| Notes |
From California.
Army Serial Number 0-746211
12 August 1943 - Joined 38th Fighter Squadron
13 November 1943 - Killed in Action
MACR No. 01438 Major Milton Joel reported: "My wingman and I had already
become separated from the other elements of flight in previous encounters
and had fallen back towards the rear of the last box of bombers. I
observed three JU-88s coming in for an attack on the rear of the bombers.
My wingman and I attacked the last JU-88 of the three. As I closed
in and fired, I chanced to look back and saw a twin-engine fighter coming
in from 5 o'clock about half a mile away. I called to Lieutenant
Stacker, my wingman, telling him to break first with the idea that I could
then break and possibly get behind the E/A. My wingman was
apparently intent on pressing home his attack on the E/A which had winged
over with engine smoking.
I must have called him about five times without result. Meanwhile,
the E/A was closing. I made a definite break to the left and up,
hoping my wingman would follow. At the top of my break, I saw the
E/A on my wingman's tail at about 300 yards and firing. I pulled my
turn short to close in on the E/A, and at that time my wingman apparently
saw him for he pulled straight up. The E/A pulled up inside. I
closed to three or four hundred yards of the E/A and tried to fire.
I only got a few rounds out when my guns stopped. My wingman at that
time had pulled up steeply. I saw pieces fly off the aircraft.
He rolled on his back with both engines smoking and I saw some dark object
leave the cockpit. I was then attacked by four Me-019s from behind
and had to break. Later, while still pursued by E/A, I looked back
and saw what could have been a parachute or a burst of white smoke." Lt.
Stacker was killed by an enemy fighter near Bremen, Germany. He is
buried at Plot D, Row 16, Grave 21, in the Ardennes American Military Cemetery and Memorial, Neupre,
Belgium.
Reproduced with kind permission of
Mr. Robert M. Littlefield from the author's book Double Nickel - Double
Trouble |