Crew Roster · Personal File

Jose Diez

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.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
23 MAR 1945

The sorties 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.

8AF Mission

Date

Target

Aircraft

№ 908

23 MAR 1945

Munster, Germany (Marshalling Yard)

Aircraft 44-49573 (call sign 573/M), a B-24L, was the lead plane on the 93rd Bomb Group's 370th operational mission — a bombing run to the marshalling yard at Munster, Germany, on 23 March 1945. Major Charles E. Biggers flew as command pilot (overall group commander in flight) and 1st Lt. James M. Powell was lead pilot. Immediately after bombs away over the target at approximately 0930, the aircraft received two direct hits from enemy antiaircraft fire — once by the nose turret and again under the right bomb bay and wing. The aircraft burst into intense flames, the left wing folded up, and it went down. No parachutes were observed by the deputy lead crew. Per the group mission report: "the lead A/C 573-M received a direct flak hit and exploded, no chutes being seen." Three crew members survived and were taken prisoner: 1st Lt. Frederick S. Howering (returned to Allied control 12 April 1945), 1st Lt. Wallace J. Spencer Jr. (returned 16 April 1945), and 2nd Lt. Jose V. T. Diez (returned 12 April 1945). Survivor 2nd Lt. Diez reported in December 1945 that upon reaching the ground he found the bodies of Major Biggers and Lt. Powell. He and Lt. Howering were ordered by captors to dig the grave of Sgt. Ralph Wyle (engineer). Lt. Howering separately confirmed the deaths of Lts. Krall and Farwell, having seen their bodies. The remaining enlisted crew members were unaccounted for by survivors.

44-49573