George R. Sands
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

In December 1944, First Lieutenant George R. Sands was serving as a navigator/bombardier with the 756th Bomb Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 304th Bombardment Wing, 15th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces, based at Giulia Airfield, Italy. The 459th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers on missions in Italy, France, the Balkans, Austria and Germany.

On 12 December, 1LT Sands was a navigator/bombardier on B-24J Liberator bomber Serial Number 42-50513 named ’Blushing Virgin’ that was on a mission to bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Blechhammer, Germany. [Missing Air Crew Record (MACR) 10601.] The aircraft had a crew of 11.

MACR 10601 says the aircraft was last sighted by a witness at 0958 hours. The witness, 1LT Don C. Sutton, made the following statement:”We were flying about 23000 feet. LT Abbot called and said he was having trouble with Number 2 supercharger. I noticed what appeared to be flame suppressors burning on Number 2 engine. I called LT Abbott but there was no response. The flames were shooting clear back to the rudder. No bombs were salvoed and no engine feathered. Eleven chutes were seen to open. The plane lost altitude, started coming under my ship and went into the clouds. Gunners saw a flash and plane apparently exploded.”

It was later learned that all eleven crew members successfully parachuted from the airplane. First Lieutenant Harold B. Levine was immediately captured by the Gestapo and was reportedly killed while trying to escape. First Lieutenant Abbot and Second Lieutenants Faulk and McCoy went into hiding together and were repatriated by Russians and then returned to their base at Giulia Airfield, Italy. 2LT St. Hilaire, 1LT Sands, 2LT McCoy and SSGT Mowrey were rescued and hidden by Partisans and stayed with them for three months and were then Returned to Duty (RTD). The remaining four men were captured by the enemy and became Prisoners of War (POWs). They were released at the end of the war.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Purple Heart
Air Medal with Award Numeral 2
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Forces Navigator Badge
Army Air Forces Bombardier Badge

B-24J Liberator bomber Serial Number 42-50513 named Blushing Virgin had the following crew members on 12 December 1944.

● Pilot: 1LT Keith M. Abbott [Honoree Record ID 308656] RTD
● Co-Pilot: 2LT Gerard P. St. Hilaire [Honoree Record ID 308657] RTD
● Navigator: 1LT Kenneth L. Faulk [Honoree Record ID 308658] RTD
● Navigator: 1LT Harold B. Levine [Honoree Record ID 46870] Captured - Killed
● Navigator/Bombardier: 1LT George R. Sands [Honoree Record ID 207350] RTD
● Bombardier: 2LT Charles M. McCoy [Honoree Record ID 308659] RTD
● Engineer: TSGT Orval L. Archer [Honoree Record ID 308660] POW
● Radio Operator: TSGT Frank L. Dolce, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 308661] POW
● Left Waist Gunner: SSGT Joseph A. Mowrey [Honoree Record ID 308662] RTD
● Right Waist Gunner: SSGT Richard A. Simerson [Honoree Record ID 308663] POW
● Tail Turret Gunner: SSGT Walter E. Hoyt [Honoree Record ID 308664] POW

Death and Burial

First Lieutenant George R. Sands died on 28 April 1945 when the B-24 aircraft in which he and other 459th Bombardment Group members were riding, crashed into the side of a mountain during bad weather. They were enroute to Rome, Italy, on a R&R trip. He is buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Provincia di Roma, Lazio, Italy.

[The information in this biography was derived primarily from various sections of the 459th Bombardment Group website at http://www.459bg.org/ and permission was granted for its use.]