenter of the atomic bomb. All except for the pilot who was interned elsewhere perished immediately in the atomic blast

POW Memorial
A Memorial For the nine POWs killed by the atomic bomb was placed at the site of the former headquarters in 1999. The memorial was conceived and built by a Japanese resident of Hiroshima. Neal was killed by the bombing, he is buried in Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

Relatives
Gary Griffin adds:
"Durden Looper married into my family.  Although he was killed by the Atomic blast information has his body being buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis in 1949. I don't know if some remains were found later and buried or whether its just a memorial."

References
Thanks to Chris Valgardson for additional crew information. Thanks to P. Fazzini for additional information.

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