(Dick Herbst via 55th FG Newsletter)
1/Lt. Vernon B. Tally
(Dick Herbst via 55th FG Newsletter)
1/Lt. Vernon B. Tally
HdQts - 15 March 1945 to 03 April 1945
338th FS - 03 April 1945 to 16 April 1945 (Temporarily Missing In Action)
| Assigned Aircraft |
Crashed in P-51D CL-W 44-63287 "My Jane" |
| Mission History |
Not Known |
| Mission List |
Not Known |
| Air Scores |
0-0-0 |
| Ground Scores |
2-0 338th FS |
| Score Detail | 10 April 1945 (2)Me-410 destroyed (ground) Burg |
| Notes | ASN - 0-805141 15 March 1945 - Joined the 55th Fighter Group Headquarters 03 April 1945 - Transferred to the 338th Fighter Squadron 16 April 1945 - Posted as Missing in Action This was an unusual case. Lt. Tally was downed in "My Jane" by flak between Bonn and Aachen, Germany. He crash landed in friendly territory and was knocked unconscious in the crash. He was hospitalized on the continent and apparently his home organisation was never notified that he was safe because they filed a Missing Aircrew Member Report (MACR) on him, number 13917. 1 /Lt. Leedom K. John reported: "I was flying Acorn White 4. We had made two passes at Landshut Airfield and on the second pass my ship was hit by flak and I became separated from my element leader. As I pulled up I saw another ship to my right and thinking it was my leader I joined up and found it was Lt. Tally in CL-N. He had no radio so I signalled him I was heading out. He nodded and joined me. This was at approximately 1525. "We were at 3,000 feet and I started climbing on a heading of 300 degrees and went to 10,000 feet. Lt. Tally either climbed more slowly than I did or did not wish to fly so high because when I leveled off at 10,000 feet I could see him to my right at about 5,000 feet. He was flying a course of about 320 degrees and as we headed out I lost him after about five or ten minutes. I continued flying for fifteen minutes on headings between 300 and 310 degrees when I saw an aircraft approaching from my right, same altitude, and considerably behind. I did a 180 and then a 90 degree turn and pulled along side of the A/C which again proved to be Lt. Tally. "He pulled directly behind me and almost directly thereafter we were
bounced by two four-ship flights of 9th AF P-47s. These ships did not fire
at me and I am sure they did not fire at Lt. Tally but we were separated
by the bounce and I was unable to locate him thereafter. I searched the
area for a few minutes and then headed out again on a course of 300
degrees and about 25 minutes later flew over Antwerp. Lt. Tally was
definitely over friendly territory and I would estimate the location as
between Bonn and Aachen. The time approximately 1700." |
| Memories | |