One of the web sites that I found early in my search for men of
the 73rd Bomb Wing who died as POWs was the Mansell Pacific POW database.
Below is a screen shot of 2nd Lt Robert L Grace's record.
.
This is followed by part of an email from Wes Injerd that has
information from Roger Mansell's offline documents.
Next is one page from Missing Air Crew Report ( MACR ) 11555 and
the 1st Lt Edmund G Smith Crew.
In there is 2nd Lt Ray F Halloran's handwritten statement
concerning Lt Grace as they were bailing out of the B-29.
The final document from the MACR is also in Lt Halloran's words.
He mentions Lt Edmund G Smith's statement while a
POW in the Eastern District Kempei Tai Headquarters, Tokyo.
In Page 2 is the document titled Resume from Lt Grace's IDPF.
Within these three pages are statements from
Sgt John P Nicholson and Lt Edmund G Smith.
From B-29 Hunters of the JAAF
Chapter 2
Page 81
" There is evidence
that 2nd Lt Robert L Grace was captured and
was alive as of 10 March but he was never seen again "
Unfortunately, there is no documentation as to what
this evidence is
From
Pacific
Wrecks
" Possibly captured
and alive until 10 March 1945 but his fate afterward is unknown "
In early November 2022 I sent out a request for information from
any B-29 crew member concerning carrying of photos or letters
during missions. There were three replies:
One stated that his father
always carried a photo of his mother.
The second stated that they were told to never carry any personal
information.
The third stated that they were never told not to.
I leave it to the reader
to decide whether or not Lt Grace was ever a POW.
His name will remain within the Honor Roll
