Operation: Non-Operational Mission

Date: 31st October 1944 (Tuesday)

Unit No: 701st Bombardment Squadron (H), 445th Bombardment Group (H), 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-24J Slossie

Serial No: 44-40294

Code: MK:C

Location: Unknown

Base: Tibenham (Station #124), Norfolk, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Edward Joseph Speers O-819198 AAF Age 25. MiA

Co-Pilot: 1st Lt. William Henry Moran Jr. O-550458 AAF Age 24. MiA (1)

Navigator: 1st Lt. Robert Kendal Rouse O-711482 AAF Age 23. MiA

Radio/Op: T/Sgt. Robert Maurice Dickey 15132373 AAF Age 20. MiA

Engineer: T/Sgt. James Roy Byars 34606613 AAF Age 20. MiA

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Robert A. Dittmar 12194272 AAF Age 20. MiA

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Albert Julius Clark 33733116 AAF Age 20. MiA

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. William Aubrey 'Bill' Morris 38564249 AAF Age 19. MiA

Originally the B-24 had ten (10) crew positions. Crew complements evolved during the war and generally comprised nine (9) personnel who were typically, but not always, Pilot, Co-Pilot, Bombardier, Navigator, Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, Radio Operator/Waist Gunner, Nose Gunner, Ball Turret Gunner, Waist Gunner, Tail Gunner.

The Ball Turret was being removed from July 1944 as an operational decision to reduce weight and improve the manoeuvrability of the aircraft.

Standing left to right: T/Sgt. Robert M. Dickey, unknown, Sgt. William A. Morris, unknown, Sgt. Albert J. Clark, unknown. Front left to right: unknown, 1st Lt. Robert K. Rouse, 2nd Lt. Peter S. Belitsos, unknown.

This is an image of the original Speers’ crew standing in front of 'Bessie' 625. Others on the crew but not identified on this picture are: 1st Lt. Edward J. Speers, T/Sgt. James R Byars, S/Sgt Robert A. Dittmar, and two unknown airmen. (Credit. Kassel Mission Historical Society archives)

Note: 2nd Lt. Peter Steven Belitsos O-822625 survived the war and returned to Lynn, Massachusetts

REASON FOR LOSS:

B-24J Liberator 44-40294 Slossie departed Tibenham on 31st October 1944 at about 12:50 hrs to take part in a thirty (30) aircraft training mission. Nothing was heard from Slossie after take-off. The weather had been overcast between 600 and 8000 feet and the returning crews reported light icing conditions as their aircraft climbed out through the overcast skies. Slossie was missing from the formation when the other aircraft emerged from the overcast.

Although not confirmed, it was suspected that icing caused the plane to stall and spin into the North Sea so quickly that there was no time to make a mayday call. Although it was reported that the briefed flight path was not over the English Channel the last known position of Slossie was 16 km (10 mls) NE of Yarmouth. Subsequent search and rescue operations found no wreckage or the crew.

(1) 1st Lt. William Henry Moran Jr. was the stand-in pilot for this flight

Burial details:

The crew are remembered in the ‘Tablets of the Missing’ at the Cambridge American Cemetery (Madingley American Cemetery) in Cambridgeshire, England.

Above: (Credit of the Democrat and Chronicle, dated Wednesday November 7, 1945)

1st Lt. Edward Joseph Speers. DFC, Air Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 1st October 1919 in Geneva, Ontario, New York. Son of Elwood Arthur and Mary F. (née Murphy) Speers. Husband to Betty Hospes Speers from Geneva, New York, USA.

Above: 1st Lt. Moran Jr. Marker

1st Lt. William Henry Moran Jr. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). There is also has a cenotaph memorial marker at the Arlington National Cemetery. Born on the 18th June 1920 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Son to William Henry and Anna Elizabeth (née Schmotzer) Moran. Husband to Mary Jane (née Hannon) Moran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

1st Lt. Robert Kendal Rouse. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 14th August 1921. Son to Michael G. and Pauline L. Rouse. Husband to Madelynn A. (née Ney) Rouse from Los Angeles, California, USA.

Above: T/Sgt. Dickey Marker

T/Sgt. Robert Maurice Dickey. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). There is also has a memorial marker at the Trinity Cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania. Born on the 18th July 1922 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. Son to Maurice Lawrence and Bertha (née Schruefer) Dickey from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA.

Above: Credit of The Charlotte Observer dated, Wednesday November 29, 1944.

T/Sgt. James Roy Byars. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 12th December 1923 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Son of James Robert and Elizabeth (née Dover) Byars. Husband to Joe Nell (née Farrington) Byars from Salisbury, North Carolina, USA.

S/Sgt. Robert A. Dittmar. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 26th April 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. Son of Ferdinand and Hilda Dittmar from Laurelton, New York, USA.

S/Sgt. Albert Julius Clark. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 24th August 1924 in Baltimore, Maryland. Son of William C. (deceased in 1937) and Elizabeth M. née Gunther) Clark from Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

S/Sgt. William Aubrey Morris. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Born on the 28th April 1925 in Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma. Son of Elijah Hammond and Della Caldona (née Cotter) Morris. Husband to Mattie Lee (née Garrett) Morris from Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to ‘The Kassel Mission’ Historical Society for their kind permission for the use of images from their site. Thanks to Nancy Hoxley for the correction to the names on the crew photograph (Feb 2019). Reviewed and updated with new information with thanks to Heather Clark for identifying her great uncle, Sgt. Albert J. Clark (Oct 2026).

Other aources listed below:

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt