AR banner
Search Tips Advanced Search
Back to Top

• Kracker Archive
• Allied Losses
• Archiwum Polish
• Paradie Canadian
• RCAF
• RAAF
• RNZAF
• USA
• Searchable Lists

Info LogoAdd to or correct this story with a few clicks.
Archive Report: US Forces
1941 - 1945

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.

We seek additional information and photographs. Please contact us via Helpdesk
10th Air Force
06.06.1944 459th Fighter Squadron P-38H 42-67001, 1st Lt. Burdette C. Goodrich

Operation: Fighter Sweep, Burma (Myanmar)

Date: 6th June 1944 (Tuesday)

Unit No: 459th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, 10th Air Force

Type: P-38H

Serial No: 42-67001

Code: Unknown

Base: Chittagong, India

Location: 1 mile west of Pyinchaung, Burma (Myanmar)

Pilot: 1st Lt. Burdette Clark Goodrich O-750504 AAF Age 27. PoW */DED**/MiA

* Burma #5 (Moulmein & Rangoon Jail)

** DED = Declared dead

REASON FOR LOSS:

The loss of 1st Lt. Burdette C. Goodrich and his P-38H was described in statements by two eye witnesses:

2nd Lt. William C. Baumester Jr., O-753595:

"On June 6, 1944, I started on the mission flying Capt. Duke’s wing, but become separated from him over the target area. Then we started for home, I joined on to Maj. Luehring's flight in which Lt. Goodrich was flying number three position. Shortly after I joined the flight I noticed that Lt. Goodrich was in trouble as he had feathered his right engine. He called me and stated that he couldn't get any power from his right engine and only 25 inHg on his left. He restarted his right engine after he feathered it. As we passed over the Irrawaddy River at 8000’ altitude, Lt. Goodrich put his plane Into a steep dive and I followed on his wing. We levelled out about three thousand feet and Lt. Goodrich again feathered his right engine. He called me then and said that his left engine was dropping off and that he would have to crash-land. I watched the landing and continued circling the plane for about ten minutes and observed no movement at all in the plane or any in the near vicinity. The plane had touched down in a dry river bed and then went through a row of trees on the West bank. The plane was pretty badly damaged, but appeared to be intact around cockpit section. Lt. Goodrich had flaps down at time of crash-landing and low airspeed of about 85 miles per hour (est.). I left area because of gas shortage and headed for home”.

Note: Maj. Verl Dean Luehring O-429578 Survived the War. He was awarded a Silver Star Medal, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster (SSM, 1 OLC), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC, 2 OLC), Air Medal (AM,1 OLC). He was also awarded the British Distinguished Flying Medal (DFC).

Note: 25 inHg = 25 inches of Mercury which is the American method of selecting boost, whereas the British used psi (pounds per square inch).

2nd Lt. James L. King, O-686955:

"On June 6, 1944, I was on a mission to locate and destroy a P-38H type airplane which had crash landed in enemy territory, and to look for a P-38J that had failed to return from the same mission on June 6.

The plane that had crash-landed was located adjacent to a dry stream bed in the vicinity of Pauk. I was detailed to go down and look over the plane with Lt. Barnes, and then to destroy it with gunfire.

I made three passes over the plane at minimum altitude before opening fire. It was evident that the enemy or natives were making an effort to camouflage because small brush had been placed over a portion of the nose and cockpit. The radio canopy had been removed. There was no evidence of a body in or near the airplane and I was unable to determine if the parachute had been removed. The plane appeared to be in good condition.

We then proceeded to destroy the plane. A number of passes were made and a small fire at the junction of the left boom and wing resulted. The ship was completely riddled by cannon und machine gun fire. Upon departure from the scene, a fire of about 3 feet in height and smoke up to 25 feet were observed.

I did not see anything of the missing P-38J flown by Capt. Duke who was missing the same date".

Note: No corroborated details for Lt. Barnes has been found.

Note: Capt. Walter Francis Duke O-790505 from the 459th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group was flying P-38J 42-67626 and was posted MiA. He was awarded a Silver Star Medal (SSM), Distinguished Flying Cross, 2 Oak Leaf Clusters (DFC, 2 OLC), Air Medal (AM, 2 OLC), Purple Heart (PH).

He was subsequently captured by the Japanese and was incarcerated at the Burma #5 camp known as the New Law Courts Jail, Rangoon, Burma.

Capt. Ortmeyer Jr. died (Declared dead (DED) on the 24th February 1945) whilst being held as a PoW. A British Military Court convened in Rangoon, Burma between the 6th and 19th June 1946 determined that his death was deemed to be a war crime.

Above reporting the death of 1st Lt. Goodrich (Courtesy of The Spokesman Review, dated 31st August 1945)

Four (4) members of the Imperial Japanese Army were charged with committing a war crime in that they, at the New Law Courts Jail Annex, Rangoon, Burma, between the 1st March 1944 and 1st May 1945 when members of the Staff of the Jail and were responsible for the well-being of the prisoners in custody there, in violation of the laws and usages of war, were together concerned as parties to the ill-treatment resulting in the deaths of seventeen (17) and other American PoW, and physical suffering to other American PoW in custody at the jail.

The four (4) accused were:

Captain (Rikugun-tai-i) TAZUMI Motozo;

1st Lieutenant (Rikugun-Chūi) ONISHI Akio;

Sergeant Major (Rikugun-Sōchō) UENO Kiyoshi;

Superior Private (Rikugun-Jōtō-Hei) UENO Koigetsu.

Note: the Japanese word Rikugun preceding a rank indicates that it relates to the army.

Capt. TAZUMI was the Commanding Officer (CO) of the Futo Buntai prison, also known as the New Law Courts Jail Annex, from 15th March 1944 until May 1944. Lt. ONISHI was the Medical Officer (MO) at the Jail from the 4th May 1944 to the 15th April 1945.

Sgt Maj. UENO was the Quartermaster in change of purchasing food and drawing rations for the entire personnel for the Jail from March 1944 until the evacuation on or about the 25th April 1945.

Sup Pvt. UENO was a member of the guard at the Jail from the 25th April 1943 to 10th October 1944.

During the period April 1943 to May 1945 approximately one-hundred (100) American PoWs were incarcerated in the Annex where they were kept in confinement under harsh and oppressive regulations without proper or adequate food, covering, sanitation facilities and medical attention. During this time the PoWs were subjected to brutal beatings and maltreatment by members of the staff of the jail and in particular by Sup Pvt. UENO.

The treatment of the PoWs directly contributed the deaths of the following seventeen (17) named Americans, and other PoWs:

Sgt. Norman E. Albinson, Sgt. John E. Leisure, Cpl. Julius F. Yackie, T/Sgt. Charles A. Pittard, S/Sgt. Jack R. Sheets, 1st Lt. Robert D. Drummey, 1st Lt. Burdette C. Goodrich, Capt. Armin J. Ortmeyer Jr., 2nd Lt. Joseph G. Rich, 2nd Lt. Burdette H. Baker, 1st Lt. James M. Grey, S/Sgt. Frank Rodriguez, Capt. Wayne R. Westberg, 2nd Lt. Everitt E. Briggs Jr., 1st Lt. Paul E. Almand, FO. Gene Gambale, Sgt. J. Brown. (No corroborated information for a US airman by this name has been found).

The court found TAZUMI guilty of the charge except in the case of the deaths of the seventeen (17) named Americans and other PoWs.

ONISHI was found guilty of the ill-treatment resulting in the death of 1st Lt. Robert D. Drummey and contributing to the deaths of Sgt. Norman E. Albinson, 1st Lt. Burdette C. Goodrich, Capt. Armin J. Ortmeyer Jr., 2nd Lt. Joseph G. Rich, 2nd Lt. Burdette H. Baker, 1st Lt. James M. Grey, S/Sgt. Frank Rodriguez, 2nd Lt. Everitt E. Briggs Jr., 1st Lt. Paul E. Almand and Sgt. J. Brown.

Sgt Maj. UENO and Sup Pvt. UENO were found guilty of the charge except in the case of the deaths of the seventeen (17) named Americans and other PoWs.

The court sentenced TAZUMI, UENO Kiyoshi and UENO Koigetsu to 7 years, 3 years and 15 years imprisonment respectively.

ONISHI was sentence to death, however, upon review on the 14th March 1947 the sentence of death was commuted to imprisonment for life.

The remains of 1st Lt. Goodrich were recovered on the 5th May 1946 from the Rangoon Cantonment Cemetery by the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS). On the 17th May 1946 their remains were loaded aboard C-47B 43-48308 of the 1304th AAF Base Unit to be transported from Mingaladon in Rangoon to Barrackpore in India. The aircraft failed to arrive at the ETA and despite an extensive air search no trace of any wreckage on land or sea was found and the aircraft, crew, passengers and the remains of this airmen along with another thirty-seven (37) are still missing to this day.

Burial Details

Above: 1st Lt. Burdette C. Goodrich, Manila American Cemetery, Walls of the Missing (Courtesy of the ABMC)

1st Lt. Burdette Clark Goodrich. Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Air Medal (AM). Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery. Born on the 8th November 1917 in Colfax, Whitman County, Washington. Son of Walter Roland and Dora Rozella (née Conover) Goodrich of Colfax, Whitman County, Washington. Husband to Lorretta Leandra (née Dufresne) Goodrich of Colfax, Whitman County, Washington, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to this pilot and his family (Jan 2025).

Other sources listed below:

RS 17.01.2025 - Initial Upload

Pages of Outstanding Interest
History Airborne Forces •  Soviet Night Witches •  Bomber Command Memories •  Abbreviations •  Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination  •  Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis •  SOE Heroine Nancy Wake •  Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
Acknowledgments: Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and Captain François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
Click any image to enlarge it
Click to add your info via ticket on Helpdesk •Click to let us know via ticket on Helpdesk• Click to explore the entire site

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

All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© 2012 - 2025 Aircrew Remembered
Last Modified: 30 January 2025, 11:14

If you would like to comment on this page, please do so via our Helpdesk. Use the Submit a Ticket option to send your comments. After review, our Editors will publish your comment below with your first name, but not your email address.