Brothers,
This
week, we remember two Army Air Corps brothers killed in action during WWII are
very happy to welcome a brother home from Afghanistan, and honored to announce
that tomorrow one of our own will be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal
for non-combat heroism.
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| Navy and Marine Corps Medal |
In
total, this week, we celebrate 15 brothers, representing 13 chapters, serving in the Army,
Navy, Air Force and National Guard in places like Afghanistan, Egypt, France,
Japan, Korea, the South Pacific and the U.S.
24 JUN
1918
NH Alpha
Brother Private First Class Charles E. Tayntor, Jr., U.S. Army was a member of
the Medical Corps, Base Hospital Unit 83, American Expeditionary Force when he
was called in to the service on this date.
27 JUN
1942
This is
the enlistment date of OR Alpha Brother Jack Liljeberg in the U.S. Navy, and MA
Delta Brother Kenneth G. Merriam in the U.S. Army.
26 JUN
1943
This
marks the date the only SigEp Patriot of the Iowa Alpha Chapter was killed in
action in WWII.
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| Taxpayer's Pride, 1942 Photo Credit PacificWrecks.com |
World
War II Veteran and IA Alpha Brother Second Lieutenant Sumner Luten Beck, U.S.
Army Air Corps made the ultimate sacrifice while serving as a navigator about a
B17F (Fighting Fortress) nicknamed “Taxpayer’s Pride” during a night mission
over Rabaul, New Britain. Brother Beck and his crewmates were shot down by a
J1N1 (Irving) and crashed into the jungle near Mount Varzin.
The
Class of 1938 graduate from Iowa Wesleyan College had nearly completed his
training as an Air Corps navigator when he was commission in MAY 1943. Just
weeks later, Sumner arrived in the SW Pacific Theater, and he would be killed
in less than a month.
Very
early on 26 JUN 1943, before the sun was above the horizon, Sumner and his
comrades took off in the B-17 from Dobodura Airfield on a bombing mission
against Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. Strict radio silence was maintained
during the mission. Nothing was heard from this bomber after takeoff. Upon
reaching their objective, they successfully bombed the target then turned for
home. According to an account from the Japanese pilot who shot the plane down,
within minutes of their bombing run, Sumner and the crew were taking 20mm
cannon fire from the Irving, and the B-17 caught on fire before crashing in to
the jungle.
Starting
at 0230 hours, other U.S. aircraft over the target reported an aircraft had
crashed, and that a fire could be seen on the ground in the vicinity of the
down airplane. When the bomber failed to return, the crew were declared missing
in action. The War Department declared them “presumed lost” in JAN 1946.
In
actuality, the tail gunner managed to parachute out and away from the falling
debris. He served in a Japanese Army POW camp the remainder of the war.
Post
war, the crew's remains were recovered at the crash site near Mount Varzin.
However, Brother Beck’s body was not among them. Several years later, his
remains were recovered, and returned to the States.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Beck at Fairview Cemetery in Lee County, IA.
