42-7221           XC-109

 

On 28 August 1944, a B-24/XC-109 Liberator Express (cargo version of B-24 Liberator), # 42-7221, assigned to Air Transport Command, 1327th Air Base Unit, departed the airfield at Tezpur, India, at about 0139 hours, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China. The crew were:

                                              Pilot                             Capt. Carl P. Dunaway                        0-434087

                                              Co-Pilot                       1stLt Joseph T. Skully                         0-511033

                                              Radio Operator            PFC Bruce Q. Davis                            39835537

                                              Engineer                      TSgt Richard U. Ellerbe                      34401915

The next-of-kin were listed as:

                                              Dunaway         James P. Dunaway, F, Rte 1, Nyssa, OR

                                              Skully              Ruth M. Skully, W, 223 E. Spruce St, East Rochester, NY

                                              Ellerbe             Maude Leola Ellerbe, M, 231 N Tennessee Ave, Lakeland, FL

                                              Davis               Ada S. Davis, W, 569 Ninth Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah

FROM HQS, 1340TH ABU TO 1327TH ABU: What follows was received from Chinese 5th Route Air Force Hqs, from Station Master, Yunnanyi, China – Chi Kwang 0-1. On 28 Aug 1944, at 1400 China ST, an aircraft crashed and burned on Fan Mili Chan Mountain in the Jun Lung District near Hsifang, China. Due to adverse conditions and extreme difficulty climbing to the crash site, it was reached 1 Sept 1944. The fuselage was totally destroyed by fire. All crewmen were burned beyond recognition. An ID tag belonging to Lt. Joseph Skully was found and other ID mentioned in Bulletins 31 and 32. All remains were buried at the crash site. Also found by an American search team: The mess kit of Lt. Skully was found. The aircraft exploded when it crashed, scattering debris across the mountainside. So little of the remains were buried in unmarked spots, that it was decided that a year afterwards, it would not be worth the search time. A boot was found near the fuselage. The remains which were recoverable were sent to the U.S. and buried in a common grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in 1949.

DUNAWAY, CARL PAXTON, Captain.  # 0-434087, USAAF

 

Carl P. Dunaway was born on 18 February 1919 in Vale, Malheur Co., Oregon, to James Paxton Dunaway (1884-1955) (TX) and Rosella (Houston) Dunaway (1882-1970) (TX) (married in 1908 in Ector, Texas). Siblings included James Houston Dunaway (1910-1998) (TX), Max Henry Dunaway (1912-1972) (OR), Darlene (Dunaway) Talbot (1917-    ) (OR), and John “Jack” William Dunaway (1922-2015) (OR). Living with them in 1940 was an a paternal great-aunt, Fannie Walker, (1861-    ).

 

He registered for the WW II draft on 16 October 1940 and described himself as 5’10”, 150 lbs, with brown hair and eyes. After enlisting in the USAAF, he completed flight instruction through advanced schools and was multi-engine rated. He earned his commission and pilot wings. He was sent overseas to 10th Air Force in India. On 28 August 1944, a B-24/XC-109, # 42-7221, assigned to Air Transport Command, 1327th Air Base Unit, departed the airfield at Tezpur, India, at about 0139 hours, on a cargo mission to Kunming, China.