44-49235         C109

 

On 5 January 1945, a C-109 (variant of the B-24 Liberator, a fuel tanker), # 44-49235, assigned to Air Transport Command, CIB, 1345th AAF Base Unit, Tezgaon, India, departed the airfield at Kurmitola, India, on a flight to Chengkung, China, through the Himalayan mountain range (the Hump). Last radio contact was with Chabua, India. It was last over Imphal, India, at 2254Z. The crew were:

 

                                           Pilot                             Capt Floyd F. Strohl                            0-424697

                                           Co-Pilot                       Capt John D. Boger                             0-415487

                                           Radio Operator            SSgt Gordon B. Gardner                     19072480

                                           Engineer                      Pvt Samuel Snitzer                               12209195

                                           Student Engineer         Cpl Harry T. Finley                             37407631

The next-of-kin were listed as:

 

                                           Strohl               Dayton D Strohl, F, RR # 3, Champaign, IL

                                           Boger               Charles E. Roger (Boger?), F, 147L Old Charlotte Rd, Concord, NC

                                           Gardner           Myra L Gardner, W, c/o Roy D Fleming, Donelson, TN

                                           Snitzer             Rebecca Snitzer, M, 78 Commonwealth Ave, Buffalo, NY

                                           Finley              Hazel H Finley, M, 1153A N. Euclid Ave, St Louis, MO

STROHL, FLOYD FRANKLIN, Captain, # 0-424697, USAAF

 

Floyd F. Strohl was born on 22 October 1917 in Bondville, Illinois, to Dayton Daniel Strohl (1895-1985) and Frances Amelia (Boerngen) Strohl (1898-1989) (married 1917, Champaign, IL). A sister was Helen Lucille Strohl (1919-1975). He was married at Mitchell Field, New York.

 

He enlisted in the USAAF at Chanute AAF Field, Illinois, as an aviation cadet on 25 November 1940. He completed aviation training through advanced flights schools and was multi-engine rated. He earned his commission and pilot wings. He was sent overseas to India. On 5 January 1945, a C-109, # 44-49235, assigned to Air Transport Command, CIB, 1345th AAF Base Unit, Tezgaon, India, departed the airfield at Kurmitola, India, on a flight to Chengkung, China. Last radio contact was with Chabua, India. It was last over Imphal, India, at 2254Z. It crashed and the crew were lost. He is remembered on the memorial wall of the missing in the Manila American Cemetery & Memorial, Philippines. A memorial marker was placed in Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia (Sec. MC, Site 28M).