Robert L Waldrip

Robert Laseter Waldrip, Radio/Gunner, 321stBG, 447thBS, MTO/Africa, Italy

5 July, 1943

321stBG,447thBS, Lt Leonard L Shapiro's little Dog,PFC SCRAPPY - KIA 5 July, '43 (MACR # 71)

447th BS: War Diary of: McDuff, Daniel R. “Ruff Stuff”, 1Lt, pilot
“July 5th was my day off and I recon I’m kind of glad it was. The boys had a very tough
mission, raiding the Gerbini Airfields. Some big shot somewhere had his head up and
locked and “ordered” that they follow the course he prescribed. It was a honey. They
were to approach the target area from the south, going west of it so that, when they got
well north of it, a turn to the right would bring them southwest to the target. They were
to make a 270° turn to the left after dropping their bombs, fly west a way, then go back
off the island to the south the same way they had come in. And it was a long way from
the target to the coast! It would be just begging for trouble.
And they got it. Shapiro was shot down and crashed on the island---DeMoss, who
followed him down to give him what protection he could, said Shap crashed and
burned—not a chance to live through it. Bradley, of the 446th, was shot down about 8 or
10 miles off the coast of Sicily, and several others were shot up pretty bad. Cohagan and
his crew took a beating---as did his passenger, Capt. R.W. Manly, who got various and
sundry pieces of flak here and there and nearly had the top of one of his fingers torn off.
Cohagan landed at Tunis and left him in the hospital there. He is not back yet, but
should be in a few days. Apparently there was nothing really serious.”
Bradley, James L., Jr., 1Lt, pilot, 446th BS
Cohagan, McKinley B. “Kin”, 2Lt, pilot
DeMoss, Jack M., 1Lt, pilot
Manly, Robert W. “Horse”, Capt, intelligence
Shapiro, Leonard L. "Shap", 1Lt, pilot
447th BS: War Diary of: Stephenson, Henry W. "Steve", 2Lt, pilot (mission 1)
TARGET: Gerbini Satellite 3:55 300 lbs
Plane 925 (41-12925 “Huckelberry Duck”): Lt. Grantham, Lt. Stephenson, Lt. McCone,
S/Sgt Kramer, T/Sgt, Anderson, S/Sgt Draper
“One A/C landed at Tunis. One landed in Sicily and broke into flame. One A/C landed
3 miles off Bianco H. and crew seen in dinghy. Hits seen on runway taxi strips &
hangars. Flak heavy accurate. Lt. Shapiro and crew forced down over target. Capt.
Manly an observer was hospitalized.”
Anderson, Chester E., T/Sgt, radio-gunner Draper, Ralph M., S/Sgt, gunner
Grantham, Charles H. “Granny”, 1Lt, pilot
Kramer, Gilbert W., S/Sgt, engineer-gunner
Manly, Robert W. “Horse”, Capt, intelligence McCone, Walter G., 2Lt, bombardier
Shapiro, Leonard L., 1Lt, pilot

Walter Cantrell was a friend of Waldrip's and said this of some of the men he remembered (he remembered Waldrip as being a nice guy, not in his tent, so did not get that close to him.

Walter Cantrell became friends with Carl Hannaman in Radio School....then became tent mates when they trained in Columbia, SC in the after being assigned to the 447th BS.  Then on to De Ridder in LA for Aerial Gunnery and where he became friends with "C.O."-"Brownie"  Charles O. Brown, Jr.  When Ed Ennis showed up from Airborne RADAR School, he was thrilled to see His Best friend "Brownie"....from Radio at the Scott Field AAC Radio Academy in Illinois.

     Walter Cantrell went with Lt. R. Richardson in the HARP, #41-31007      Carl Hannaman went by boat, but having all 50 missions in the HARP, #41-31007      Dan O'Connell went with Lt. R. Richardson in the HARP #41-31007      Edward Ennis went with Lt. A. Duke in the TRIGGER, #41-13171      "Brownie" Charles O.Brown went with Lt. C. Grantham in the HUCKELBERRY DUCK #41-12925           Walter was the most likable guy, and seems to have made friends with so very many.  In Georgia, he hung out with Jim Stanton, and Lawrence Rider, turret gunner/KIA.  Rider was from Chicago and always said "When he got home, he was gonna' put a turret on top of his ole' Buick and become a Gangster !"   He remembered Clyde Morganti whose ship was lost in NC...he still had the rip-cord ring in his hand when he got back to base !   Besides Ennis and CO-Brownie and "The Bike" .......he talks about how funny Vaughn Jones (Johnsey) was, and Lieberman...and Tate, and ...... WALDRIP, Garret, the Navigator from Tucson... Oscar Daume from St. Louis, Francis Noble from NY... Bernie Quilty, Bombardier !  The dogs, and puppies !  In fact, Walter and the original crew attended Lt. Albert Duke's wedding !  Walter called everyone friend.  Athough most of his pictures and mementos got "lost in the move" somewhere....OH, the STORIES ! Walter is living still in Dewey AZ, 2010 /Barbi Ennis Connolly

Robert Waldrip

321stBG De-classified War Diary

321st, 447th BS T/Sgt Robert L. Waldrip

Robert L. Waldrip T/Sgt KIA July 5th 1943
447th BS: Extracts from Missing Air Crew Report # 71: Started over field at 1055.
Flew 84° for 193 miles to Bianco point at 37° 12 minutes N., 13° 40 minutes N. Started
letting down 5 miles from coast at 1115 and hit the deck at 1125. Started climb at 1146
and reached 10000 feet at 1202. Reached Bianco point at 1208 then at 68° 63 miles to
Catenanuova and 127° for 10 miles to target. Made bomb run at 9000 feet then left turn
and retraced course.
A/C No. 41-64657 (MACR-71 - shot down – direct hit)
P Shapiro, Leonard L. “Shap”, 1Lt - KIA - DED
CP Greenwood, Nathan H., 2Lt - KIA - DED
N None
B Schulze, George F., S/Sgt - KIA - DED
E None listed
R Waldrip, Robert L., T/Sgt - KIA - DED
G Rider, Lawrence E., S/Sgt - KIA - DED
F PFC Scrappy (Lt Shapiro’s “little dog”) - KIA - DED

 War Diary 5 July '43  The 447th 1st full LOSS

**************************Personal Diary of Lt Dan McDuff, Pilot

321stBG,447thBS, Lt Leonard L Shapiro's little Dog,PFC SCRAPPY - KIA 5 July, '43 (MACR # 71)

447th BS: War Diary of: McDuff, Daniel R. “Ruff Stuff”, 1Lt, pilot
“July 5th was my day off and I recon I’m kind of glad it was. The boys had a very tough
mission, raiding the Gerbini Airfields. Some big shot somewhere had his head up and
locked and “ordered” that they follow the course he prescribed. It was a honey. They
were to approach the target area from the south, going west of it so that, when they got
well north of it, a turn to the right would bring them southwest to the target. They were
to make a 270° turn to the left after dropping their bombs, fly west a way, then go back
off the island to the south the same way they had come in. And it was a long way from
the target to the coast! It would be just begging for trouble.
And they got it. Shapiro was shot down and crashed on the island---DeMoss, who
followed him down to give him what protection he could, said Shap crashed and
burned—not a chance to live through it. Bradley, of the 446th, was shot down about 8 or
10 miles off the coast of Sicily, and several others were shot up pretty bad. Cohagan and
his crew took a beating---as did his passenger, Capt. R.W. Manly, who got various and
sundry pieces of flak here and there and nearly had the top of one of his fingers torn off.
Cohagan landed at Tunis and left him in the hospital there. He is not back yet, but
should be in a few days. Apparently there was nothing really serious.”
Bradley, James L., Jr., 1Lt, pilot, 446th BS
Cohagan, McKinley B. “Kin”, 2Lt, pilot
DeMoss, Jack M., 1Lt, pilot
Manly, Robert W. “Horse”, Capt, intelligence
Shapiro, Leonard L. "Shap", 1Lt, pilot
447th BS: War Diary of: Stephenson, Henry W. "Steve", 2Lt, pilot (mission 1)
TARGET: Gerbini Satellite 3:55 300 lbs
Plane 925 (41-12925 “Huckelberry Duck”): Lt. Grantham, Lt. Stephenson, Lt. McCone,
S/Sgt Kramer, T/Sgt, Anderson, S/Sgt Draper
“One A/C landed at Tunis. One landed in Sicily and broke into flame. One A/C landed
3 miles off Bianco H. and crew seen in dinghy. Hits seen on runway taxi strips &
hangars. Flak heavy accurate. Lt. Shapiro and crew forced down over target. Capt.
Manly an observer was hospitalized.”
Anderson, Chester E., T/Sgt, radio-gunner Draper, Ralph M., S/Sgt, gunner
Grantham, Charles H. “Granny”, 1Lt, pilot
Kramer, Gilbert W., S/Sgt, engineer-gunner
Manly, Robert W. “Horse”, Capt, intelligence McCone, Walter G., 2Lt, bombardier
Shapiro, Leonard L., 1Lt, pilot