43-28599

 

On 13 November 1944 a F-5E-2-LO (P-38 Lightning reconnaissance variant), # 43-28599, assigned to 14th Air Force, 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, Chanyi, China, departed on a test flight around the airfield. The pilot was 1stLt Kenneth E. Shafer, # 0-735826. The F-5 crashed and the pilot was killed.

 

SHAFER, KENNETH E., First Lieutenant, # 0-735826, USAAF

 

Kenneth E. Shafer was born on 29 September 1919 in South Bend, St. Joseph Co., Indiana, to Charles Leroy Shafer (1900-1989) and Bernice (Marshall) Shafer (1900-1985). He graduated from Warren G. Harding High School. He was married to Norma G. (Edwards) Shafer (1925-2014) and they had a daughter, Charlene K. (Shafer) Biddle (1944-1974).

 

He enlisted in the USAAF in Cleveland, Ohio, on 19 March 1942. He completed flight instruction and earned his commission and pilot wings. He was sent overseas through India to China. On 13 November 1944 a F-5E-2-LO (P-38 Lightning reconnaissance variant), # 43-28599, assigned to 14th Air Force, 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, Chanyi, China, departed on a test flight around the airfield. The F-5 crashed and the pilot was killed. After recovery, his remains were buried in the Crown Hill Burial Park, Warren, Ohio.

43-30573         (MACR 10379)

 

On 8 December 1944 a C-87 (B-24 Express Liberator cargo variant), # 43-30573, assigned to 10th Air Force, 1330th AAF Base Unit, Jorhat, India, departed the airfield on a cargo mission to Chengtu, China, through the Himalayan mountain range (the Hump). Last contact was when it was over Gologhat at about 1131 Zulu. The crew was:

 

                                                   Pilot                             1stLt Jim L. Jones                    0-523267

                                                   Co-Pilot                       1stLt Robert H. Moser             0-805656

                                                   Crew Chief                  Sgt Clyde L. Daughetee           35667546

                                                   Radio Operator            Sgt Laddie A. Dolicek              16141519

The C-87 crashed enroute and the wreckage was located. The remains of the crew was buried in a common grave. Correspondence confirming the wreckage location and crew death was dated 2 January 1945. The personal effects of three of the crew (except Dolicek) were found. The next-of-kin listed were:

                                         Jones                Patricia N. Jones, W, 505 S. 6th St., Columbus, Mississippi

                                         Moser              Mildred L. Moser, W, Box 2157, Glen Rose, TX

                                         Daughette        Delia Daughetee, M, 119 Crane St., Somerset, Pulaski, KY

                                         Dolicek            Albert E. Dolicek, F, Barrington, IL