468 th Bomb Group In Memoriam. Lost on 11/5/44 mission to Singapore. Disappeared over Bay of Bengal, near Andaman Islands.

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1 Robert Thermond Arnoldus 468 th Bomb Group Rank: Major Serial: Squadron: HQ/793 rd Position: Group Navigator Hometown: La Grande, OR Born: 1917 Missing: November 5 th 1944 Interred: March 27 th 1946 Interred at: Manila American Cemetery Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines and Summerville Cemetery Union County Oregon USA Awards: Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart Lethal Lady Lost on 11/5/44 mission to Singapore. Disappeared over Bay of Bengal, near Andaman Islands. Son of Peter and Leona Arnoldus

2 From On Celestial Wings by Colonel Ed Whitcomb: Chapter 20 The Super Fortress At our navigation school graduation exercise, Gen Davenport Johnson told us that if the US became involved in WWII, we must be able to reach out from our coastal frontiers to discover, locate, and destroy the enemy. November 1944 found four of our classmates far from our coastal frontiers. Classmates Russell M. Vifquain, Jr., Berry P. Thompson, and Clarence R. Winter were on the tiny island of Saipan flying missions against the homeland of Japan, and Robert T. Arnoldus was flying missions out of Kharagpur, India. All were happy to be navigating on the B-29 Super Fortress, the world's finest and most powerful bomber. Morale was high. America was on the offensive. The Yanks were well established on the continent of Europe on the way to Berlin, and MacArthur was back in the Philippines preparing to move on to Okinawa and Japan. Robert Thermond Arnoldus had come to the Pan American Navigation School from Le Grande, Oregon, and upon graduation was assigned to Fort Douglas, Utah. Four November 1944 saw him flying from Kharagpur, India, on a B-29 Super Fortress of the Twentieth Air Force. Pilot of the big plane was Col Ted S. Faulkner who had been pilot for Louis G. Moslener, the first navigator lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor almost three years earlier. The target was to be the Japanese-held naval base at Singapore, but the big plane never reached the target. No one ever knew what happened to cause the trouble. In the dark of night at 2030 hours another plane on the same mission received a radio message which said, URGENT! but no message followed. Then crew members of yet another plane saw a plane light up the sky with an explosion and fall into the sea at 11 degrees, 17 minutes north and 94 degrees, 44 minutes east. That was in the vicinity of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. All other planes on the mission were accounted for, leaving little doubt that the exploding plane was the one being navigated by Major Arnoldus. An extensive search of the area by three landbase planes and one seaplane on the following day failed to locate any survivors. In addition to the navigator, 10 other crew members and one civilian war correspondent perished in the explosion. Graduated from the US Army s first long range navigation school Coral Gables, FL Assigned to Army Transport Command, Fort Dodge, Utah. Navigator for General Hap Arnold from Australia to Washington, DC Air Medal. Navigator for Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt 1943, San Francisco to Southwest Pacific and back, Aug/Sep They flew a C-87 with ATC Markings.

3 Group Navigator 468th BG, 58th BW, 20th AF, Kharagpur, India, April 1944 to 5 Nov Married with 2 children. MACR 9577 MISSING AIR CREW REPORT IMPORTANT: This report will be compiled in triplicate by each Army Air Forces organization within 48 hours of the time an air crew member is officially reported missing. 1. ORGANIZATION: Location, by name: Kharagpur AAF; Command or Air Force XX BC ; Group _468 th Bomb ; Squadron _793 rd Bomb ; Detachment ; 2. SPECIFY: Place of Departure _Kharagpur AAF ; Course ; Target or Intended Destination _Singapore ; Type of Mission _Combat ; 3. WEATHER CONDITIONS AND VISIBILITY AT TIME OF CRASH OR WHEN LAST REPORTED: Scattered cumulus, base 2000, tops variable from 4000 to 10,000 occasional scattered rain; 4. GIVE: (a) Day 4 Month Nov Year 44; Time 2030; and Location N E; of last known whereabouts or missing aircraft. (b) Specify whether aircraft was last sighted ( ); Last contacted by Radio (X); Forced down ( ); Soon to Crash (X); or Information not available ( ) 5. AIRCRAFT WAS LOST, OR IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST, AS A RESULT OF: (Check only one) Enemy Aircraft ( ); Enemy Anti-Aircraft ( ); Other Circumstances as Follows: Cause unknown 6. AIRCRAFT: Type, Model and Series B-29 ; AAF Serial Number ; 7. NICKNAME OF AIRCRAFT, If Any Lethal Lady ; 8. ENGINE: Type, Model and Series ; AAF Serial ; Number (a) ; (b) (c) (d) ; 9. INSTALLED WEAPONES (Furnish below Make, Type and Serial Number); (a) ; (b) ; (c) ; (d) (e) ; (f) ; (g) ; (h) (i) ; (j) ; (k) ; (l) (m) ; (n) ; (o) ; (p) 10. THE PERSONS LISTED BELOW WERE REPORTED AS: (a) Battle Casualty X or (b) Non-Battle Casualty 11. NUMBER OF PERSONS ABOARD AIRCRAFT: Crew 11; Passengers 1; Total 12; (Starting with Pilot, furnish the following particulars: If more than 11 persons were aboard aircraft, list similar particulars on separate sheet and attach original to this form.)

4 Name in Full Serial Current Crew Position (Last Name First) Rank Number Status 1. Pilot Faulkner, Ted S. Col O Missing 2. CP Eigler, Maurice E. 1 st Lt. O N Arnoldus, Robert T. Major O B Johnson, Harve N. Major O V Peterson, Harry H. 1 st Lt. O FE Kennedy, Edward J. F/O T R Glibbon, William Sgt SG Miller, Ward Sgt LG Westbrook, Buster S/Sgt RG Gruber, Robert H. S/Sgt TG Queen, Emerald T. S/Sgt Passenger Andrew, John War Correspondent (UP) 12. IDENTIFY BELOW THOSE PERSONS WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE LAST KNOWLEDGE OF AIRCRAFT, AND CHECK APPROPRIATE COLUMN TO INDICATE BASIS FOR SAME: Check Only One Column Contacted Saw Name in Full Serial By Last Saw Forced (Last Name First) Rank Number Radio Sighted Crash Landing 1. Pilot A/C #582, 40 th bomb Gp. X 2. Seekatz, Albert G. S/Sgt X IF PERSONNEL ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE SURVIVED, ANSWER YES TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS: (a) Parachutes were used ; (b) Persons were seen walking away from scene of crash ; or (c) Any other reason (Specify) See Remarks 14. ATTACH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, MAP, CHART, OR SKETCH, SHOWING APPROXIMATE LOCATION WHERE AIRCRAFT WAS LAST SEEN OR HEARD FROM. 15. ATTACH EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTION OF CRASH, FORCED LANDING, OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES PERTAINING TO MISSING AIRCRAFT. 16. GIVE NAME, RANK AND SERIAL NUMBER OF OFFICER IN CHARGE OF SEARCH, IF ANY, INCLUDING DESCRIPTION AND EXTENT. CAPT. F. A. BALIMAN, O XX BC, 4 landbased A/C and one Catalina are sweeping area. No results obtained to date. Date of Report 7 November 1944 M. P. CASEY, Capt. AC, (Signature of Preparing Officer) Group Statistical Officer

5 17. REMARKS OR EYEWITNESS STATEMENT: Personnel in A/C #582, 40 th Bomb Gp, saw, at 2030z, location N, E, an airplane explode and land on water. Also saw, on return trip, red and green flares at approximately same bearing. Seekatz, radio operator on A/C #397, received Urgent call from #30 at 2030z; message was never sent. Another A/C, serial number and Group unknown, returning from mission, saw yellow life raft with either a man standing erect or mast stopped at a position slightly to north of above bearing. AC HISTORICAL FILES REVEALS THE FOLLOWING: 468 th Bomb. Gp. 793 rd Bomb Sq. On the 5 th Nov. 44, Mission #15 was against the Singapore Naval Base. B-29 #370 was seen to crash into the Bay of Bengal in the vicinity of the Andaman Islands. CREW: Pilot Faulkner, Ted S., Colonel, O DED 27 March 1946 Bomb. Johnson, Harve N., Major, O DED 27 March 1946 Navig. Arnoldus, Robert T., Major, O DED 27 March 1946 Eigler, Maurice E., 1 st Lt., O DED 27 March 1946 Peterson, Harry H., 1 st Lt., O DED 27 March 1946 Kennedy, Edward J., F/O, T DED 27 March 1946 Gruber, Hubert B., S/Sgt., DED 27 March 1946 Queen, Emerald T., S/Sgt., DED 27 March 1946 Westbrook, Buster, S/Sgt., DED 27 March 1946 Glibbon, William, Sgt., DED 27 March 1946 Miller, Ward, Sgt., DED 27 March 1946 Pass. Andrew, John J., War Correspondent AC 704 Missing (6 Nov 45) S.R. & D. No MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Casualty Branch 6 November 1945 SUBJECT: Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act. I- FACTS

6 1. The following named officers and enlisted men have been carried on the records of the War Department as missing in action, in flying pay status, in the Asiatic Area since 5 November Name ASN Grade Faulkner, Ted S O21593 Colonel Arnoldus, Robert T O Major Johnson, Harve N O Major Eigler, Maurice E O st Lt Peterson, Harry H O st Lt Kennedy, Edward J T Fl Officer Gruber, Hubert B S/Sgt Queen, Emerald T S/Sgt Westbrook, Buster S/Sgt Glibbon, William Sergeant Miller, Ward Sergeant 2. Message No CRA 19440, dated 11 November 1944, from the Commanding General, United States Army Air Forces in the India Burma Theater, New Delhi, India, to War Department, (BCR 1133, Casualty Branch Message No ), reported the officers and enlisted men named in paragraph 1, above, missing in action, in flying pay status, approximately 75 miles east of the Andaman Islands, 5 November Message No. CRA 19550, dated 12 November 1944, from the Commanding General, United States Army Forces in the India Burma Theater New Delhi, India, to the War Department, supplementing BCR 1133 (Casualty Branch Message No ), stated that John J. Andrew, a civilian correspondent, was a passenger on the aircraft which was manned by the subject persons. (The status of Mr. Andrew is not considered in this review, as his case is not subject to the provisions of the Missing Persons Act). This message further stated that an explosion in midair, approximately 75 miles east of Andaman Islands, was observed from another aircraft, and that eight minutes later wreckage was seen in the water, and a light one quarter of a mile away. Approximately one hour later, still another aircraft reported a fire at sea near the same location. The report indicated that the observers seemed to be looking down the flaming stack of a vessel. Searches were made by search aircraft, B-29s and Catalinas from 6 November through 11 November 1944, and friendly submarines patrolled the area, but no evidence of life was found on objects in the water. 4. A copy of telecom message No. G 1147, dated 6 December 1944, from the Commanding General, 20 th Air Force, is filed in Casualty Branch Mail and Message Center as Casualty Branch Message No This message gives substantially the same information as that noted in paragraph 3, above, and states that the explosion was observed at 2050 hours Greenwich Civil Time, the wreckage of a plane, and the light, were seen eight minutes later; and that observations were made from a height of 1000

7 feet at approximately north, east. The time at which the second aircraft reported a fire at sea was 2122 Greenwich Civil Time; the location: north, east. 5. Missing Air Crew Report No. 9577, dated 7 November 1944, furnishes information that the officers and enlisted men named in paragraph 1 above, comprised the crew of B-29 aircraft No , of the 793 rd Bombardment Squadron, 468 th Bombardment Group, which left Kharagpur, India, on a combat mission to Singapore, and was seen to crash at 2030 hours, Greenwich Civil Time, 4 November 1944 (2030 hours 5 November 1944, local time), at a point designated by the coordinates north, east. The Report listed the name of John Andrew, United Press War Correspondent, as a passenger on board the plane. At the time the Report was submitted four land-based planes and one Catalina were searching the area, but results had been negative. The following is quoted from Section 17 of the Report: Personnel in A/C #582, 40 th Bomb Gp, saw, at 2030z, location N, E, an airplane explode and land on water. Also saw, on return trip, red and green flares at approximately same bearing. Seekatz, radio operator on A/C #397, received Urgent call from #30 at 2030z; message was never sent. Another A/C, serial number and Group unknown, returning from ision, saw yellow life raft with either a man standing erect or mast stopped at a position slightly to north of above bearing. 6. Colonel Faulkner, the pilot, was the Commanding Officer of the 468 th Bombardment Group, according to a letter dated 11 December 1944 from Lieutenant Colonel James V. Edmundson, then Commanding Officer, to the wife of Major Arnoldus. A copy of this letter was found in the Casualty Branch file of the latter officer, who, it states, had been chosen to serve as Group Navigator. Major Johnson was serving as Group Bombardier, as indicated by a similar letter found in his Casualty Branch file, but his regular assignment, as shown by a copy of Special Orders No. 192, Headquarters Twentieth Bomber Command, dated 30 October 1944 found in his AG 201 file, was to Operations, Plans and Training Section of that Headquarters. All other members of the crew were assigned to the 793 rd Bombardment Squadron, 468 th Bombardment Group. 7. The following paragraph is quoted from the letters cited in paragraph 6, above: On the fifth of November your husband left on a bombing mission to Singapore. While over the Bay of Bengal, his plane sent out an incomplete radio message. This radio call, which consisted of only a few words indicating that an urgent message was to follow, was the last we ever heard. The plane did not return. We began an immediate search of the area, but no trace was found of the plane or its crew. 8. A copy of a letter dated 25 November 1944, from the Commanding Officer, 468 th Bombardment Group, to the wife of Colonel Faulkner, was found in the latter officer s Casualty Branch file, and is quoted, in part, below:

8 Ted took off on the Singapore mission. He was flying his own airplane and he had a capable and experienced crew with him. We received no communication from him after take-off. One of the ships from another group reported seeing an airplane on fire and landing in the water on the way down. He circled the spot and thought he could see activity of some type but it was at night and he couldn t be too sure of anything. He did make a careful check on the position however. Since Ted s airplane was the only one unreported on this mission we are reasonably sure that whatever was seen at this point was Ted. The entire Bomber Command and units of the British Navy conducted a thorough and complete search of the area for several hundred miles around the place we believed he went down. This search was carried on continuously for several days but nothing was ever found that might indicate what had happened. He could have been picked up by a Japanese ship, or he might have succeeded in getting into his life rafts and gotten ashore somewhere. The chances are, I m afraid, rather slim. If the boys had been in the water we would have positively have found them. Our search was that thorough. 9. An undated letter from Mrs. Katharine D. Miller, mother of Sergeant Miller, to the Adjutant letter, found in the soldier s AG 201 file, states The search, some thirty odd hours after the accident, found three life rafts tied together partially submerged unhappily empty. In a letter to Colonel George F. Herbert, also found in Sergeant Miller s AG 201 file, Mrs. Miller sites, the regular Navigator of this plane, who was dropped for this mission, as the source of her information about the finding of the rafts. 10. A copy of General Orders No. 38, dated 28 October 1944, awarding the Air Medal to Sergeant Miller, was found in his enlisted jacket. In this award, the soldier s grade was given as Staff Sergeant. A message form sent from this office to the Commanding General, 21 st Bomber Command, under date of 5 September 1944, requested the authority for, and date of, the promotion, if in effect and the submission of any additional information relating to the status of the subject crew. The fourth endorsement on the basic communication, from the 793 rd Bombardment Squadron to the Commanding Officer, 468 th bombardment Group, under date of 21 September 1945, stated that Miller s correct rank was Sergeant. The 6 th endorsement, dated 26 September 1945, from Headquarters, 58 th Bombardment Wing, to the Commanding General, Twentieth Air Force, stated that no other pertinent information regarding the crew was available. 11. An examination of the files of these persons in Casualty Branch, Officer s Branch, AGGO, and of the Index in Prisoner of War Information Bureau, PMGO, does not reveal any further information relevant to his review. II CONCLUSIONS

9 1. The officers and enlisted men whose status is the subject of this review comprised the crew of a B-29 type aircraft which took off from Kharagpur, India, on a combat mission to Singapore. When about 75 miles east of the Andaman Islands, at 0230 hours 5 November 1944, the radio operator of another aircraft received an Urgent call from the subject plane, but no subsequent message. At approximately the same time, according to one report, at 0250 hours according to another, the personnel of one aircraft witnessed the explosion of another plane, and eight minutes later saw wreckage in the water, and a light one quarter of a mile away. Thirty minutes to one hour after the explosion was witnessed, crew members of still another aircraft reported a fire at sea near the same location. The observers stated that they seemed to be looking down the flaming stack of a vessel. The same crew which observed the explosion reported having seen, on the return trip, red and green flares at approximately the same bearing. Another crew reported having sighted, while returning to base, a life raft slightly to the north of the point where the explosion occurred. An object, which might have been a man standing erect on the raft, or a mast stopped in such a position that it was sighted in conjunction with it, was also seen. 2. Only one aircraft was missing when the mission was completed, so the identity of the plane which was seen to explode is not subject to question. Since no message followed the Urgent call, it is probable that the crew had little warning of impending disaster. Little could be seen, because of darkness, but there is some evidence that a vessel went down in the vicinity within an hour of the airplane crash, and it is possible that the light seen shortly after the crash, as well as the flares reported on the return trip, were distress signals made by members of its crew. Although on the return trip the scene must have been passed over in daylight, since the distance from Singapore is approximately 975 miles, no definite trace of the aircraft or of any of its crew was sighted. 3. The officer who later commanded the Group, in a letter to the wife of Colonel Faulkner, stated that the search made was so thorough that any survivors in the water would have been picked up, but indicated that there was a possibility that some may have been picked up by a Japanese ship, or reached shore by means of rafts. 4. The effective occupation by the Allied Forces of the territories previously conquered by Japan is not yet of sufficient duration to insure the receipt of full reports of surviving unreported prisoners of war. 5. In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, it is concluded that the subject officers and enlisted men may reasonably be presumed to be living. III RECOMMENDATION

10 It is recommended that the officers and enlisted men named in paragraph 1, Part I, above, be continued in the status of missing in action, under the provisions of Section 5 of the Missing Persons Act. MILDRED F. BICKFORD Investigator WILLIAM H. BURCHILL First Lieutenant, AGD CONCURRED: APPROVED: JOHN T. BURNS Lt. Colonel, AGD Officer in Charge Status Review and Determination Section GEORGE P HERBERT Colonel, AGD Chief, Casualty Branch Colonel Ted S. Faulkner O21593, Air Corps et al AG 704 Dead (27 Mar 46) S.R. & D. No A MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Casualty Branch 27 March 1946 SUBJECT: Subsequent Review and Determination of Status Under the Missing Persons Act 1. The status of the personnel listed below who are carried at missing in action on the records of the Casualty Branch was reviewed in accordance with Section 6 of the Missing Persons Act as shown by S.R.&D., Memorandum No 4591 dated 6 November In accordance with said Section 6, the facts and circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the personnel named herein have again been reviewed. Any additional facts or information received have been considered. 3. All files of those persons in the Adjutant General s office except the AG 201 file of Maurice E. Eigler, O805796, have again been examined and do not reveal any information relevant to this review. 4. On the basis of the facts and circumstances set forth in the above memorandum together with other information, the time which has elapsed since the disappearance

11 of the personnel named herein and that which has passed since the cessation of hostilities, and the fact that no report has been received indicating that the subject personnel are alive, it is concluded that they may not reasonably be presumed to be living within the meaning of the Missing Persons Act. 5. References to sources of additional facts or information received since the date of the initial review follow: None S.R. & D. No A 6. It, therefore, is recommended that findings of death be made under the provisions of Section 5 of the Missing Persons Act in the cases of the following-named persons and that these findings show the presumed date of death to be 27 March 1946: Name ASN Grade Faulkner, Ted S O21593 Colonel Arnoldus, Robert T O Major Johnson, Harve N O Major Eigler, Maurice E O st Lt Peterson, Harry H O st Lt Kennedy, Edward J T Fl Officer Gruber, Hubert B S/Sgt Queen, Emerald T S/Sgt Westbrook, Buster S/Sgt Glibbon, William Sergeant Miller, Ward Sergeant CORNELIA N. BISHOP Investigator CONCURRED IN: CHARLES PETTER First Lieutenant, AGD APPROVED: W. D. CARTWRIGHT GEORGE W. WEIR Lieutenant Colonel, AGD Lieutenant Colonel, AGD Officer in Charge Acting Chief, Casualty Branch Status Review and Determination Section

12 (To: COMGENAF 20 From: COMGENBOMCOM 20) With reference to your telecom K-5-2 a radio was sent to your Headquarters in answer to telecom Message number was 4122G and dated 23 November It reads as follows: Only information available on Sergeant Ward Miller reported missing in action 5 November 1944 is as follows: Another aircraft saw an explosion in midair at 2050Z and at 2058Z saw wreckage of an airplane in the water and a light a quarter of a mile away. Observations were made at 11 degrees 17 minutes north-94 degrees 14 minutes east from 1000 feet. At 2122Z another aircraft reported a fire at sea at approximately 10 degrees 58 minutes north-94 degrees 5 minutes east stating that it seemed as though they were looking down into the flaming stack of a vessel. Search aircraft and B-29s of this command and Catalinas of air command Southeast Asia on each day from 6 November through 11 November continued search missions over the area. Although various objects were seen in the water at no time was there any report that evidence of life was seen on the objects. Friendly submarines were on patrol in this area and were notified to search for survivors and pick up any if sighted. November 11 was the last day of active search for missing personnel. This is all information available on aircraft 370 on which Sergeant Miller was central fire control gunner.

13 Colonel Ted S. Faulkner 468 th Bomb Group Mrs. Ted S. Faulkner (wife) 318 Elm Street, Dalhart, Texas 1 st Lt. Maurice E. Eigler Mr. Fred W. Eigler (father) Rural Free Delivery Begley, Iowa Major Robert T. Arnoldus Major Harve N. Johnson Mrs. Dorothy B. Arnoldus (wife) 166 Serrano Drive San Francisco, California Mr. John M. Johnson (father) Route #1 Chandler, Oklahoma 1 st Lt. Harry H. Peterson Mrs. Elizabeth E. Peterson (wife) 215 Park Avenue Vineland, New Jersey F/O Edward J. Kennedy Sgt. William Glibbon Sgt. Ward Miller S/Sgt. Buster Westbrook S/Sgt. Hubert B. Gruber S/Sgt. Emerald T. Queen Mrs. Ellen E. Kennedy (wife) 95 3 rd Street Bedford, Massachusetts Mr. Nicholas Glibbon (father) Route #1, Box 10 Fruitport, Michigan Mrs. Katherine D. Miller (mother) 63 North Street Greenwich, Connecticut Mrs. Nattie I. Westbrook 1701 West 18 th Street North Little Rock, Arkansas Mrs. Rose Schwertner Rural Free Delivery Niles, Texas Mrs. Mildred K. Queen th Avenue St. Petersburg, Florida

14 John Andrew Mrs. Dollie J. Andrew 216 West Washington Springfield, Illinois