CHINA - BURMA - INDIA
WALL OF HONOR

 Edward J. Harris
Sgt. EDWARD J. HARRIS
Asst. Engineer - B-24J #42-73435
7th Bomb Group, 9th Bomb Squadron, 10th Air Force
Washington, DC



  

   The 7th BG had been sent to India in 1942 to assist Allied forces in thwarting the ambitions of the Japanese Empire in southeast Asia. Operations were directed primarily against the Japanese in Burma, with attacks on airfields, fuel and supply dumps, locomotive works, railways, bridges, docks, warehouses, shipping, and other targets. They also bombed oil refineries and railways in Thailand, hit power plants in China, attacked enemy shipping in the Andaman Sea, and ferried gasoline over the Himalayas to China. Originally equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers and B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, eventually B-24 Liberator bombers were added as the 7th BG’s primary fighting weapon. By 1944, the group was operating primarily out of its base in Pandaveswar Airfield, West Bengal State, India.

   On April 5, 1944, Captain James W. Dorst joined a crew with 10 others in B-24J #42-73435 as an aerial observer on a 3-aircraft mission against a Japanese target, a stretch of the Burma-Siam railway. It was also known as the Death Railway due to the use of slave labor and prisoners of war by the Japanese for its construction through the mountains and jungles. The Japanese used the railway to transport troops and supplies in the prosecution of their Burma campaign. The target, along railway miles # 44 and 61, was on the southern leg of Burma near the border with Thailand, at 15° 32’ N, 98° 07’ E. Each aircraft was to drop its bombs individually.

   B-24J #42-73435 was the last of the three aircraft to approach the railway for the low altitude bomb run. A B-24 may appear formidable from the ground, but it is a large, slow target when flying at an altitude of only 200 ft and following behind two others along the same course.

   At about 1700 hrs and after dropping two of its bombs, the aircraft was struck by machine gun fire from atop a water tower. It climbed to 1500 ft when it exploded and crashed to the ground about 30 miles east of Ye, Burma. Four crew members bailed out of the plane prior to the crash. Seven perished in the crash. No search and rescue missions were launched.

   Of the four crew members who bailed out, one was determined to have bee Killed In Action, three were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese. Of these POW’s, two were eventually liberated by Allied forces, and one died while in prison camp.

 B-24 Crew

   The remains of eight crew members of B-24J #42-73435 were eventually recovered and buried in a military cemetery in India. They were subsequently brought to the U.S. under the Return of the War Dead program.


   This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the U.S. WW II fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

Thanks to John Turanin for providing the information contained on this page. If you noticed anything erroneous or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact jjturanin@gmail.com.

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 Edward J. Harris



EDWARD  J.  HARRIS




 IN MEMORIAM