850th/857th BS
Deano Crew
The Deano crew are pictured here at Mountain Home, spring of 1944. The plane (B24-H 42-94802), was left at Eye. Those pictured are listed as:Standing, L-R:
Francis G. Wylong - Radio Operator
Adam M. Wojack - Bombardier
Charles J. Brejcha, Jr. - Navigator
Robert W. Collett - Copilot
Charles C. Deano - Pilot
Ernest J. Cabral - Engineer
Kneeling, L-R:
Wilbert A. Silva - Dispatcher
Ralph Calderon - Ball Turret Gunner (Orphaned) Returned to Eye, 849th BS, McGee crew
William Markley - Nose Gunner (Orphaned) Returned to Eye, 849th BS
Eugene O. Marion - Tailgunner
Picture and names credit: Ewen Sinclair.
Taken later in the year, names matched with faces by Charles Brejcha, is the 8-man crew at Harrington:
Standing, L-R:
Charles Deano - Pilot
Charles J. Brejcha Jr. - Navigator
Robert Collett - Copilot
Adam M. Wojack - Bombardier
Kneeling, L-R:
Eugene Marion - Tailgunner
Ernest Cabral - Engineer
Francis Wylong - Radio Operator
Wilbert Silva - Dispatcher
Combat Period: May-Sep 1944
Status: Original 490th BG crew, arrived at Harrington at the end of May 1944.
Preferred Aircraft:
Details from August 1944 Mission Reports. Not hard at all to tell that this crew had a preferential plane. Their second DZ for the month was a Belgian target, all the rest were in France.
Pilot MR# OK Fail Joes Cntnrs Pkgs Nkls Date
DZ Aircraft Deano 1405 1 0 0 12 10 3 3 Freelance 7 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1428 1 0 3 12 0 6 5 Nola 1 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1478 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 Horace 15 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1487 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 Pimento 130 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1527 0 1 0 0 8 0 10 Spiritualist 6 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1573 1 0 0 12 0 7 12 Harold 2 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1610 1 0 0 12 10 7 14 Shipwright 28 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1654 1 0 0 12 4 10 15 Fireman 20C B24H 42-95131 Deano 1683 1 0 0 12 6 7 17 Percy 55 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1725 1 0 0 12 0 6 18 Harold 3 B24H 42-95131 Deano 1794 0 1 0 0 0 0 28 Tom 54 B24H 42-95131 After the Deano crew had returned to the ZI, custody of the plane passed to the 859th BS and it was flown to Italy in December of 1944, by George F. Johnson and crew.
Aircraft Details Credit: Tom Brittan
