THE WASHBURN STORY By Herbert Kurz I feel compelled to write this story because it is true and also that

it is an amazing account of a lost B-24 plane and crew of nine in the Central Pacific during the early part of !44" #omeone$ somewhere reading this might recall the e%ent and be able to fill in the last part of an intriguing story" It all starting during our short stay on the island of &u'ufetau$ in the (llice group )ust south of the e*uator" +ran' ,ashburn was our bombardier" He was a stoc'y fellow$ early thirties$ from -o%er+o.croft$ /aine and spo'e with a decided /aine accent" He had been on a number of missions with us since going o%erseas in /arch !40" 1perations from our base at /o'uleia on the Island of 1ahu up until &o%ember of !40 had been mainly search with an occasional combat mission thrown in" ,e 2!3 th Bomb #*uadron Hea%y4 mo%ed down to &u'ufetau on 4th &o%ember !40 after the island runway was made operational to handle 4-engined aircraft" It was primiti%e li%ing at best but at least we were a bit closer to our targets" 1n 5anuary !$ !44$ a night mission was to be carried out by eight B-246s from the !3th against the island of ,ot)e in the /arshall Islands" 1ne of the planes$ #erial

74 -20!03 'nown as 8#e.y #ue I9$ /other of :en; piloted by nine man crew"
st st st

<t" Charles

Hop'ins 28Hoppy;4 would be carrying a

<t" Charles (" Hop'ins = Pilot <t" 5ohn K" /uncy = Co-Pilot

2nd <t" ,illiam P" >owe$ 5r" = &a%igator 2nd <t" +ran' 5" ,ashburn = Bombardier :?# <orian @" <lewellyn = (ngineer?Aunner #?# @lan Hibbert = @ssistant (ngineer?Aunner :?# (ugene 5" Aurzonda = >adio #?# 1r%al (" (stes >adio 1p?Aunner

#?# #am @" Belfrose = @rm?Aun Hoppy6s regular bombardier$ <t" ,ebb would be replaced by our bombardier$ +ran' ,ashburn due to ,ebb being ill" (ight B-246s proceeded from &u'ufetau to staging base$ :arawa on the morning of 5anuary B$ !44" +rom there the planes too' off at inter%als of 2C minutes starting at C04 Dulu to 24 D$ 2C 5anuary" :wo planes were aborted and returned to :arawa"

A view of the Japanese airbase at Wotje taken from a B-24 during a bombing mission. This was not the 20 Januar mission. The image was darkened to part! simu!ate what that mission was !ike. :he remaining planes did ma'e it to the target approaching the target area from ECCC to 2CCC feet" Plane 7!0F was last seen by <t" -wyer$ pilot of 7CC! at 420 D turning toward the target" @t that time 7!03 was in a formation as close as dar'ness would allow" @t FCC D$ the !3th ground radio station at &u'ufetau pic'ed up a message from <t" Hop'ins that 8one engine out$ one bad;" #hortly thereafter #1# signals were pic'ed up until F F D when they were no longer audible"

@ search was conducted by &a%y 8-umbo; @ir?#ea rescue ser%ice from &a%y :as' Aroup FB"0 which was operating in the area" Planes of the !3 th also searched with negati%e results" It must be pointed out here that the !3th was in the process of mo%ing from &u'ufetau to :arawa between E 5anuary and B 5anuary !44" Around echelon was aboard an <#: with only a s'eleton force remaining at &u'ufetau for clean up" :his would appear to end the story$ but waitGthings really get in%ol%ed" In late 5anuary !44$ our forces mo%ed into Kwa)alein and by +ebruary some of the

islands were secure" @fter Kwa)alein Island was ta'en$ the marines found Hop'ins6 P1+ file among captured documents along with another P1+ file from another plane lost in the same area" 5ap P1,6s reported that members of crews of the been ta'en to Kwa)alein and there transshipped to 8some 5ap P1, camp;" :he !3th mo%ed to Kwa)alein between 22 /arch and 0 @pril !44$ 'nown as @P1 24 " In late /ay or early 5une our C"1" /a)or @llen H" ,ood$ 8,oody; as we 'new him$ recei%ed a letter from the mother of one of the enlisted crew members aboard Plane 7!03" ,oody called se%eral of us together$ myself included$ being +ran'6s pilot$ and read the letter to us as'ing us for ad%ice and what to do about it" :his mother wrote she had had a dream about her son and he had crashed but that he was safe and ali%e on "ajor Wood #standing$ giving a briefing to the %&th B' on (waja!ein for the atta)k on Truk.
th

group had

an island called 8<ae; somewhere in our area" &one of us 'new of any such island and it certainly was not listed as a target" #ome of the na%igators chec'ed their charts but all results were negati%e" +inally our intelligence officer$ 5ohn Aartland$ chec'ed with a &a%y or /arine unit on an island across the lagoon and came bac' with word that there indeed was such an island" It appears that many of these islands ha%e changed names many times depending under whose ownership the area was before and since ,,I" :he island was located at 3"FBH &$ EE" 2H ( which was about 2EC miles west of the course from :arawa to ,ot)e at the closest point$ or about !C miles #, of Kwa)alein" ,hen as'ed about the island$ the &a%y said that there was nothing on the island but the usual %egetation and bird life" 1n returning with this information and ha%ing the location of the island$ it was decided to send two planes out on a recon mission and

photograph the island" I do not 'now who authorized this mission but on C 5une 44$ two crews on :-I from the 42nd #*uadron$ <:" <eland @" Bates and <t" @rthur H" Peterson in Planes 73BE and 73FC made a 8routine; photo mission o%er <ae" 1n returning they said that they had spotted what appeared to be a clearing of %egetation with a lean-to in the middle" :he photos clearly showed their findings" :hese photos were shown to the &a%y to refute their claim about nothing being there" @s a result$ the &a%y sent out a ship to in%estigate" 1n returning they brought bac' the following information as passed on to me by 5ohn Aartland" 8:hey had found the clearing and the lean-to and in addition had found a rather fresh gra%e with a mar'er with the name 8+" ,ashburn; scratched on it;" #ome years later$ perhaps !43 while on a %acation thru &ew Ior' state our car bro'e down and I was able to loo' up Aartland who was a practicing lawyer in the city where we had trouble" ,e had a cordial meeting in his office and I as'ed 5ohn to tell the story of 8Hoppy; to my wife" #he had heard it so many times from me that I wanted her to hear it from someone else without any prompting" 5ohn told the story and when he finished I as'ed him if he 'new if they had e%er dug into the gra%e" He said that he did not 'now and that was all that he 'new about the incident" /y son$ who was researching this story thru the archi%es in ,ashington$ found a letter dated 2F 5anuary !43 to C"1" EC4th J/ Ara%es >egistration Co" by
st

<t" ,olenberg$

to the effect that an @A># Case 0 4 was in%estigated at ,ot)e @toll" :he case stated that 8there is one 'nown burial on ,ot)e Island whose last name is (stes and who might be #?#gt" (stes 7 3C 7!03" :he story now ta'es on new meaning since it was always our belief that the plane went down in the water and that perhaps there were some sur%i%ors who too' to rafts" ,hen the finding of the gra%e cropped up it was then belie%ed that some of the crew floated to this small island and perhaps +ran' died and was buried by a sur%i%ing crew member F C;" (stes was one of the enlisted crew members aboard

who too' off to loo' for a more habitable island that could sustain him" @t least this was our belief" 1n the basis of what we now 'now it appears that the plane crashed at ,ot)e and there were sur%i%ors" +rom interrogation of nati%es at <ae$ the 5aps used <ae as an >K> stopo%er$ usually o%ernight$ on their way bac' to 5apan" It is possible that +ran' and others were ta'en from ,ot)e to Kwa)alein and then on their way to 5apan as P1,6s stopped off at <ae" +ran' either was seriously in)ured or 'illed by the 5aps died and they allowed his buddies to bury him before lea%ing the island" 1f course this part of the story is only con)ecture$ but how did a crude mar'er appear at this gra%e siteL Could it be coincidence some one else of that name was buried hereL It seems incredible that on the basis of a dream that a mother some 3CCC miles away and during a war time situation$ that the wheels would ha%e been put into motion to the e.tent of sending out a ship and 2 planes and crews to in%estigate a matter such as this" I might add that we are in close contact with the ,ashburn family in -o%er-+o.croft$ /aine for the past four years" :hey are an incredible family" /rs" ,ashburn 2Hattie4 is !F years old and all eight of +ran'6s brothers and sisters are ali%e" ,e ha%e %isited all but one across the M"#" /r" ,ashburn died sometime after the war and was a master carpenter" He was also a %ery talented poet with a boo' of his poems being published" :he missing lin' to the whole story is$ was the gra%e e%er dug up and positi%ely identifiedL ,ho 'nowsLL By Herbert :" Kurz !3th Bombardment #*uadron
th

Bombardment Aroup 2H4

/ay !$ !3E

>eferencesN " 2" 0" 4" F" E" B" 3" !" C" 2C 5anuary !44 /ission >eport$ !3th B"#" by 5ohn Aartland 8Arey Aeese Calling; by ,illiam Cle%eland /issing @ir Crew >eport 2/@C>4 7 !C4$ &ational @rchi%es >ecord Aroup 7!2 @/# /ap of <ae @toll !4E Kwa)alein @toll Commander$ ,ar -iary$ /ay !44" /ay !44 <etter @merican >ed Cross to +ield -irector @>C !3 th B"#" Casualty Br"$ #tatus >e%iew and -etermination &o" !EF !3th #*" with History !44$ M#@+ @rchi%es 2F 5anuary !43 <etter to C1 EC4th J/ Ara%es >egistration Company &ational Aeographic /ap$ Pacific 1cean$ Page 02! #eptember !4F and Islands of the Pacific -ecember !B4 2showing <ae @toll4

+ootnotesN " 2" /ost maps do not show the Island because of its size" I contacted <eland Bates in !30 and ha%e a letter from him stating that the does not remember the photo mission and his log does not show it" :ime does funny things to our memory 2Please see 8Aray Aeese Calling; page 003 )ust abo%e paragraph title 8-aylight /ission on :ru';"4 0" 4" F" I ha%e all of the documentation in my possession" /rs" ,ashburn died on +ebruary !$ !3B and was buried in -o%er-+o.croft in late @pril of !3B" ,e ha%e since met all of the family"