Crew 6 was ready 19 May 1945 to make a daylight formation attack on Tachikawa. The 39th Group was alerted but it was an unfortunate one for this crew. They had made eight missions to Japan already but they were forced to abort because of an engine problem. They were making a landing with a feathered propeller, when they careened off the runway and burst into flames. Estaban "Steve" Garcia, the tail gunner was seriously burned and later succumbed to his injuries. A/C Edward Flynn and Sgt Robert Winsniski were burned seriously also. M/Sgt Angelo Repucci, Cpl Tynan, Cpl Ray Schwartz and Sgt James Regopoulous escaped with burns less extensive. 2nd Lt Warren C. Foster recalls from his crash position in the navigator's seat that the bottom of the plane was literally torn off and that he was dragged along the ground while he hung on. This tore off all of his clothes. When the plane "bumped" up over one of the "key holes" parking spot for airplanes he was thrown forward into the pilots area. When the plane initially struck the ground a canister (which looks like a small keg of beer) struck him in the head nearly knocking him out. He managed to get himself up and around to the radio/flight engineers window and jumped out. He says "I dove out the window and never touched the sides of the window".
Standing (Left to Right)
F/O David G. Lemon, Radar Observer
1st Lt Warren C. Foster, Navigator
1st Lt Edmund J. Flynn, Airplane Commander
2nd Lt Victor C. Pomiecko, Pilot
1st Lt Andrew P. Slivka, Bombardier
Kneeling (Left to Right)
S/Sgt Raymond L. Schwartz, Radio Operator
Sgt James Regopoulous, CFC Gunner
M/Sgt Angelo P. Repucci, Flight Engineer
Sgt Robert A. Wisniski, Left Gunner
Sgt Estaban Garcia, Jr., Tail Gunner
S/Sgt John R. Tynan, Right Gunner
Standing (Left to Right)
1st Lt Andrew P. Slivka, Bombardier
1st Lt David Wagner, Pilot
1st Lt Edmund J. Flynn, Airplane Commander
M/Sgt Angelo P. Repucci, Flight Engineer
1st Lt Warren C. Foster, Navigator
F/O David G. Lemon, Radar Observer
Kneeling (Left to Right)
Sgt Estaban Garcia, Jr., Tail Gunner
S/Sgt Raymond L. Schwartz, Radio Operator
Sgt Robert A. Wisniski, Left Gunner
S/Sgt John R. Tynan, Right Gunner
Sgt James Regopoulous, CFC Gunner
Standing (Left to Right)
John R. Tynan, RG
Andrew Slivka, Bomb
Raymond L. Schwartz, Radio
Estaban Garcia, TG
Angelo P. Repucci, FE
Warrren C. Foster, Navigator
Sitting (Left to Right)
James Regopoulous, CFC
David G. Lemon, Radar and his wife Frankie
Edmund J. Flynn, AC and his wife Jean
Robert A. Wisniski, LG
Victor C. Pomiecko, Pilot
