The Man Behind the Name
2nd Lt. Jose V. T. Diez served as pilotage navigator and nose turret gunner aboard B-24L 44-49573 on 23 March 1945. He survived the crash and was taken prisoner by German forces, returning to Allied control on 12 April 1945.
On 11 December 1945, Diez wrote a detailed statement to Army Air Forces headquarters providing information about the crash and the fate of the crew. He confirmed finding the bodies of Major Biggers and Lt. Powell, identified the deaths of Krall and Farwell through Howering's account, and confirmed the burial of Sgt. Wyle.
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.