Thomas W. Tapley entered military service in Mississippi. He served in the 360th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Togglier on the B-17G #44-8422 'Duffy’s Tavern' during World War II. He was Killed in Action on November 11, 1944, when his airplane crashed in Much Wenlock, England. That day, the target was the Buer Synthetic Oil Plant at Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
#44-8422 Duffy’s Tavern, piloted by 2Lt. Paul C. Stephan, 360BS, blew up after take-off and crashed near Atchon over Much Wenlock. The aircraft flew on instruments after take-off, expecting to break clear at about 18,000 feet. The pilot told Sgt. Robert J. Sorensen, the waist gunner, to pull the bomb safety pins while still over England at about 14,000 feet altitude. When the pulling of the pins was confirmed, the order to put on oxygen masks was heard.
About 10 minutes later, at 17,000 feet, a flame was seen coming from the No. 1 engine. The B-17 flipped over, went into a spin, and exploded. Sgt. Sorensen was blown head-first out of the aircraft before he could reach and attach his parachute. Then the unbelievable happened — while falling without a chute, a parachute pack fell into his arms out of the falling debris. He was able to snap the chest pack onto his harness, but nothing happened when he pulled the ripcord. He clawed at the pack, finally getting it partially opened. He landed in a large tree, badly injured.
Sgt. Dwight A. Phillips, Jr., the engineer, managed to parachute free of the Fortress and landed with a broken back. He reported that the crash was caused by the B-17 getting caught in the slipstream of another climbing B-17 that flipped his aircraft and sent it into a spin. The Fortress crashed on a road between the villages of Much Wenlock and Bourton, with wreckage strewn over a four-mile area. The rest of the crew were all killed in the crash.
Sgt Tapley is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
B-17G #44-8422 'Duffy’s Tavern' crew:
2Lt Paul C. Stephan ( Pilot )
2Lt John R. Clinger ( Co-Pilot )
F/O Harold G. Lewis ( Navigator )
Sgt Thomas W. Tapley ( Togglier )
Sgt Dwight A. Phillips, Jr. ( Engineer )
T/Sgt Raymond R. Ladurini ( Radio Op )
T/Sgt Stanton W. Keyes ( Ball Turret )
S/Sgt Edgar P. Harris, Jr. ( Waist Gunner )
S/Sgt Robert J. Sorenson ( Tail Gunner )
Source of information: www.warhistoryonline.com, www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov