Harold was born in Oklahoma City in 1925. He lived in this city with his parents and his brother until 1940. In 1940, the family moved from Oklahoma to Texas. He graduated from high school after four years. Harold enlisted in the Us Air Force in Houston, Texas in 1943. He thus left his girlfriend Doris who would never marry after Harold’s death.
He started training as a gunner within the 838th Bomb Squadron and finished on B-24 in late December 1943 in Arizona. In the first quarter of 1944 the crew completed its training on B-24 within the 487th Bomb Group. It was then deployed to Great-Britain to Lavenham where the 487th arrived on April 5, 1944. The unit was based in station 137 in Suffolk.
The history of B-24 "SWEATIN 'IT OUT" began in May 1944 with its first missions. On June 6, 1944, the 487th Bomb Group sends two squadrons on the first of the three missions of D-Day which is to bomb an important crossroads over Caen; clouds cover blocks visibility and they do not find the target, preferring to spare civilian lives, they will try to find it and thus waste time and consume more fuel ... They then take the route of return by following the lane created for heavy bombers going west of the Jersey and Guernesey Islands.
Bombers will drop their bombs into the sea. At 8:42, the Saffron Walden station receives a distress call from "SWEATIN 'IT OUT", it is located 25 miles from Alderney Island with four engines stopped.
The crew will never be found.
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