World War II Honoree

Raymond J. Farnell, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

California

Honored By

A Grateful American

SERGEANT, GUNNER, BOMBARDIER, B-24 LIBERATOR, 321ST SQUADRON (BOMBS AWAY), 90TH BOMB GROUP 'JOLLY ROGERS', 5TH AIR FORCE, SERVING IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS. MEMBER OF JAMES MCMURRIA CREW. AFTER NEARLY CRASHING ON TAKE OFF, THE MISSION WAS TO PATROL THE MADANG-WEWAK-MANUS-VITAZ STRAIGHT AREA. THREE TRANSPORTS WERE SEEN IN THE HARBOR WITH TWENTY-TWO ZEROS AT WEWAK AIRFIELD. THREE OF THEM WERE TAKING OFF. HIS PLANE WAS ATTACKED BY ENEMY PLANES AND DUE TO HEAVY DAMAGE, IT HAD TO BE DITCHED, JANUARY 20, 1943. TWO MEN DIED, EIGHT MEN SURVIVED TWO DAYS ON A RAFT. AFTER REACHING AN ISLAND THEY LIVED WITH NATIVES FOR TWO MONTHS. A JAPANESE PATROL ON MARCH 13, 1943 CAPTURED THEM AND WERE EVENTUALLY MOVED TO TUNNEL HILL PRISONER OF WAR CAMP. HE WAS EXECUTED ON MARCH 3-4, 1944 DURING THE TUNNEL HILL MASSACRE. MISSING AIR CREW REPORT 15066.