349th Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined the 100th Group on 5/10/44.
Original ROG was Cpl Robert L. Greenlee sn# 37670254. Chovanak was the original TG and Kaiser was a Waist Gunner. Kaiser was serving as a TG on Lt Larsen Crew when they were shot down on Mar 31, 1945 and Chovanak completed his tour as a spare gunner.

The 4 men who wert down on 31/3/45 were flying with the crew of A. G. Larsen. Ray Muffley was with the crew of J. W. Thrasher on 3/3/45

According to a letter from Lt Bohrer to Fred Wiegman on May 16, 1991, the above Crew was broken up because Lt John Carroll was taken off flying status. They sent Lt Bohrer to radar school to train to be a Mickey Operator. After the training, I returned to the 349th and was put on Lt William Murray's Crew. We flew about twenty lead missions and the crew consisted of:

LEAD CREW

29 JAN 45 KASSEL, TANK WORKS (This seems a long time between missions). . pw
14 FEB 45 CHEMNITZ, CITY (100TH "A" & "B")
17 FEB 45 FRANKFURT & GIESSEN
25 FEB 45 MUNICH, MY
28 FEB 45 KASSEL, MY
02 MAR 45 RUHLAND & DRESDEN, FACTORY AREA
12 MAR 45 SWINEMUNDE, DOCKS
14 MAR 45 SEELZE & HANOVER
17 MAR 45 RUHLAND * PLAUEN
19 MAR 45 FULDA, LUTZKENDORF, & JENA
22 MAR 45 ALHORN, AF
24 MAR 45 STEENWIJK/HAVELTE & ZIEGENHAIN
31 MAR 45 ZEITZ, OIL REFINERY(100TH B, C & D)
04 APR 45 KIEL, SUB YARDS
09 APR 45 MUNICH/REIM, AF

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Letters to Chovanak 1983/1984 unanswered.

CREW

349th Sqdn. This crew, as above, joined the 100th Group on 3/12/44.

 On board the A/C on 3/3/45 were:Lt Charles S. Bayha, CP from the crew of J. V. DePlanque. He became a POW. Lt Harry F. Bott, BOM from the crew of Denzil Naar. He became a POW. Lt Willis R. McGuire, Radar Nav from the crew of L. C. Williams was KIA. Sgt. Ray U. Muffley, WG from the crew of J. A. Carroll was a POW.

EYEWITNESS: "A/C 44-8220 was attacked by one of six jet E/A which made a pass at the formation at 1018 hours over the target just before bombs away. The #1 engine was hit and burst into flames. Bomb bay doors were closed and the aircraft slid away to the left. The left wing crumpled and the aircraft flipped over on it's back and exploded. The fuselage broke at the waist door and both wings fell away. One chute was seen to leave the aircraft before it exploded. Later four (4) others were counted. Pilot was seen in cockpit 30 seconds prior to the explosion. "

Hi Janice; Here's what I current have on 1st Lt. Arthur G. Larsen. . . . (Combat missions). . . . Just an FYI on how the 100th BG flew Group formations. . . . On missions listed, the 100th flew 3 Squadron formations, A, B, C, Squadrons, with a LEAD, LOW, and HIGH FLGT. in each. . . with the exception of 28 & 31 March which are 4 Squadron formations, A, B, C, D. . . (The Group went to a 4 squadron formation as early as 23 March, 1945 from what I've seen, flying 3 Squadron formations as late as 19 March, 1945 Jack O'Leary

# 276 10 MARCH, 1945 DORTMUND, RAIL YARDS C SQUADRON, LEAD FLGT, LARSEN 470 T 13A (HARDSTAND 13A, AIRCRAFT 
# 44-6470 XR-T )
# 278 12 MARCH, 1945 SWINEMUNDE, DOCKS B SQUADRON, HIGH FLGT, LARSEN 470 T 13A ,
# 279 14 MARCH, 1945 HANOVER, RAIL YARDS, A SQUADRON, HIGH FLGT , LARSEN 470 T 13A,
# 280 15 MARCH, 1945 BERLIN, ORANIENBURG, RAIL YARDS, C SQUADRON, HIGH FLGT, LARSEN 945 F 48 (HARDSTAND 48, AIRCRAFT 
43-38945 LD-F)
# 282 18 MARCH, 1945 BERLIN, RAIL YARDS, B SQUADRON, LEAD FLGT, LARSEN 470 T 13A,
# 289 HANOVER, TANK PLANT 28 MARCH, 1945 A SQUADRON, LARSEN 514 J 22 ( HARDSTAND 22, AIRCRAFT 43-38514 XR-J )
# 291 ZEITZ/BAD BERKA OIL REFINERIES 31 MARCH, 1945 , D SQUADRON, LARSEN 470 T 13A

CREW
DATE: 31 March 1945 349th Sqdn. A/C #44-6470

MISSION: Zeitz MACR#13714, Microfiche#5010

349th Sqdn. Crew, as above, was taken from microfilm of the original MACR. However, Sgt Obuchowski (WG) was not aboard this A/C on 31/3/45. S/Sgt Marvin F. Barner was flying as WG and was KIA.

Of the above, O'Neill, Bazata, Popson and Kaiser were members of J. A. Carroll's crew which joined the 10Gth Group on 5/l0/44. Barner was from the crew of R. E. Wieland.

Arthur Larsen, Willard Bostrom & John Obuchowski were members of the John H. Williams crew when it joined the 100th on 23 Aug. 1944. Larsen & Bostrom left that crew when it became a Pathfinder crew.

The Command Pilot for this mission was the 100th's unflappable "Air Boss", Lt. Colonel Harry F. Cruver, shortly thereafter to become the Group Commander. Of interest is that the Command Navigator was Major Harry Crosby, the Group Navigator. Both of these "Harry's" are larger than life figures in the history of the 100th.

EYEWITNESS: " A/C 44-6470 was hit by flak immediately after bombs away. #3 engine was knocked loose and dropped off the wing. The A/C nosed up; then leveled off and started for the undercast in a steep glide.  At the Rally point pilot made a 180 degree turn and headed back toward Russia. He was heard over VHF saying that #4 prop was running away and that he would attempt to reach the Russian lines. The A/C was under control and there was no fire. One chute was seen to leave
the A/C. Allied fighters were escorting A/C. "

STATEMENT OF S/SGT. JOHN E. KAISER. JR. 18243028

The following information was received by Captain Charles W. Terry, Station 139
Prisoner of War Officer on interrogation of S/Sgt. Kaiser 24 April 1945. S/Sgt
Kaiser, since this date has returned to the Zone of Interior.

"On 31 March 1945, A/C 44-6470 was hit by flak while over the target at Zeitz, Germany and its #3 engine was knocked out of its mount. It nosed up out of the formation, leveled off, then started down in a steep glide. Just before reaching the undercast, the pilot was heard to say he would try to reach the Russian lines and the A/C went into the undercast on an easterly heading."

S/Sgt Kaiser was flying as tail gunner and states that his A/C was hit twice. After the flrst hit it remained in level flight and the engineer called on inter-phone to ask if he was all right. There were noises from the front that sounded like pieces of the plane were ripping away. When it was hit again a few seconds later, the A/C started down in a steep glide. He fastened on his chute and called over in interphone but no one answered. He looked back into the waist but could see nothing because of smoke. The A/C was vibrating badly so he decided to get out. His clothing hung on the handle of the escape hatch and he was trapped there for about 30 seconds. He tried to climb back into the A/C but was weak from lack of oxygen and could not, so he pulled his-self up as far as possible and let go. This freed him from the plane so he opened his chute and looked down. He floated across the German Air Field located at 5059 N 1231 E. As he floated over the woods just east of this A/F, he noticed that there were hundreds of E/A dispersed there. He landed in an open field just east of the woods and was momentarily unconscious. When he came to, he saw several soldiers (Luftwaffe) approaching, so he stood up with his hands over his head.

After being captured and brought to a Prisoner of War Camp at Weimer he was interrogated by a German Officer. The interrogator asked him the names of the members of his crew. He gave him their last names end was told that his crew had
crashed a few miles away and all had been killed. As proof he produced a basket containing the dog tags, bill folds, watches, and other personal property of the men. Sgt. Kaiser was allowed to look through this equipment and when he found the wedding ring of his Pilot, 1st Lt Arthur G. Larson, Jr. he asked the Interrogator if he would not allow him to take it to Lt. Larsen's wife. He replied ''sure" and gave it to him