11 March 1925 - 15 August 1945

Highland Vidette
24 August 1944

Some of the documents in these pages are excerpts from Case History 328 and the complete versions can be found there.

Tributes to 2nd Lt Harry James Foley are at Honor States and the Osaka Virtual Cemetery
created by Scott Muselin

I wish to thank the staff at the Doniphan County Library, Troy, Kansas, for their assitance in locating the article with the photo of Lt Foley. He graduated from Highland High School, Highland, Kansas, in 1943.
Unfortunately the school burnt down in 1975 and all photos were lost.

Lt Foley was with the 1st Lt Joe S. McSpadden crew, lost on 5 May 1945. Seven of the men died in the crash and the survivors were captured and taken to Osaka Castle.

This was a replacement crew, training at Clovis AAF, New Mexico, prior to being transferred to Kearney AAF where they picked up their B-29 in late February 1945. They arrived on Saipan either 7 or 15 March 1945.

It was around this time in 1945 that a transition was taking place with crew positions. Lt Foley was one of two Bombadier-Navigators while the Flight Engineer was now an Enlisted man
and the Radar Operator an Officer.

Lt Foley's remains were recovered at a grave within the Shinodayama Military Maneuver Area on 16 April 1946. He was not officially identified until 4 May 1949.

Details can be found in the Identification section.

There is a Report of Death, written in narrative form by Elizabeth Ridgway, in the Official Documents section. She notes that Lt Foley's date of death that appears in documents may not be his actual date of death. Specifically, you will find the words 'no conclusive evidence' .

Lt Foley's journey home began in Yokohama when his remains were transferred to US Army Transport Cardinal O'Connell. The transport departed Yokohama on 22 August 1949 and arrived in San Francisco on 12 September 1949. His final journey was by rail from Oakland Army Base to Troy Kansas where his burial took place 1 October 1949. More information is within the Coming Home section.

Below is a Missing Air Crew Report created by the Quartermaster General followed by
Lt Foley's Enlistment Record from the National Archives

My thanks to the following for their assistance in putting together these pages:

Scott Muselin
Al Schutte
Roy Wall