2nd Lt. Howard F. Vierling
United States Army Air Corps (1942-1944)
Howard F. Vierling was born on November
6, 1917, to parents Ann and Elmer L. Vierling. He had a brother, Ralph, and a
sister, Marie. Members of Resurrection Parish, the Vierling's lived at 712
Fordham Avenue. Howard was a graduate of Resurrection Elementary and South
Hills High School's Class of 1936. Also a graduate of the Pittsburgh Academy,
he was a fine sandlot baseball player, known to his many friends as
"Lefty."
Howard was working as a carpenter for
his father's contracting business when he was drafted into the U.S. Army on May
23, 1942, He finished boot camp and then chose to enter the Aviation Corps to
become a pilot. After months of flight training, Howard earned his wings on June
30, 1943, from the Gulf Coast Training Center. He was commissioned a Second
Lieutenant and sent for advanced flight training on the B-24 Liberator
bomber.
Lt. Howard Vierling, pilot, was assigned
to a ten-member crew which included Lt. Eugene W. Sengstake, co-pilot; Lt.
Albert E. Carpenter, bombardier; Lt. William H. Crockett, navigator; Sgt. Elmer
C. Richardson, engineer; Sgt. Jewell C. Spicer, radio operator; Sgt. Garland
L. P. Grant, asst. engineer; Pvt. Dilworth P. Lund, asst. radio operator;
Sgt. Felix B. Lezynsli, gunner; and Sgt. Stephen Lilak, gunner.
After the completing their verification
training, Lt. Vierling and his crew were assigned a new B-24-J #42-100328. They
were earmarked for deployment to the 408th Bombardment Squadron, 22dn Bombardment
Group (Heavy) of the U.S. 5th Air Force, then stationed in Dobodura, New
Guinea.
The 22nd Bombardment Broup was created on
the U.S. East Coat just after the start of the Second World War, training with a
mix of B-19 Bolos and B-26 Marauders. In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Group
was transfered to the West Coast, flying anti-submarine patrols from Muroc,
California from December 1941 until the end of January 1942.
It was then assigned to the 5th Air Force,
originally based on the Phillipines. By the time the 22nd arrived in the theatre
the situation on the Phillipines was desperate, and the group was based in
Australia. From there it attacked Japanese targets on New Guinea and New
Britain.
In October 1943 the B-26 Marauders were
joined by B-25 Mitchells, and for the rest of the year the group continued to
operate in support of Allied troops on New Guinea.
In February 1944, the 22nd Bombardment Group
was redesignated as a Heavy Bombardment Group, and given a new consignment of
B-24 Liberators, a plane much better suited for the long-range missions in the South
Pacific. With it's new heavy bombers, the group began attacking targets
on Borneo, Ceram and Halmahera, amongst them the crucial oil fields of the Dutch
East Indies.
B-24 Liberators of the 22nd Bombardment Group
flying in the South Pacific.
After enjoying a family leave during the
Christmas holiday, Lt. Vierling and his crew flew to the West Coast, and then
began the journey overseas to the South Pacific in January 1944. It was
late-February when Lt. Howard F. Vierling and his B-24 arrived in New Guinea.
By this time the Group had moved to a new base at Nadzab Airfield.
Lt. Vierling and his crew soon began flying
combat missions over distant Japanese targets. They learned that, aside from the
Japanese fighter aircraft and the flak artillery, there were many other risks in
flying aerial operations in the South Pacific. Chief among these was the
unpredictable and often turbulent weather.
An example of this was on April 16, 1944,
a day known as Black Sunday. A weather front blocked the return of over 170 B-24s,
B-25s and A-20s from a raid on Hollandia. Bad weather and accidents closed all
available fields as a line of thunderstorms blocked access to landing
sites.
By the time it the mission was over,
thirty-seven aircraft were destroyed or missing and another nine seriously damaged
due to navigational errors, the weather and general confusion (including collisions
in the air and on the ground).
B-24 Liberator after crash landing at a base
in the South Pacific.
On the afternoon of June 8, 1944, the 22nd
Bomb Group took off fully loaded from Nabzab Airfield, New Guinea, and flew to
Hollandia. Before daylight on June 9 the aircraft took off for Wakde Island to
re-fuel and be briefed for the mission. Before reaching Wakde, the radio there
reported: "Bandits in the area. We are under attack. Boxcars go back to where
you came from."
The planes returned to Hollandia and again
landed with a full bomb load (not recommended) for the second time on the mission.
No sooner were they on the ground than Wakde radio advised that the area was clear.
The group took off again and flew to Wakde Island.
According to Lt. Colonel Robert W. Hulme,
after refueling, twenty-eight B-24's took off for Palau to bomb Peleliu Island at
10:00am on June 9. Several ships turned back for various reasons. About twenty
minutes before reaching the target only seven planes remained.
One of these missing aircraft was the B-24
flown by Lt. Howard F. Vierling. The plane became separated from formation by bad
weather while two hours from target and was never heard from again. All ten members
of the crew were listed as missing in action.
Search and rescue flights turned up no traces
of the bomber or crew. Back home at 712 Fordham Avenue, the Vierling family received
word of Howard's status in mid-July. The Pittsburgh Press listed him as Missing in
Action on the July 21 Daily Casualty Report.
As time went by and no word was received about
Howard Vierling's fate, hopes of his recovery began to diminish. The war in the
Pacific came to an end and there was no reports of possible POW status. On March 24,
1946, the Defense Department notified the Vierling family that Howard's status had
been changed to Presumed Dead/Killed in Action. His body was never recovered and
declared lost at sea.
A solemn requiem Mass in Howard F. Vierling's
honor was sung at Resurrection Church on Tuesday, March 26. He is memorialized on the
Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manilla, Phillipines.
* Written by Clint Burton:
May 14, 2018 *
The Brookline
War Memorial
Listed below are
many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
World War I
(1917-1919)
The World War I Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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World War II
(1941-1945)
Alm, William H.
Pioneer Avenue
Army
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Fernhill Avenue
Army
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Plainview Avenue
Army
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Brickley, Edward G.
Woodward Avenue
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Capogreca, James J.
Merrick Avenue
Navy
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Copeland, Clarence R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
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Cullison, Thomas J.
Birtley Avenue
Army
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Dempsey, Howard F.
Berkshire Avenue
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Dempsey, Walter F.
Milan Avenue
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Diegelman, Edward R. Jr
Norwich Avenue
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Jacob Street
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Eben Street
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Woodbourne Avenue
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Brookline Boulevard
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Bayridge Avenue
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Waddington Avenue
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Creedmoor Avenue
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Berkshire Avenue
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Oakridge Street
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Starkamp Avenue
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Breining Street
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Alwyn Street
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Edgebrook Avenue
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McNeilly Road
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Berwin Avenue
Merchant Marine
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Norwich Avenue
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Brookline Boulevard
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Fordham Avenue
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Wolford Avenue
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Brookline Boulevard
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Norwich Avenue
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Berkshire Avenue
USMC
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Midland Street
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Midland Street
USMC
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Simpson, James D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
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Linial Avenue
Army
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Tobin, Paul M.
Woodbourne Avenue
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Vierling, Howard F.
Fordham Avenue
Army
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Wagner, Ralph G.
Shawhan Avenue
Army
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Wentz, Walter L. Jr
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
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Zeiler, Harold V.
West Liberty Avenue
Army
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The World War II Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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Korean War
(1950-1953)
Korean War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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Vietnam War
(1965-1973)
Vietnam War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
The Brookline
Monument - The Cannon
<Brookline
War Memorial> <> <Brookline
History> |