In loving memory:

Hilary's uncle:  Staff Sergeant Westley M. Field


 Arrived in England 7 Aug 1943, assigned to 418 Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.  Shot down (MIA) 10 October 1943.  He was confirmed to have been killed in action on the date of his shoot-down after WW-II.  At that time, his remains were located in a grave in the town cemetery of Ost Bevern on the Dutch-German border where his plane had come down.  He was repatriated to the US 1947 and buried in Lexington MA. 

 


 

 

This one is not a very good picture and, when I tried to blow it up, it became too fuzzy to see clearly.  It was taken at the same time as the one above,  In this one, Wes is pictured with Elder E. Lisch on the left, Wes in the middle, and George J. Brassell on the right.  TSGT Lisch was a B-17 radio operator-gunner and was killed with Wes on the 10 Oct 43 mission to Munster. 

S/Sgt Brassell did not fly the 10 Oct mission to Munster.  He was replaced by S/Sgt Clarence Combs who flew as the ball turret gunner on that mission and was killed with Wes and Elder.  Oddly, S/Sgt Brassell was subsequently killed in the ball turret of another aircraft on the second mission to Munster on 22 Dec 43.


Below is Wes' 418th Sqdn crew when they joined 100th Group on
25 Aug 43.  All were  lost on 10 Oct 43 except for the one noted by *

 
2ND LT RICHARD B. ATCHISON, JR P POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
2ND LT WILLARD SECOR CP POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
2ND LT KENNETH BARON NAV POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
2ND LT SOL GOLDSTEIN BOM POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
T/SGT RUSSELL W. BENNETT TTE POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
T/SGT ELDER E. LISCH ROG KIA 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
S/SGT GEORGE J. BRASSELL BTG KIA 22 Dec 43 MUNSTER*
S/SGT ELLLOT O. PREBLE WG KIA 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
S/SGT WESTLEY M. FIELD WG KIA 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER
S/SGT VAN T. WRIGHT TG POW 10 Oct 43 MUNSTER

*  Note George Brassell was KIA on the 100th's second Munster mission with crew of T. F. Goupill when killed
   and is buried in Cambridge cemetery.