406th BS
Fitzpatrick Crew

MACR 5294 - Night of 29/30 May 1944

Standing,L-R:
Joseph J.  Lasicki           -  Bombardier  ASN 0682554  (Evader)
Howard W.  Lynch             -  Copilot     ASN 0799597  (Didn't fly on incident night)
James S.   Sherwood          -  Navigator   ASN 0808159  (Evader)
Ernest B.  Fitzpatrick, Jr.  -  Pilot       ASN 0803801  (Evader)

Kneeling,L-R:
William E. Schack            -  Gunner      ASN 15300227 (POW)
James E.   Williams          -  Dispatcher  ASN 34086363 (POW)
Walter W.  Swartz            -  Engineer    ASN 13127988 (Evader)
Paul P.    Kasza             -  R.O.        ASN 35520266 (Evader)

ASNs so-colored for EMs link to their NARA Enlistment Records.

Not pictured: Richard V. Thiriot (ASN 0743217), who substituted for Lynch. Thiriot was also an evader, returning to the UK in September of 1944.
Front Row: Dog's name unknown.

Status: Augmentation crew, they arrived at Alconbury on 16 Dec 1943. Nineteen combat missions - Jan-May '44 

Orphans were:
Donald F. Menser    ASN 13134720  MOS Engineer
Daniel C. Jones     ASN 15016719  MOS Gunner     (KIA) (information from a newsletter article)

According to a letter from Swartz to Ben Parnell, dtd 25 March 1988,Jones was killed while flying with another Group after he left Harrington. Menser flew as a sub with, among others, Lucey and Fish, completing 28 missions by the end of September 1944.

Along as an observer on the night of the incident:
Cornell DeGrothy    - Navigator   (ASN 0687999)  (POW)    788th BS

Incident Summary:
The crew was shot down over Belgium on the second attempt in two nights to deliver goods to the Belgian Armé Secreté drop zone "Osric 14". The Evaders were all liberated in early September, the POWs survived the war in Stalag Luft IV. Recovered crewmembers were photographed with the Belgian Armée Sécréte before being shipped back to the UK.

In the picture below, supplied by Walter Swartz, the orphans are included.