World War II Honoree
Killed In Action
David Ellsworth Himadi
Branch of Service
U.S. Army Air Force
Hometown
Hackensack, New Jersey
Honored By
Sam E. Pennartz
SERVED AS A SPECIAL RADIO OFFICER TRAINED ON RADIO DETECTION, AZIMUTH AND RANGE (RADAR) IN THE MILITARY OCCUPATION SPECIALTY RCM-7888 DESIGNATION. UNDERWENT B-29 AIRCRAFT RADAR OPERATOR MAINTENANCE TRAINING AT SMOKY HILL ARMY AIR FIELD NEAR SALINA, KANSAS. DEPLOYED TO CAMP PATRICK HENRY NEAR NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA AND SAILED FROM THE HAMPTON ROADS PORT OF EMBARKATION ON 22 FEBRUARY 1944. DISEMBARKED AT BOMBAY, INDIA ON 27 APRIL 1944 AND WAS ASSIGNED TO THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATRE, 20TH AIR FORCE, XX BOMBER COMMAND, 58TH BOMB WING, 468TH BOMBARDMENT 'GENERAL BILLY MITCHELL' GROUP, 15TH MAINTENANCE SQUADRON STATIONED AT KHARAGPUR AIRFIELD IN THE BENGAL PROVINCE OF INDIA. AS PART OF OPERATION MATTERHORN TO BOMB JAPAN, HIS B-29 AIRCRAFT FLEW OVER THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAIN RANGE AND LOGISTICALLY STAGED A BOMBING MISSION THROUGH PENGSHAN AIRFIELD (A-7) NEAR CHENGDU, CHINA. ON 20 AUGUST 1944, HE FLEW AS THE RADAR COUNTER-MEASURES OPERATOR ABOARD A BOEING B-29 SUPERFORTRESS NICKNAMED 'GERTRUDE C' (SERIAL # 42-6334). IT WAS ONE OF 75 AIRCRAFT LAUNCHED IN A MULTI-GROUP FORMATION TO BOMBARD THE IMPERIAL IRON AND STEEL WORKS AT YAWATA, JAPAN. WHILE OVER THE TARGET AREA, THE GROUP FORMATION WAS ATTACKED BY A BAND OF KAWASAKI KI-45 'NICK' FIGHTER PLANES. HIS AIRCRAFT WAS RAMMED BY ONE OF THE JAPANESE PLANES BETWEEN THE LEFT WING-TIP AND # 1 ENGINE. HE WAS KILLED WHEN HIS BOMBER EXPLODED INTO A FIREBALL AND CRASHED WITHIN FUKUOKA PREFECTURE ON KYUSHU ISLAND, JAPAN.