Heston C Daniel

310th Bomb Group, 379th Bomb Squadron, Capt. Heston C Daniel

(Doolittle Raider ("Stand-By* Lt Pilot) POW Stalag Lugt I 

Please forward the picture film strip to see the rest of the photo's    :)

310thBG,379thBS, Capt Heston C Daniel, Pilot (Doolittle Raider personnel)

Lt. Heston C Daniel, Pilot - passed away on July 18, 1998. after retirement from the USAF as a Lt Col. and 26 years of service. Information from his son Dennis. Heston was a Stand-By Lt PILOT.
From the 379th Bombardment Squadron War Diary: 21 May 1943 "Lt. McCormick of the 380th was hit by flak over the target and exploded in mid-air. The 379th was also very unfortunate, for Lt. G. C. Beachum’s ship met a similar fate. Our new Sq. Commanding Officer, Capt. Heston C. Daniel, after having recently attained his ambition, was among those lost. Those observing the unfortunate incident say that the right wing was shot off and the ship spun to earth. Although three parachutes were seen to open, it is undetermined as to who was able to leave the doomed plane. Some think that two of the chutes might have been S/Sgts. Dalmaso and Gower, gunner and radio-man respectively, of Lt. J. D. Lindh’s crew. These two men bailed out over the target evidently thinking their ship had been hit because of the violent evasive action their pilot had to employ. The entire personnel of the squadron grieve the loss of Lt. G.C. Beachum and his crew, also Capt. Heston C. Daniel’s mis-fortune, for he was very well liked and respected."

We would later find out that some of BOTH Lost Crews lived and became POW's.  Both Heston Daniel and Lt Graham C Beachum (USAF Lt Col Ret) survived.

War-Diary;

For additions and corrrections please contact Barbi Ennis Connolly  57th Bomb Wing Historical Researcher, 321st BG and 319th BG Historian. PRINCESSBARBI_B25@msn.com 

310thBG,379thBS, Capt Heston C Daniel, Pilot /COMMANDER /Doolittle Raider  

On 21 May 1943 on a Bombing Mission over the Villacidro Air Drome in Sardinia, their plane was hit by flak from intense anti-aircraft fire, shooting off the right wing, and the plane spun to earth. 3 crew members were Killed, 3 other crew members were able to bail out, but were captured by the enemy and held as Prisoners Of War. A/C No. 5 aircraft unidentified (MACR-? - shot down over target by AAA)P: Beachum, Graham C., 2Lt~POWCP: Smith, Donald M., 1Lt~KIAN: NoneB: DeBernardis, Alfred J., S/Sgt~POWE: NoneR: Mencer, William O., S/Sgt~KIA G: Kitzero, Lester A., S/Sgt~KIAN: Daniel, Heston C., Capt, Commander (observer)~POW

Most Stories and pictures from USAF (Ret Col) Bill Bower and in the interest of the 379th BS which is in the process of activating at the 310th Space Wing in Colo Springs.

C.O. of the 380th Space Control Squadron Lt Col Mike Assid.

Heston C Daniel (14025195) joined the ARMY Air Corp 19 Oct. 1940, he had completed 4 years of college.  Heston resided in Florida (O&396144) and was still single at enlistment.

  Heston was moved from Stalag Lugt I to Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich 48-11)

Boxing Champion;

http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/sthelena/military/homeiv4.txt

HOME NEWS, Vol. IV, Baton Rouge, La., July 1945, No. 3

WHERE THEY ARE FREED FROM THE GERMANS;

Cpl. Walter H. Quine,Jr., married to Mildred Alexander.

Capt. Heston C. Daniel (Plaquemine) (LSU '40 and in the Hall of

Fame for boxing), nephew of Mrs. Leo Tassin.

http://www.doolittleraid.com/support.htm

Army Personnel on board the Hornet during the voyage:

Several more crews were trained than actually flew the mission. Although it seems that each crew trained together it seems that some of the men switched crews in the last couple of weeks before the Raid, and I believe that at least one crew had a substitution within the last couple of days before the Raid. Most or all of these men were taken along on board the USS Hornet along with the crews that actually flew the mission. There were several reasons for this. First, they provided a backup in case a crew got injured or sick, they already knew the aircraft and could help with maintenance, and their presence on board the Hornet meant that there was less risk of an accidental leak about the mission. After the Raid, based on a few conversations I've had it seems that at least the enlisted crewmen spent some time helping the Hornet's crew reassemble their aircraft in a hurry in order to ready for battle, then they had a rather uneventful cruise back to Pearl Harbor. Upon reaching Pearl Harbor there were conflicting ideas on what was to happen to them, and some of the men never made it back to their original squadrons in the 17th BG. Several of the men were quite frustrated at having missed the action, and then were further frustrated at the amount of time it took them to get into action afterwards.

This list is probably complete. It is based on a list in the back of Col. Glines book The Doolittle Raid and I have been able to confirm at least the enlisted men on it from a document one of them copied for me. Some of the fellows are known to be deceased, but others may (or may not) still be alive.

The majority of the dates of death, etc. is based on information from Mr. Ted Baker who had information on past 17th BG members.

Lt. Heston C Daniel, Pilot - passed away on July 18, 1998. after retirement from the USAF as a Lt Col. and 26 years of service. Information from his son Dennis.

HESTON:  BoxingBoxing Year Elected Name 1939 J. L. Golsan 1940   ***   Heston Daniel ***** 1948 Henry Glaze

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=177326&SPID=2178 

  LSU athletic history

1937: LSU wins the title in the first SEC Golf Championship as Fred Haas wins individual honors. 1939: The LSU baseball team captures its first SEC title with a 22-6 record. 1940s 1940: In the final SEC Boxing Championship, LSU wins its fourth title as the Tigers take five of eight finals. Heston Daniel wins his weight class for the third straight time. 1940: LSU becomes the first SEC team to win the NCAA Golf Championship. It’s the first of four national titles for the program.
http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/BatonRouge/LSU150thAnniversary/20100417/p18_s1.htm