Lester Joseph, Jr.
Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces

In December 1944, Sergeant Lester Joseph, Jr. was serving as a nose turret gunner with the 758th 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 18 December, SGT Joseph was the nose turret gunner of B-24G Liberator bomber Serial Number 42-78160 named ’Cherry’ that was on a mission to bomb the Oil Refinery at Oświęcim, Poland. [Missing Air Crew Record (MACR) 10699.] The aircraft had a crew of 10.

MACR 10699 says the aircraft was last sighted at 1205 hours on 18 December. A witness observed no parachutes and did not see the plane crash.

It was later learned that shortly after Cherry’s bombs were dropped on the target, the flak was not too bad and the target was well covered with clouds. Suddenly, however, a barrage of flak came up and scored a direct hit on the Number 3 engine. Although the shot was a dud and did not explode, it severely damaged the propeller resulting in a ‘runaway’ propeller that required the engine to be shut down. As the plane began to lose altitude the crew started jettisoning excess weight; the fifty caliber guns were dismounted and dropped through the open bomb bay. Realizing that the plane's fuel would only last an hour, the pilot, 2LT DeGroat, decided to head for Russian-held territory. When all the fuel was exhausted, 2LT DeGroat was unable to find a suitable landing strip of any kind. So, the entire 10-man crew successfully bailed out.

Two of the men, Nose Turret Gunner SGT Lester Joseph, Jr. and Waist Gunner SSGT William Sowders, were Killed in Action by German soldiers who shot them as they descended in their parachutes. A third crew member, Engineer SGT Walter F. Falck, Jr., was also shot as he descended in his parachute, but the bullet pierced his left thigh and exited without hitting the bone. He survived to become one of the five crew members who were captured as Prisoners of War (POWs) upon landing. They were released at the end of the war. The other three crew members landed in Russian-held territory, were assisted by Russians, and therefore evaded capture. They were Returned to Duty (RTD).

Medals, Awards and Badges

Purple Heart
Air Medal with Award Numeral 3
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Forces Aircrew Badge

B-24G Liberator bomber Serial Number 42-78160 named Cherry had the following crew members on 18 December 1944.

● Pilot: 2LT Robert G. DeGroat [Honoree Record ID 308716] POW
● Co-Pilot: 2LT Joseph R. Moses [Honoree Record ID 308717] RTD
● Navigator: 2LT Huber V. Schierling [Honoree Record ID 308718] POW
● Bombardier: 2LT Dan Rose [Honoree Record ID 308719] RTD
● Engineer: SGT Walter F. Falck, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 308720] POW
● Radio Operator: SSGT Alexander S. Drogy [Honoree Record ID 308721] POW
● Nose Turret Gunner: SGT Lester Joseph, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 46484] KIA
● Waist Gunner: SSGT William Sowders [Honoree Record ID 48470] KIA
● Ball Turret Gunner: SGT Joseph G. Hallet, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 308722] RTD
● Tail Turret Gunner: SGT Donald J. Patnode [Honoree Record ID 308723] POW

Burial

Sergeant Lester Joseph, Jr. is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium, in Plot A, Row 12, Grave 2.

[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.]