The crew arrived at Harrington on 13 December 1944, along with the crews of Akerhielm, Charles Edwards, Imparato, Robert Johnson, Ladue, Palmer, and Sampson all from the 70th Replacement Depot. Names from Special Orders #236,dtd 13Dec44 and the back of the photo, supplied by Stan Worl.

Standing,L-R:
Robert M.    Clift         - Navigator        ASN 02069946
Napoleon A.  Morneau,Jr.   - Bombardier       ASN 02068215
John L.      Wieder        - Copilot          ASN T-63436
Balazs M.    Orban         - Pilot            ASN 0830681

Kneeling,L-R:
David K.     Lyon          - Gunner           ASN 33615401
Kevin P.     O'Brien       - Gunner           ASN 12177978
Russell J.   Carrier       - Engineer         ASN 13068070
Stanley E.   Worl          - Gunner           ASN 17136384
Salvatore R. Morganti      - R.O.             ASN 31327091

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

Preferred Aircraft: The Operations Log shows they never flew an operational mission in the same plane twice! Between February 21 and April 10 of 1945 the crew had eight starts and one scrub. On the miserable mission on the night of 30/31 March 1945 which resulted in the loss of the seven men from the Polansky crew and took the lives of six OSS cadets as well, the crew was delayed on return, and some accounts show them as missing. Their last entry in the Ops Log occurs on the night of 10/11 April when they flew B24H 41-28910 "The Old Goat" which was lost over Norway a few weeks later. Orders were issued sending the crew and ground crew members to Dijon,France on 11Apr45. The crew,and probably passengers,departed Harrington on 08Jul45,destination the Zone of the Interior.

Additional Data Sources:
Orban Crew Personnel Files
Orban Crew Mission Reports (In Process)

Group-Related Downloads:
"Carpetbaggers" by Parnell
"They Flew by Night" editor Robert Fish
Serial Number Index of B24s
Station 179 Operations Log (handwritten Apr44-Jul45)
Station 179 Operations Log (transcribed Sep44-Jul45)

Available on Request:
Group Mission Reports Jan-Sep44 (On disk $12ea - $10ea via Paypal)
"Chronology of SOE Operations with the Resistance In France During WWII" by Foot & Boxhall
"Spies,Supplies & Moonlit Skies Vols 1&2" by Ensminger (On disk $12ea - $10ea via Paypal)

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