Crew 12 is somewhat of a mystery.  No history can be found on two members of the crew, 2Lt Beckley, pilot; and 2Lt Popper, bombardier.  The only place in the 458th records these two names appear are on the 752nd Squadron combat crew roster from November 1943.  No missions are recorded for Beckley, so it is assumed that he was replaced or transferred prior to the group's first combat mission on March 2, 1944.  It is not known if he made it to England with the group or not.  It is believed that this crew was split up and crewmembers went to various crews in the squadron where needed.

Two other crewmembers, Sgt David B. Oliver, radio operator; and Sgt Edward R. Worrell are also on the November 1943 combat crew roster, but their names only appear one additional time on SO 84 AAF 123 dated April 1, 1944.  These Special Orders contain the names of all enlisted combat crewmen in the 458th, and these two are listed with the other EM's on their crew. No further mention of them can be found.

One crewman, S/Sgt Charles B. Burton, Jr., listed as nose turret gunner for this crew, was awarded the Air Medal in April 1944, but his name is not recorded further in the records.  It is not known if he completed a tour of missions or not.

2Lt George L. Goudreault, co-pilot; and T/Sgt Angelo Corlito, flight engineer apparently completed a tour of 30 combat missions as they were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in August 1944.  Goudreault is listed as flying co-pilot with Crew #1, pilot 1Lt Odis Taylor on the April 22, 1944 mission to Hamm, Germany.

Three members of Crew 12 were interned; one in Sweden and two in Switzerland, although on different dates and while flying with different crews.  2Lt William C. Lane, navigator, flew with the newly arrived 2Lt Dale R. Morris crew on their first mission. A victim of FW190 attacks near Berlin, witnesses stated that one engine was knocked out and the aircraft went into an "easy spin."  They saw four chutes emerge before the aircraft disappeared into the clouds.  1Lt Edwin A. Grant, listed on MACR 4451 as Instructor Pilot for this crew, stated that, "No crew member bailed out... aircraft landed in neutral Sweden with all crew members aboard."

S/Sgt Donald J Buck and Sgt James I. Rhew, listed on Crew 12 as top turret gunner and tail gunner respectively, were most likely assigned to Crew 18, pilot 2Lt James E. Nedrow.  They are on Nedrow's loading list for the April 22, 1944 Hamm, Germany mission.  On May 27, 1944, on the mission to Neunkirchen, Germany, Nedrow's B-24 landed in Switzerland with the number 4 engine feathered.  (See Crew 18)

UPDATE December 2, 2005: James Rhew was able to identify the men in the crew photo.  He also stated that the day after the photo was taken, pilot Beverly Beckley came down with pneumonia.  As far as he is aware, Beckley died of pneumonia.