1st Lt Edward Law Crew
Tokyo Military Prison
29 September 2020

Updated 14 October 2020


14 October 2020
New section

Concise History with Photos

 

500th Bomb Group ( Very Heavy )
AIRCRAFT COMMANDER
SERIAL NUMBER
NICKNAME
LAW
44-69666
BOTTELED IN BLOND

 
source: Michael Krehl

1st Lt Edward Gletty Law
Aircraft Commander

 INTRODUCTION

The 1st Lt Edward G Law Crew arrived on Saipan 26 February 1945 as a replacement crew. They may have flown a 73rd Bomb Wing training mission on 1 March and
their first mission to the Empire took place 4 March 1945.

Lt Law flew 6 missions on five different B-29s between 4 March and 1-2 April 1945.
As there are no lists available of which crew members were with him
on these missions, one can only guess if all the crew was with him.

The first Z-11 had crash landed on Saipan on 19 February 1945
and 44-69666 was designated as the second Z-11.

There is no date of arrival on Saipan for this B-29
but based on Jim Bowman's Day by Day
a likely time would have been during the last week of February.

4 March 1945 : Z-3 with Jackson as Aircraft Commander
13 March 1945 : Z-3 with Law as Aircraft Commander and Thompson
16 March 1945 : Z-6 [ LAW ]
18 March 1945 : Z-19 [ LAW ]
24 March 1945 : Z-12 [ LAW ]
1-2 April 1945 : Z-11 [ LAW ]

Please see additional information from Jim Bowman below this introduction

Below is the 881st Bomb Squadron Morning Report for 26 February 1945
listing the 11 men of the Law Crew.

This is followed by three pages from Jim Bowman's Day by Day covering the period
27 February through 3 March 1945.

Lt Law was lost in the crash while the other men were able to parachute to 'safety'.
All ten were captured and taken to Tokyo Kempei Tai Headquarters.

For whatever reason Ray Hopper was the only one transferred to the
Omori POW Camp and his letters to some of the family members
provide details of his time in the HQ.

The others were transferred to the Tokyo Military Prison
and were killed in the fire the night
of 25-26 May 1945.
Three have been identified as of this date ( 30 September 2020 )

My thanks to:

Roy Wall
Michael Krehl
Jim Bowman
Scott Muselin
Al Schutte

Ed Lawson
500th Bomb Group Memorial Association

POW Research Network Japan

Additional information from Jim Bowman
500th Bomb Group Memorial Association

 

As a crew, the Law crew flew 6 missions, being shot down on the 6th.
However, there is evidence that at least some members of the crew,
and maybe all, flew a 7th mission with other crews.

It was standard practice in the 73rd Wing at the time to have individual members of
a new crew fly a mission with a veteran crew as an orientation.

McNeill's IFR's show that he flew such a mission on 4 March to Musashino,
and his flight time of 11:30 exactly coincides with that of the Lewis crew in Z-2.

Unfortunately, the Lewis crew aborted before reaching Japan,
so the men received no mission credit.

Here are the other 6 missions flown by the Law crew and McNeill,
all completed, except for the final fatal one:

13 March Osaka Z-3

16 March Kobe Z-6

18 March Nagoya Z-19

24 March Nagoya Z-12

30 March Weather Strike Z-11

1 April Musashino Z-11 Shot down

 

 

The Law Crew

source: John VanDever
original source: Find A Grave

 



original source: 500th Bomb Group Memorial Association
corrections to names made 30 September 2020
Jim Bowman and Scott Muselin


1st Lt Edward G Law Crew
Pyote, Texas
20 January 1945

Click image to see very large full size photo

 

Below is Page 109 from the 1 April 1945 73rd Bomb Wing Mission Report. The Targe Number was 357, Musashino Aircraft Plant.

This report was written by Lt Col Crocker Snow, A-2, and in Paragraph 9 he states his concerns about the lack of effect against this target between 24 November 1944 and 4 March 1945.

Following this report is the 26 February 1945 881st Bomb Squadron Morning Report and three pages from Jim Bowman's Day by Day.

 

 



source: Jim Bowman

 

 

881st Bomb Squadron (VH) MORNING REPORT
26 FEBRUARY 1945
Arrival on Saipan


source : Roy Wall
original source : National Archives St Louis

BACK TO TOP

DAY BY DAY

27-28 February 1945



source: Jim Bowman

BACK TO TOP

DAY BY DAY
28 February - 1 March 1945
Test hop 44-69666
73rd Bomb Wing Training Mission

source: Jim Bowman

BACK TO TOP

DAY BY DAY
2-3 March 1945

source: Jim Bowman

BACK TO TOP