Just like my brother, Morris Isley, our cousin, Eddie Spangler, signed up for the Army Air Corps. He had taken his advanced technical training at Chanute Air Field 130 miles south of Chicago. On May 2, 1942 he and Sophie Figorski filed an application in Champaign County for their marriage license. Eddie was ultimately assigned to the 678th Bomb Squadron of the 444th Bombardment Group.
April 27, 1945: After more training and sorties out of India, the 24 year old and his 9 other crew members began flying their Boeing B-29 Superfortress from Tinian Island, a mere speck in the Marianas Archipelago, a paltry 3000 roundtrip to Japan.
According to the 444th's website, "In the early morning of 1 June 1945, [Eddie Spangler's B-29, dubbed Big Poison Second Dose] climbed through a heavy overcast on the way to the Japanese mainland. Near the assembly point, off the coast of Japan,[near Osaka} the top of the overcast had been breached and the plane was seen flying in the clear preparing to join their formation leader – Suddenly, another plane came up out of the clouds beneath them and crashed into a wing. Both planes disappeared into the clouds below. Air-Sea Rescue facilities were contacted and a search of the area was made, to no avail."
A mere 2 months & 25 days after my cousin's doomed airship took off from that Tinian airfield, a sister-ship, the INOLA GAY, cleared the end of that very same strip. Turns out, she was carrying a "Poison Dose" of a much "Bigger" magnitude. The whole world would never be the same... Just 2 months & 25 days more, and Eddie would have soon been winging his way home and into the arms of his loving wife, Sophie, and their new baby, Jeanie.
That 86 days, would have made all the difference in the world for my Uncle Martin and Aunt Florence's life too. Who knows, maybe even Eddie's sibling, Jean Spangler's; tragic story could have even turned out different... His body was never recovered. Only a token memorial marker can be seen at Jefferson Barrack's National Cemetery in St Louis, near Sophie's home at the time.
April 27, 1945: After more training and sorties out of India, the 24 year old and his 9 other crew members began flying their Boeing B-29 Superfortress from Tinian Island, a mere speck in the Marianas Archipelago, a paltry 3000 roundtrip to Japan.
According to the 444th's website, "In the early morning of 1 June 1945, [Eddie Spangler's B-29, dubbed Big Poison Second Dose] climbed through a heavy overcast on the way to the Japanese mainland. Near the assembly point, off the coast of Japan,[near Osaka} the top of the overcast had been breached and the plane was seen flying in the clear preparing to join their formation leader – Suddenly, another plane came up out of the clouds beneath them and crashed into a wing. Both planes disappeared into the clouds below. Air-Sea Rescue facilities were contacted and a search of the area was made, to no avail."
A mere 2 months & 25 days after my cousin's doomed airship took off from that Tinian airfield, a sister-ship, the INOLA GAY, cleared the end of that very same strip. Turns out, she was carrying a "Poison Dose" of a much "Bigger" magnitude. The whole world would never be the same... Just 2 months & 25 days more, and Eddie would have soon been winging his way home and into the arms of his loving wife, Sophie, and their new baby, Jeanie.
That 86 days, would have made all the difference in the world for my Uncle Martin and Aunt Florence's life too. Who knows, maybe even Eddie's sibling, Jean Spangler's; tragic story could have even turned out different... His body was never recovered. Only a token memorial marker can be seen at Jefferson Barrack's National Cemetery in St Louis, near Sophie's home at the time.
Just like my brother, Morris Isley, our cousin, Eddie Spangler, signed up for the Army Air Corps. He had taken his advanced technical training at Chanute Air Field 130 miles south of Chicago. On May 2, 1942 he and Sophie Figorski filed an application in Champaign County for their marriage license. Eddie was ultimately assigned to the 678th Bomb Squadron of the 444th Bombardment Group.
April 27, 1945: After more training and sorties out of India, the 24 year old and his 9 other crew members began flying their Boeing B-29 Superfortress from Tinian Island, a mere speck in the Marianas Archipelago, a paltry 3000 roundtrip to Japan.
According to the 444th's website, "In the early morning of 1 June 1945, [Eddie Spangler's B-29, dubbed Big Poison Second Dose] climbed through a heavy overcast on the way to the Japanese mainland. Near the assembly point, off the coast of Japan,[near Osaka} the top of the overcast had been breached and the plane was seen flying in the clear preparing to join their formation leader – Suddenly, another plane came up out of the clouds beneath them and crashed into a wing. Both planes disappeared into the clouds below. Air-Sea Rescue facilities were contacted and a search of the area was made, to no avail."
A mere 2 months & 25 days after my cousin's doomed airship took off from that Tinian airfield, a sister-ship, the INOLA GAY, cleared the end of that very same strip. Turns out, she was carrying a "Poison Dose" of a much "Bigger" magnitude. The whole world would never be the same... Just 2 months & 25 days more, and Eddie would have soon been winging his way home and into the arms of his loving wife, Sophie, and their new baby, Jeanie.
That 86 days, would have made all the difference in the world for my Uncle Martin and Aunt Florence's life too. Who knows, maybe even Eddie's sibling, Jean Spangler's; tragic story could have even turned out different... His body was never recovered. Only a token memorial marker can be seen at Jefferson Barrack's National Cemetery in St Louis, near Sophie's home at the time.
April 27, 1945: After more training and sorties out of India, the 24 year old and his 9 other crew members began flying their Boeing B-29 Superfortress from Tinian Island, a mere speck in the Marianas Archipelago, a paltry 3000 roundtrip to Japan.
According to the 444th's website, "In the early morning of 1 June 1945, [Eddie Spangler's B-29, dubbed Big Poison Second Dose] climbed through a heavy overcast on the way to the Japanese mainland. Near the assembly point, off the coast of Japan,[near Osaka} the top of the overcast had been breached and the plane was seen flying in the clear preparing to join their formation leader – Suddenly, another plane came up out of the clouds beneath them and crashed into a wing. Both planes disappeared into the clouds below. Air-Sea Rescue facilities were contacted and a search of the area was made, to no avail."
A mere 2 months & 25 days after my cousin's doomed airship took off from that Tinian airfield, a sister-ship, the INOLA GAY, cleared the end of that very same strip. Turns out, she was carrying a "Poison Dose" of a much "Bigger" magnitude. The whole world would never be the same... Just 2 months & 25 days more, and Eddie would have soon been winging his way home and into the arms of his loving wife, Sophie, and their new baby, Jeanie.
That 86 days, would have made all the difference in the world for my Uncle Martin and Aunt Florence's life too. Who knows, maybe even Eddie's sibling, Jean Spangler's; tragic story could have even turned out different... His body was never recovered. Only a token memorial marker can be seen at Jefferson Barrack's National Cemetery in St Louis, near Sophie's home at the time.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
