850th/857th/858th BSs
Wonnell Crew
The Wonnell crew arrived at Harrington as a replacement crew for the 850th BS in late July or early August of 1944. The picture above shows them armed with their caliber .45 automatics holstered, one of the few pictures showing crewmen armed. The men in the picture have been identified by John Windle (August 1998) as:
Back Row, L-R:
Donald
G. Coale - Bombardier
ASN 0773302
Leslie P. Baumann - Navigator
ASN 0723560
John J. Windle - Copilot
ASN 0771194
Thomas S. Wonnell - Pilot
ASN 0700589
Front Row, L-R:
Harold L. Gann - Engineer
ASN
34730475
John T. Gault
- Dispatcher ASN
33684921 (KIA
with Monahan Crew)
Doyle R. Herring -
Tail Gunner ASN
17032505
Colbert D. Fountaine - Engineer
ASN
39260410
Orphaned:
Ivan E. Lacey -
Gunner ASN
37680645
As a crew they experienced every kind of mission the Carpetbaggers flew; Carpetbagger, Gas Haul and Night Bombing. Gault, trying to get in 30 missions and qualify for a DFC, volunteered to fly his 30th with the Shaw crew on the night of 19/20 April 1944. The crew met their fate over Norway and went down without survivors. Further details of this incident are on the Honor Roll page.
During the first nine months of the Group's active operations, Heflin did not allow crews to take a rest at any of the 8th AF "Rest Homes", apparently for security reasons. But in the autumn of 1944, crews started to enjoy these facilities at the directions of the C.O.. In March of 1944, the officers of the Wonnell crew had their turn at one, Furze Down House (officially known as Station 563), shown on the postcard below:
