| Notes |
- The exact date of when William & the other crewmen of this B-29, as noted below, died is uncertain. It did, however, occur between May 23rd and May 26th, 1945.
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Son of Hiester H. Muhlenberg who resided in Pennsylvania.
William served as a Second Lieutenant & Navigator on B-29 #44-69799, 458th Bomber Squadron, 330th Bomber Group, Very Heavy, U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
He resided in Berks County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on August 21, 1941, prior to the war, in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as an Office Clerk and also as Single, without dependents.
B-29 #44-69799 was part of Mission 67. During the night of 13-14 April, 327 B-29's from the XXI BC attacked the Tokyo Arsenel with 2,120 tons of bombs. Seven B-29's are lost including B-29 #44-69799.
B-29 #44-69799 crashed in Sanuma, Omiya Village, Inashika County, Ibaragi Prefecture.
Only 1 airmen was "Killed In Action" in the crash. The others all became POW's of the Japanese Army and were put in the Tokyo prison.
The only airmen to perish in the crash was:
Kruse, George J, Jr ~ 2nd Lt., Radar Observer, IA
The area around the Tokyo prison was later bombed by the American Air Force. The prison, from this bombing, caught on fire and the Japanese guards locked the prison doors on the remaining crew from B-29 #44-69799. None of them survived the fire. The prison guards were later convicted at the War Crimes Tribunal and executed.
William was "Killed In Action" in this incident during the war.
His remains were never recovered.
He was awarded the Air Medal, Purple Heart and the Prisoner Of War Medal.
He was originally interred in the Yokohama Cemetery No. 1, Japan and was later repatriated here on December 8, 1949.
Service # O1635147
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Airmen from B-29 #44-69799
that perished in the fire:
Carle, Alpheus G ~ 1st Lt, Flight Commander, MA
Duffy, Lawrence T ~ S/Sgt, Radio Operator, VT
Litz, Andrew J ~ 2nd Lt, Pilot, NE
Lund, Edwin P ~ Pfc, Gunner, WA
Morsch, Allen L ~ Cpl, CFC, ND
Muhlenberg, William F ~ 2nd Lt, Navigator, PA
Muller, Darwin J ~ Cpl, Right Gunner, NE
Price, John T ~ 2nd Lt, Bombardier, MD
Raymond, Calvin R ~ Cpl, Left Gunner, NY
Turner, Doyne L ~ LTC, Observer, AR
Verhines, Jim W ~ T/Sgt, Engineer, CA
Bio & Crew Report by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett
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1918 - 1945 (26 years)
