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McBride Howard E.

Name:
Howard E. McBride
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-811658
Unit:
882nd Bomber Squadron, 500th Bomber Group, Very Heavy
Date of Death:
1945-01-23
State:
California
Cemetery:
Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu
Plot:
Courts of the Missing, Court 7
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Comments:

Howard E. McBride underwent a B-29 aircraft transition and combat crew training at Walker AAF near Victoria, Kansas. In November 1944, he was deployed to the PTO and was assigned to the 882nd Bomb Squadron, 500th Bombardment Group (VH), 73rd Bomb Wing, XXI Bomber Command, 20th Air Force stationed at Isley Field on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

On 23 January 1945, he flew as the Bombardier aboard B-29 serial #42-24785 nicknamed "Homing De-Vice" tail code Z-Square-25 on a mission to bombard the Mitsubishi aircraft-engine factory at Nagoya, Japan.

In group formation over the target area, enemy fighter passes (691) were described as aggressive, with Z-SQ-25 suffering heavy damage to the #4 engine and with the right wing tip being set ablaze. At least two aircrews saw the Superfortress turn over in a spin and crash into the sea, at about 15 miles off the coast of Japan and directly south of Nagoya.

With no parachutes seen, all crew members were declared Killed in Action.

Howard was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov