The Man Behind the Name
2nd Lt. George W. Sadler served as bombardier aboard B-24J 42-100416 'Baggy Maggy' on the 18 September 1944 supply mission near Arnhem. Reported missing in action after the aircraft was shot down; status remained MIA on the original MACR.
Because the low-level supply drop required no bombing, Sadler volunteered to fly as nose gunner that day in place of the regular armorer/gunner, Joe Stallings (per Donald Dukeman's memoir), freeing Stallings from the mission. When pilot Hewin was wounded, Sadler moved into the pilot's seat to help co-pilot Richard Scott fly the aircraft, working the rudder pedals with his full weight for directional control. He was thrown through the windshield, still strapped to the pilot's seat, in the crash landing; on regaining consciousness he reportedly told Scott, 'I know who you are, and I know who I am, but where in the hell are we?'
Sadler is named in one account as one of the survivors present at the monument's 1994 50th-anniversary dedication in Castelré, alongside Eugene Shabatura and Richard Scott, though sources on the exact attendee list conflict.
Missions flown.
The missions below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.