Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2015 First, I'd like to thank forum members Troy and ultimately Jay for letting me know about this grouping at an estate sale. I was hesitant to make the near two hour trip but it turned out to be worth it. This is a new, out of the woodwork grouping that belonged to S/SGT Darl O'Harrow who was a waist gunner on the B-17 "Our Buddy" in the 452nd BG, 730 BS. This grouping contains his air medal and purple heart. Unfortunately neither are named on the back. He received the PH for injuries while on a bombing mission over Germany on Christmas Eve. I still need to research this further to find out the year. He received the AM on October 24, 1944 and about 2 weeks later received the Oak Leaf Cluster on November 11 1944 for the AM previously awarded. "Our Buddy" eventually was lost over Misburg, Germany, December 31st, 1944. Four crewmembers were killed and five were taken as POWs. It's possible that O'Harrow could have been a POW while aboard this mission even though crewmembers were always being replaced. I will have to do some further research to confirm this possibility. Also included are his dog tag, pilot log book, and a scrapbook with many letters he wrote home to his family as well as sever photos and drawings. A nice leather Air Transport Command patch was also with his effects but I am unsure what the connection is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted February 9, 2015 His AM and PH... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted February 9, 2015 Gunner wings and ribbon bars. The wings are Orber wings but have the hallmark name solder over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDogMilitaria Posted February 9, 2015 Share #4 Posted February 9, 2015 Fantastic! I am so glad you were able to get all of the stuff intact! 2 hour drive? Holy smokes, i didnt realize it was that far away. Good for you man, you deserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted February 9, 2015 Share #5 Posted February 9, 2015 Nice group! I could not find any evidence O'Harrow was a POW, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted February 9, 2015 The day before the start of the sale, the family decided to keep this photograph of the crew. I'm not sure which one O'Harrow is but can probably figure it out with a magnifying class. I pulled this image from the estate sale listing and I'm going to have it retouched to removed the flash glare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted February 9, 2015 Nice group! I could not find any evidence O'Harrow was a POW, Kurt That info was from a book I found on google books. I'm trying to find the page were it mentioned that crew members were taken as POWs. I should send for his full records from NARA and maybe that would better explain the time he served with this BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted February 9, 2015 Fantastic! I am so glad you were able to get all of the stuff intact! 2 hour drive? Holy smokes, i didnt realize it was that far away. Good for you man, you deserve it. Thanks again, Jay! MapQuest said it was about 1:40 drive but hit some rush hour traffic around Novi and 275. Now I need to get on a bust form. I'm in the process of getting a reproduction panel painted of "Our Buddy" made. Also I found a nice B&W image of a waist gunner that I'm going to have enlarge to about 4X5 feet as back drop. It should make for a great display when I have it completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted February 9, 2015 Share #9 Posted February 9, 2015 I checked the NARA POW list and did a MACR search and couldn't find him. There are POW that there are no MACRs for. They usually fall into 1942-Early 1943 capture dates ( Before MACRs started to be filed)or were guys that bailed out and the plane still made it back to England ( or wherever it was flying from.) Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share #10 Posted February 9, 2015 I checked the NARA POW list and did a MACR search and couldn't find him. There are POW that there are no MACRs for. They usually fall into 1942-Early 1943 capture dates ( Before MACRs started to be filed)or were guys that bailed out and the plane still made it back to England ( or wherever it was flying from.) Kurt Thanks for checking Kurt. I thought it may be a long shot but definitely aroused the possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDogMilitaria Posted February 9, 2015 Share #11 Posted February 9, 2015 Thanks again, Jay! MapQuest said it was about 1:40 drive but hit some rush hour traffic around Novi and 275. Now I need to get on a bust form. I'm in the process of getting a reproduction panel painted of "Our Buddy" made. Also I found a nice B&W image of a waist gunner that I'm going to have enlarge to about 4X5 feet as back drop. It should make for a great display when I have it completed. Nice! Sounds like it will look really good when you are done. Cant wait to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadOfSteel Posted February 9, 2015 Share #12 Posted February 9, 2015 Great find Mike! Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted February 9, 2015 Share #13 Posted February 9, 2015 Get ahold of the 452nd Bomb Group Association. Their historian, Howard Keller, is outstanding. He sent me all of my tailgunner's missions a couple of hours after I emailed him, as well as pictures of the planes they flew on and everything. http://452ndbombgroupassociation-deophamgreen.org/research/ I think your guy came over about the time my guy was going home. Nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted February 9, 2015 Share #14 Posted February 9, 2015 I have a 70s or 80s copy of the 452nd book if you'd like for me to go through it, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted February 9, 2015 Share #15 Posted February 9, 2015 Nice grouping. Congratulations on the find and for saving his history. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted February 9, 2015 Share #16 Posted February 9, 2015 Get ahold of the 452nd Bomb Group Association. Their historian, Howard Keller, is outstanding. He sent me all of my tailgunner's missions a couple of hours after I emailed him, as well as pictures of the planes they flew on and everything. http://452ndbombgroupassociation-deophamgreen.org/research/ I think your guy came over about the time my guy was going home. Nice find. Great group! I agree with contacting Mr. Keller. I have a small group from a tailgunner who was with 730th BS and he was able to identify all of the missions that my vet flew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted February 9, 2015 Share #17 Posted February 9, 2015 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted February 9, 2015 Share #18 Posted February 9, 2015 Agreed.Nice group.Looking at the photo I would say your man is second from left in the back row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC-RECON0321 Posted February 10, 2015 Share #19 Posted February 10, 2015 Mike, Excellent and glad I could help, but Jay gets all the credit on finding that one!! But you still owe us both a steak dinner and a beer!! (or 2)! Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share #20 Posted February 10, 2015 Mike, Excellent and glad I could help, but Jay gets all the credit on finding that one!! But you still owe us both a steak dinner and a beer!! (or 2)! Troy That could be arranged. But then again have you ever had play by play analysis at an estate sale? Wish you could have seen the lady do the 20 point turn about and end up occupying 3 spots with her car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty On Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted February 10, 2015 Get ahold of the 452nd Bomb Group Association. Their historian, Howard Keller, is outstanding. He sent me all of my tailgunner's missions a couple of hours after I emailed him, as well as pictures of the planes they flew on and everything. http://452ndbombgroupassociation-deophamgreen.org/research/ I think your guy came over about the time my guy was going home. Nice find. Thanks for the link. I sent Howard an email earlier today. I'll update this thread when I get a reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDogMilitaria Posted February 10, 2015 Share #22 Posted February 10, 2015 Mike, Excellent and glad I could help, but Jay gets all the credit on finding that one!! But you still owe us both a steak dinner and a beer!! (or 2)! Troy Agreed on the steak dinners! I kept checking my email that morning to see if Mike was successful or not. I almost had that anxious feeling I get when im waiting to burst through the door at one of those sales! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsmilitary Posted February 10, 2015 Share #23 Posted February 10, 2015 Awesome group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted February 10, 2015 Share #24 Posted February 10, 2015 Great grouping, and nice little story to go with it on the 'find'. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
752ndTank Posted February 14, 2015 Share #25 Posted February 14, 2015 Really nice grouping! My father in law Bob "Red" Staiger was a tailgunner in the 452nd BG 728 BS out of Deopham Greene. The 452nd BG association is really quite good and they also have a nice page on Facebook. He got in a little late in the war but I think he is credited with 16 missions. He crewed in a few different planes -- Flak Shy Lady, Miassis Draggin, and Frivolous Sal. Hinrichs' book "Missing Planes of the 452nd BG" is outstanding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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