1Lt. Grant W. Erwin Jr., ASN O-558862
Navigator - Graves Crew
10th Air Force / 7th Bombardment Group / 9th Bombardment Squadron
Enlisted, British Royal Air Force - 1941
Transferred, US Army Air Corps - 1943
31 Combat Missions - CBI
Prisoner Of War
Nominated for Silver Star
Purple Heart
Biographic Information
On his 31st mission over Burma, Lt. Erwin was shot down and survived 18 months in Japanese prison camps, being liberated from the infamous Rangoon Jail in Insein, Burma in May, 1945. He returned to a family that had believed him dead. As a navigator for Northwest Airlines after the War, Erwin participated in the Korean airlift. He continued to fly for Northwest until 1957, when he became a mathematician for Boeing Computer Services.
(Image/Info Courtesy of Erwin Family)
Two different variations of the details leading to Erwin's Silver Star nomination:
Lt. Erwin's (unpublished) first-hand recollection of the mission
CAUTION: Contains graphic testimony as to what took place within the confines of Lt. Erwin's B-24.
(Courtesy of Erwin Family)
Published details leading to Erwin's nomination for the Silver Star
(Courtesy of Air Force Magazine - February 1996)
9th BS Personnel
7th BG Personnel
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