2Lt Robert W. Hansen's crew was assigned to the 754th Squadron in May 1944.  After flying a number of missions (including lead missions), they were transferred to the 755th Squadron in December 1944.  Most of the crewmembers completed their tour of combat missions on December 24, 1944 and were homeward bound in January 1945.  S/Sgt Honnie B. Gunnoe and S/Sgt Eddie B. Hollins were Removed from Flying Status (RFS) and reclassified as armorers (MOS 911).

2Lt William J.R. Fuqua, co-pilot, was assigned to fly with 1Lt Kenneth C. Barton's crew (Crew 45) on May 23, 1944.  During assembly, their B-24 collided with a B-17 piloted by 1Lt Peter E. Crowe from the 351st Bomb Group.  Both planes broke apart in the air and crashed near Eye in Suffolk.  Three men mangaged to bail out of the B-17, but all those on Barton's crew were killed.

2Lt Robert W. Hansen, pilot:  “I was in the same formation [that day].  It was a terrible situation.  I was busy with our own airplane trying to avoid a collision, but I can’t remember to this day how we escaped colliding.  I can vividly remember having my windshield full of B-17’s.  After we reformed, we knew that one of each aircraft had gone down, but we didn’t know who until we got back on the ground.  A week or so after the crash, I understand that “Look” magazine had a picture of two airplanes going down over England, but we never could get a copy of the magazine to find the story behind the picture….

“In checking my log book, I find that we didn’t go on a mission the next day, but flew a local of 5 hours and 30 minutes.  If I remember correctly, it was practice bombing on the bomb range near Ipswich because we had been told we were going to be a lead crew and wanted to get some practice for the bombardier.  His name was Wayne Spurgeon, and had been a bombardier instructor before he came to our crew.  Also on that day, the Squadron Commander and the Operations Officer asked us if we wanted to go to the funeral at the cemetery at Cambridge, but they also advised that they needed crews for the next day.  We agreed as a crew that we wanted to go on a mission in remembrance for Bill.  From then on I didn’t have a co-pilot, but when we went on a mission as lead, we had a Command Pilot in the right seat.  He was the commander of the formation.  When we flew local, I never had a co-pilot with me.  I often put the bombardier in the right seat because he was a washed out pilot.

“Bill Fuqua was from Trenton, NJ and I did my return processing at Fort Dix, which is close to Trenton.  So it was my job to visit his wife and parents to fill in the details.  They had convinced themselves that he was probably still alive someplace in Germany, even though the notification stated KIA.  Also, , Bill’s wife and my wife had met each other while we were at Topeka for about a week doing final processing and picking up a new airplane to take to England over the North Atlantic.  So after she had been notified of Bill’s [being] KIA, she called my wife to find out if my wife (Marion) had heard from me.  So that really worried her for several days until she got a letter from me.  We used what was called “V” mail those days and mail traveled pretty fast.”