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Discussion in 'Information Requests' started by tjcarp, Mar 13, 2015.

  1. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Dear Lou , Great news !! I heard back from the 390th Memorial Museum and the 8th Air Force web site today . They both have confirmed that the Thomas J Carpenter that served with the 390th Bomb Group and the 571st is our dad !! I can't begin to tell you all how much this means to me and my family . All your hard work and the time you all spent on helping me in my search paid off !! I will always appreciate all your help and will never forget all the help you gave me . My family and I now have a legacy of our dad to pass on to the young ones . And now we can honor dad properly and say good bye and find closure . I couldn't have done it with out you and this wonderful site :) I wish you all well in your searches and happiness always in your journey we call life !! Sincerely, Debbie Carpenter and the family of Thomas J Carpenter
     
  2. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    That's great news, Debbie. I'm very happy they were able to provide that confirmation of your father's service in the 571st. It is a privilege for us to be able to help you in discovering and honoring your fathers WWII service. All the best to you and your family.
     
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  3. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Dear Tommy , Thank you :) It has been a honor to know you all and to be a part of this wonderful site :) I honor your family members who served in past and present wars as well !! I wanted to let you all know that I found my dads sister and talked with her the other day . She is 88 years old and still doing well !! She was a Army nurse during World War 2 and she is going to send me some pics of dad !! She also said she has some letters from dad while he was in England stationed at Framlingham with the 390th . I can't wait to read them !! I will share them here if they are not to personal and he talks mainly about the 390th and his missions . I will also share photos so you all can meet dad :) Again thanks so much for everything !! Sincerely , Debbie
     
  4. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Great stuff Debbie. It's nice to be able to offer assistance and have results posted. You seem to know much more now than you did before. I'm glad you were able to connect with others in your family who were able to help. I also can't wait until you read the letters and post those pictures.
     
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  5. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    That's great news, Debbie. I think it would be very interesting to hear about your aunt's service as an Army nurse. We tend to focus on those who did the fighting, but those who cared for the sick, the wounded and the dying don't seem to get the recognition they deserve. If you talk to her again, please offer her our thanks and appreciation for her WW2 service.
     
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  6. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Tommy , I most certainly will :) I am hoping she tells me some of her stories the next time I talk to her :) I will most certainly share them with you all !! Dad was the 8th child of 16 !!! My aunt told me that 6 of her brothers including dad and herself served in World War 2 !! Her one brother was KIA in 1943 with the 161st Infantry K Company in the Philipinnes . We come from a big family with a big military history :) Talk to you all soon , Debbie
     
  7. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Her uncle, I presume, is Sgt. David W. Carpenter whom we discussed earlier. I located the request for his grave marker. It does look like the clerk who filled it out put the wrong year on the form. Though not common, these types of errors are not unheard of.

    View attachment 22300 View attachment 22301
     

    Attached Files:

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  8. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    If your uncle was KIA, you should be able to request his IDPF for information about his death.

    I think this is his grave marker.

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Dear Lou and Tommy , Thank you for posting the info on our Uncle David Carpenter :) David was our dads older brother and he was KIA the same year dad enlisted . Aunt Dorcas is his sister and she joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1944 . Our dad also had 4 other brothers who also served during World War 2 !! Three of them were in the Army and one was in the Navy . All total there were 7 Carpenters that served their country during the war !! I have great news to share :) My dad was found with the help from the Army Air Forces Forums under Heavy n Very Heavy Bombers . They found 2 crew photos with dad in them !! One of the photos is the Bomber B-17 " JOKER " and I can't remember the name of the other one ! They also posted all his missions and there was a note about the Cincinatti Queen . Our dad was indeed on the plane when it ditched into the North Sea and Malcolm Dinsmore was the pilot . Just broke my heart to read how he saved his crew and gave up his own life . The note said he is still MIA . Does that mean they never found his body ? How sad for his family not to have been able to lay him to rest and say goodbye :( We owe him a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay . I wish there was some way we could honor him ? We downloaded the photos of dad and as soon as I figure out how to share them I will !! Debbie
     
  10. Natman

    Natman Member

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    That's great news, Debbie. Looking forward to seeing the photos. The AAF forum is a nice site, learned quite a bit there several years back when I was researching with my uncle.

    And yes, MIA means they haven't found his body.

    Steve
     
  11. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Hello To All , It has been a while since I checked in !! Wanted to give you all a little update on some new info we found on dad :) First off I have not been able to talk to our Aunt as her health has declined and she is now bed ridden :( She was unable to send me the letters but she did send a photo of dad and a newspaper article !! The newspaper article talks about her 2 brothers , David who died defending the Solomon Islands and dad who's B-17 crashed in the North Sea . Dad was a waist gunner on the B-17 Blues In The Night when it was hit by flak on its return from its 4th bombing mission . The plane crashed and quickly sunk in the North Sea taking the pilot with it . The 9 remaining crew members clung to a life raft for over a half hour before being rescued . The article goes on to say that our dad was taken to a Rest Camp . His family did not find out if dad was ok until he wrote to them from the camp . He later rejoined the 390th and his squad the 571st and stayed there until November of 44 . He returned to the states and we believe he was stationed at Lowry Air Field as a Gunner Instructor until he was discharged in Nov 1945 . We still don't know where he went to school with the Air Corps , still looking into that . I will try and post the photos and article for you all to look at . I am still trying to find another newspaper article that was written about the crash and has our dads photo with it and talks about dads " heroic " efforts ? This article is how his parents found about his plane crashing . I was wondering if anyone can tell me what a Rest Camp is ? Would that be a field hospital ? Hope to talk soon :) Sincerely , Debbie
     
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  12. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Thanks for the update! Glad to see that your search is going rather well.

    They were usually called a "Flak House" or "Flak Farm". Basically, an English manor house or hotel, and there were several for this purpose, was used as a "rest house" for the flyers. Officers and enlisted personnel were not allowed to co-mingle, so the officers would be sent to one manor house, while the enlisted men would be sent to another. The houses were staffed by Red Cross personnel and they attended to the airmens' wants and needs. At these flak houses the airmen, could take in the scenery, write letters, play games, etc. anything to take their minds off fighting the war.
     
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  13. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Thanks Takao :) I wonder if there is any way to find out where dad was " resting " and for how long ? We always knew something happened to him in the war and now we know a little bit about it . I bet he suffered from hypothermia , shock and later what is now known as PTSD . He was on heavy medication and if he didn't take it he ended up in the VA hospital :( So many of our Veterans came home shattered and broken :( I wish his records would come soon !! It has been 2 months since we requested them . Thanks for the info :) you guys are still no. 1 in my book !! Talk to you soon , Debbie
     
  14. Takao

    Takao Ace

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  15. sgtpeter

    sgtpeter New Member

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    Hi Debbie - I stumbled across this thread while searching for something else related to the 161st Infantry. I have some limited information regarding David Carpenter.

    The information I have does not indicate when David Carpenter enlisted but the NARA enlistment record shows his enlistment date at 16 Sep 1940 so he may have been one of those countless young men that joined right before the National Guard was mobilized. NARA also indicates he was born in MN, had 2 yr of High School and defined his civilian occupation as an Actor.

    I do know that was a Private with Co K, 161st Infantry when the Regiment was mobilized on Sept 20, 1940. As such, he would have participated in the training activities between Sept 1940 and Aug 1941. He also would have left Fort Lewis on 6 Dec 1941 with the 161st Infantry on its way to San Francisco with a scheduled destination of the Philippines. They were in Kalama Falls, OR when they received news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On 17 Dec 1941 they left San Francisco for Hawaii where they stayed until Dec 1942. David would have landed on Guadalcanal around 3 Jan 1943. The 161st Infantry landed on New Georgia Island on 21 Jul 1943 to re-enforcement other Army units attempting to secure the island and Munda Airfield.

    I don't have the morning reports to verify, but the information I have indicates that Sgt Carpenter was probably killed by machine gun fire on the southern edge of Bartley Ridge on 25 June 1943.

    Do you know of any photos of David?

    Peter
     
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  16. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Thank you Peter !!
     
  17. tjcarp

    tjcarp Member

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    Hello Peter , The information you have found on my Uncle David Carpenter is correct . Thank you for sharing this with me . As to the photo question I am not sure what you are asking ? I only have one photo with David in it and it is a family group photo . I don't know if there are any photos of David from his war time ? I can check with the family and see if anyone has any ? I recently got a photo of our dad in his uniform from a cousin :) you never know what you may find stored away !! Thanks again for the info on David . Sincerely , Debbie
     

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