499th Bomb Group ( Very Heavy )

AIRCRAFT COMMANDER

SERIAL NUMBER

NICKNAME

BURRELL

42-63513

RAMP QUEEN

original source:
The Spokesman Review
Spokane Washington
24 December 1945
source: Scott Muselin

Tributes to Sgt Warren Leonard Olson can be found at

499th Bomb Group Virtual Cemetery

Honor States

There is very little information available online for Sgt Warren Leonard Olson.
One example is that his birth date is known but not the specific location.
His brother, James Oscar Olson, was born in Deer Park, Washington in 1923 and
it is possible that Sgt Olson was also born there.

The family situation is a little unusual and the Family Road Map
may help you with people, places, and dates.

The 1930 Census places Sgt Olson in Colville, Washington,
located 50 miles north of Spokane.
By 1940 he is in Buckley, Pierce County, Washington ( the Seattle Tacoma region ).

His brother James enlisted in the Army in 1943 while in Seattle.
At this time Warren Olson was attending Deer Park High School.
He appears in the 1943 yearbook with the Juniors.

His enlistment record states that he enlisted at Fort Douglas, Utah, 14 April 1944.
This date fits with his stations, based upon dental records.

Amarillo AAF April and May 1944
Dental Record has BTC which may be the abbreviation for Basic Training Center
( See below history of Amarillo Army Airfield )

June 1944 Lowry AAF

December 1944 Alamogordo AAF

There is no information within his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)
stating when and where he became a member of the Burrell Crew.

This was a replacement crew, arriving on Saipan 4 May 1944.
They were assigned to the 877th Bomb Squadron, 499th Bomb Group.

Nine men of the crew died the night of 25-26 May during the mission to Tokyo.
Sgt Olson was one of the two survivors but he died on 30 May 1945 from lack of medical care.
The other survivor, Cpl Stanley Forystek, died on 27 May 1945.

As mentioned above, the family situation is a bit unusual.
At some point in the enlistment process Sgt Olson would have provided the Army with names
for an Emergency Addressee ( E.A. ) and Legal Next of Kin.

Within the Next of Kin and Coming Home pages you will encounter
the confusion that arose by having his Uncle James B Wolfe as E.A.

My conclusion is that his Uncle was able to receive documents
such as Battle Casualty Reports but had no legal authority concerning Sgt Olson's remains.

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

Ed Lawson
Jim Bowman
Roy Wall
Scott Muselin

Randy Watkins
Air Force Historical Research Agency
National Archives, St Louis

POW Network Japan

ENLISTMENT RECORD
PAGE 1

source : National Archives

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ENLISTMENT RECORD
PAGE 2

source : National Archives

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AMARILLO ARMY AIRFIELD
PAGE FROM PICTORIAL HISTORY
JULY 1943

source : Army Air Force Collection

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