500th Bomb Group ( Very Heavy )

AIRCRAFT COMMANDER

SERIAL NUMBER

NICKNAME

LAW

44-6966

BOTTELED IN BLONDE

The assistance of the following is appreciated:

Roy Wall
Jim Bowman
Michael Krehl
Scott Muselin

Air Force Historical Research Agency

National Archives, St Louis

POW Research Network Japan

Springfield Daily News
at
Newspapers.com

Phillips University Marburg

The below links provide more information than
you will find within these pages about
Lt David Richard Gerhardt

Case History 111

Law Crew

2nd Lt David Richard Gerhardt was born and raised in the area of Springfield, Ohio.
His father lived in Greene Township from 1895 through 1930.

By 1935 his father had moved northwest of Springfield to Lawrenceville,
located within German Township.

Two Orientation Maps are in the first page of the
Introduction

Lt Gerhardt was the oldest of the three children,
his siblings his sister Miriam and brother Kenneth.

There are several clippings in the Newspaper part of the

Introduction Section

that have information of his life before and after entering the USAAF.

He registered for the draft in June 1942 and enlisted in
the US Army at Patterson Field, Fairborn, Ohio, in October 1942.

There is no list of his stations within his Individual Deceased Personnel File ( IDPF ).
However the newspaper clippings are quite detailed with these locations.

Lt Gerhardt was part of the 1st Lt Edward G Law Crew.
They were initially with the 313th Bomb Group in Nebraska and later
became a replacement crew assigned to the 500th Bomb Group on Saipan.

The Law Crew at
THE 55
contains many details concerning this crew.

The B-29 flown by Lt Law was lost 1/2 April 1945
on the mission to Nakajima Aircraft Engine Plant.

Lt Law remained with aircraft and died when it exploded and crashed.

There were 10 survivors and all were taken to the
Eastern District Kempei Tai Headquarters in Tokyo.

Ray Hopper, for reasons unknown,
was transferred to the Omori POW Camp and
the others to the Tokyo Military Prison.

The other 9 men died during the B-29 fire raid 25-26 May 1945.
62 men died in the fire and
25 were identified.

Lt Gerhardt is one of 37 unknowns who remain unidentified as of this date.

Below is his Memorial Certificate from the

American Battle Monuments Commission and

a photo of his name on the wall
within the Courts of the Missing at the

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,
Honolulu, Hawaii

MEMORIAL CERTIFICATE
AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

source: American Battle Monuments Commission

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COURTS OF HONOR
NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC

source: Sherry HS

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