The 1st Lt Carl Smith Crew flew 18 Missions between
24 November 1944 and 1 April 1945.
Their B-29 was shot down during the 1-2 April 1945 Mission to
Target 357, the Musashino Aircraft Plant near Tokyo.
The Smith Crew was one of the original 498th Bomb Group crews.
In early 1944, some of the men trained at Clovis AAF, New Mexico.
The 498th Bomb Group transferred to Great Bend AAF, Kansas, in April
1944.
Sgt Pettersen was among those who joined later at Great Bend AAF.
From the 498th Bomb Group History ( Air Force Historical
Research Agency ),
the unit transferred to Kearney AAF, Nebraska, at the end of August
1944.
Crews without their own B-29 were assigned to the Air Echelon.
They travelled by rail to San Francisco and then most likely by bus
to
Hamilton AAF, Novato, California.
From there they were transported on C-54s to Saipan
via Honolulu, Johnston Island, and Kwajalein.
The first map shows the location of Musashino ( target ) and
Ome, close to the area where their B-29 crashed.
Sgt Pettersen surrendered to civilians at Kurosawa
and this location is in the third map.
source: POW Research Network Japan
