Captain James Newell's Crew came together at
Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, in early 1944.

Their next station was at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Salina, Kansas, in April 1944.

This base was about 20 miles from Lt Sisson's home town in Bennington, Kansas.

Much of the material in this section is from
The John Lehnen Collection.

His Uncle Louis was with the Newell Crew and
was executed at the Jonan Rifle Range, Osaka Castle.

******************

The 499th Bomb Group Flight Echelon
departed Salina, Kansas, in mid-October 1944.

These crews participated in the first mission against
the Empire from Saipan on 24 November 1944.

The Newell Crew was a Replacement Crew.

Original movement orders had them departing Kansas for
Mather Field ,Sacramento, California, on 2 December 1944.

Lt Sisson's Individual Flight Records indicate that he was transferred
to Morrison Field, Florida, on 3 December 1944.

The reason for this change does not appear in his IDPF or IFR.

He departed Morrison Field on 14 December for Saipan, arriving 19 December.

The 877th Bomb Squadron Morning Report for this date indicates that the crew's
status changed from Temporary Duty to Duty.

**************

The below table lists the B-29s and number of
missions flown by Capt Newell on each one.

There are no load lists or manifests for the crews of each mission within
the 73rd Bomb Wing or 499th Bomb Group Mission Reports.
This makes it impossible to know if every crew member flew every mission.

They flew three missions on V Square 10 ( V-10 ) during January and February 1945.

TAIL NUMBER

SERIAL NUMBER

MISSIONS FLOWN

FIRST MISSION / LAST MISSION

V-4

42-63453

14

24 DEC 1944 / 30 APRIL 1945

V-8

42-24698

1

V-10

42-63440
INSPIRATION

3

3 JANUARY 1945 / 19 FEBRUARY 1945

V-11

44-69655
MARGIE LOU

12

14 MAY 1945 / 26 JUNE 1945

V-26

42-24775

1

THE NEWELL CREW PHOTO WITH CAPTIONS
PHOTO TAKEN ON SAIPAN

ssource: The John Lehnen Collection

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