“Iron Ass”

Iron Ass, piloted by Lieutenant Horace R. Ketchum of the 329th Squadron, was shot down during the December 1, 1943 mission to Solingen amid heavy German fighter opposition. Sergeant John Butler, flying tail-gunner on Tennessee Rambler nearby, watched the bomber go down and later wrote of losing his friend Harry Byerman, one of Ketchum's gunners, who was killed in the attack. Several of the crew, including Ketchum, were taken prisoner.