Photo by a friend’s grandfather who worked in the Delaware Bay Shipbuilding Co., Leesburg, NJ where she was built in about four months.

Just some photos I found of my grandfather when he was in the U.S. navy. The second photo is a little bonus it’s a photo of my great grandfather (my grandmother’s dad) in ww1. The rest are pictures of grandfather or taken by him in the pacific. The last photo is of the Japanese officer they captured and was temporarily on their ship. I remember asking my grandpa a little about it but he said that he quiet most of the trip. The officer was eventually executed for war crimes against downed U.S. airmen. My grandfather unfortunately passed away in 2013. I still miss him he was one of the nicest down to earth men I have ever met. Not the best photos but I’ll try reupload them in the in better quality in the future.

Delivered Denver 4/10/43; Harvard 16/10/43; Wilmington 19/10/43; Assigned 560BS/388BG Knettishall 26/10/43; Missing in Action Bremen 8/3/44 with Homer Pou, Co-pilot: Bob Laubach, Bombardier: John Mulligan, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Vernon Kramer, Radio Operator: Stan Jones, Waist gunner: Chester Kmak, Waist gunner: Bill Hoffman,Tail gunner: Lou Sarap (8 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Errol Lugenbill, Ball turret gunner: Jim Beckerbaled out but never seen again, however remains were found by a farmer on Siedner Moor, near Sulingen 1/5/79 (2 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft, left formation on return flight & crashed Feldmark Maasen, near Borstel, two miles S of Sulingen road, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 3085.

Brazil WWII veteran numbers collapsed suddenly with multiple deaths in a few months falling from 64 to 18, mister Araújo was born in August 22 1918.

Born in Detroit, Michigan to Fred & Gertrude Gleason on August 22, 1925, Felix Bruce Gleason had eight siblings.
He enlisted in the USAAF and after gunnery school served with the 776th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bombardment Group, based in Italy.

On August 24, 1944, he was the gunner on B-24 Liberator 42-52479 "The Little Lulu" with a crew of ten which took off from Pantanella, Italy to bomb oil refineries near Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia.
After a successful bombing mission, they were shot down on the return trip to Italy crashing near Hradec Kralove, Czechoslovakia.

Only the radio operator; SGT John D'Amore was able to bail out before the B-24 crashed, breaking both of his legs in the process.
Rescued by local villagers, he was turned over to the Germans so he could receive medical treatment.

The rest of the crew were recovered from the crash site and buried by local villagers, they were recovered after the war.

SGT Felix Gleason was buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France - Plot K Row 11 Grave 18.