Bone Howard J Lt

2/Lt. Howard J. Bone

338th FS - 19 November 1943 - 04 March 1944 (Killed in Action)

Assigned Aircraft

P-38J 42-67279

Mission History

Not Known

Mission List

55th FG Mission #	Date	Target
	10 February 1944	(early return due to short circuit in junction box)
	03 March 1944	(flew escort to Lt. Parker)

Air Scores

0-0-0

Ground Scores

0-0

Notes

19 November 1943 - Assigned to the 338th Fighter Squadron
28 January 1944 - Awarded the Air Medal
23 February 1944 - Awarded Oak Leaf Cluster to Air Medal
Lt. Bone had taken off on a fighter bomber combat mission. A few minutes after take-off he returned to Nuthampstead for landing. He was behind another P-38 which was on it's final approach to the runway. Lt. Bone's aircraft dropped it's belly tanks and made a gentle turn to the left toward the runway. The first aircraft landed safely while Bone's aircraft continued the left descending turn which progressively steepened in bank. This continued until his aircraft, in a near vertical attitude, struck the ground. A few seconds later a black billowy smoke cloud arose from the wreckage. The crash truck and ambulance followed by the medical officer, station engineering officer, photographer and the group operations movement liaison officer proceeded to the crash site.

Reproduced with kind permission of Mr. Robert M. Littlefield from the author's book Double Nickel - Double Trouble

Lt. Bone was buried at Cambridge American Military Cemetery, Cambridge, England, on 07th March 1944.
Group Chaplain Bill Byrd, performed a Methodist ceremony, as Lt. Bone was a member of the Methodist church. Fourteen fellow 338th officers were the honour escort, with four of them acting as pall bearers. Lt. Bone's first cousin, Harold Bone, being in the European Theater of Operations, also attended the funeral service.

Memories