Herbert Richard "Herb" Lakow has the distinction of being an original crew member of the Bernard crew which was an original crew of the 563rd. He flew all of his missions with Bernard except his last.

On Sept 6th, 1943, the 388th flew their #19 mission to Stuttgart, Germany. On this mission the Bernard crew was not flying but the MillerL crew was. The MillerL's navigator, Morretti, was ill and could not make the mission. Lakow was anxious to get his missions in early and go back home so he asked the Squadron Commander, Hank Henggeler, if he could be the substitute navigator. Henggeler agreed to this on condition that Lakow would get permission from his pilot, Bernard.

This mission turned out to be the 388th's worst mission in terms of lost aircraft and crews. The MillerL crew was one of eleven lost that day and Lakow among many others was killed. Afterwards Henggeler was surprised to find out that Bernard did not know of Lakow's request and certainly did not give him permission. A final irony to this story is that Lakow's original crew (Bernard) went on to survive the war without being shot down. It was the only original 563rd crew able to claim that distinction.

Source of information: 388bg.com