Dale M. Fisher Crew

DALE M. FISHER CREW - 360th BS
(crew assigned 360BS: 07 June 1944 - photo: 15 June 1944)

(Back L-R) 2Lt Carthel O. Gaskin (B-KIA), 2Lt Carl H. Felton, Jr (N-KIA),
2Lt Carlos H. Johns, Jr. (CP-KIA), 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (P-KIA)

(Front L-R) T/Sgt Robert H. Johnson (R-EVD),
S/Sgt Victor P. Crandell (WG-KIA), Sgt Walter F. Moore (TG),
T/Sgt John M. King (E-KIA), S/Sgt Robert M. Cooper (WG/TG-KIA),
S/Sgt Bernard E. McKeever (BT-KIA)

Nine credited combat missions flown by 1Lt Dale M. Fisher:
179 (13 June 1944), 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189 (22 June 1944).
For mission dates and targets see Combat Missions.

Seven B-17Gs flown by 1Lt Dale M. Fisher on his nine credited combat missions:

42-37841 Banshee (360BS) PU-P - Mission 175, 181
42-97861 Iza Vailable III (360BS) PU-C - Mission 182
42-31340 (P) Miss Liberty (360BS) PU-D - Mission 183
42-97983 (P) Minnie the Moocher (360BS) PU-M - Missions 184, 185
42-97905 (No name) (360BS) PU-R - Mission 187
42-31055 (P) Aloha (360BS) PU-J - Mission 188
42-42432 Old Glory (360BS) PU-N - Mission 189
(P) See Nose Art Photos

Crew Notes:

1Lt Dale M. Fisher (P)(KIA) - 9 credited missions flown: As Copilot with 1Lt Paul H. Long crew (1 mission -180); As First Pilot (8 missions - 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 199)
2Lt Carlos H. Johns, Jr. (CP)(KIA) - 9 credited missions flown as CoPilot: With 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (8 missions - 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189); With 2Lt Paul M. Long (1 mission - 180).
2Lt Carl H. Felton, Jr. (N)(KIA) (*) - 10 credited missions flown: With 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (8 missions - 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189); With 1Lt Donald M. Johnson (2 missions - 179, 180).
2Lt Carthel O. Gaskin (B)(KIA) (+) - 8 credited missions flown: With 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (7 missions - 181, 182, 183, 185, 187, 188, 189); With 1Lt Donald M. Johnson (1 mission - 180). Substitute Togglier, S/Sgt Thomas E. Weaver, used by 1Lt Dale M. Fisher on mission #184.
T/Sgt John M. King (E)(KIA) (+), T/Sgt Richard H. Johnson (R)(Evadee), S/Sgt Bernard E. McKeever (BTG)(KIA) (+) and S/Sgt Victor P. Crandell (WG)(KIA) - 8 credited missions flown - all with 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189). No missions with other Pilots.
S/Sgt Robert M. Cooper (WG/TG)(KIA) - 7 credited missions flown - all with 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (As Waist Gunner - 181, As Tail Gunner - 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189. A substitute Tail Gunner, Sgt Willard F. Moore, used by 1Lt Dale M. Fisher on two missions (181, 182).
Sgt Walter F. Moore (TG) - Removed from the 1Lt Dale M. Fisher crew, before the crew flew any combat missions, when the crew size was changed from 10 to 9 men. Flew no combat missions with the 303rd BG(H). His reassignment duty is not known.

(+) Buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery near Liege, Belgium

(KIA-EVD) On 22 June 1944 mission #189 to Lille, France in B-17G #43-31432 Old Glory (360BS) PU-N. Received a direct hit from flak just after "bombs away". Hit back of the #3 engine, probably in the gas tank. Immediately burst into flames, spun off to the right and went down. The B-17 crashed at Tressin, France. Only one parachute was spotted (8 KIA & 1 EVD). T/Sgt Robert H. Johnson (R), the only survivor who evaded capture, spent his first two nights in a house in the neighboring village of Anstaing, then was hidden in the home of Mr. George Ormand in nearby Sainghin-en-Melantois, up to 03 September 1944 when the place was liberated by Allied troops. In 1994, a monument was placed in Tressin, France honoring the Old Glory Crew. See photos here.

1Lt Dale M. Fisher's original grave marker and his final resting place in Michigan.
The eight crewmen who were KIA were buried locally in Tressin. The bodies of Felton, Gaskin, King, McKeever and Crandell were transferred in 1945 to the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neuville-en-Condroz. S/Sgt Robert M. Cooper (WG/TG) was reburied in the Beechwoods Cemetery in Jefferson County, PA. 1Lt Dale M. Fisher was reburied in Traverse City, MI.

A memorial to the 1Lt Dale M. Fisher Crew was established at Tressin, France. See Memorial photos here and here. Also, see Hell's Angels Newsletter, May 2001, for a story about the sister of 2Lt Cathel O. Gaskin (B), Jane Schauberger, and Nephew of 1Lt Dale M. Fisher (P), Phillip Fisher, who made a Pilgrimage to Molesworth, England and the 22 June 1944 crash site of The Fisher crew B-17 at Tressin, France.

[crew photo from the 303rdBGA Archives - grave photos courtesy of Phillip Fisher]
[Researched by 303rdBGA Historian Harry D. Gobrecht]