First Lieutenant Richard Lockwood Alderman (O-763454) was born November 17, 1922 in Lewiston, Nez Perce County, Idaho, to George Henry and Delta Pearl Kraudelt Alderman. His father was a real estate salesman who died in 1932 when Richard was 10 years old. His mother later owned a grocery store. Richard married Ruth Scanland on June 8, 1942 in Bremerton, Katsap County, Washington. They had one daughter, Lynn Sharon.

Richard had one year of college before enlisting in the Army Air Forces. He earned his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron (“Bold Tigers”), 366th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force which eventually flew missions out of the airfield at Laon/Couvron, France (ALG A-70).

The airfield at Laon/Couvron, France, was located northwest of the city of Laon, 28 miles northwest of Reims. The Germans took over the airfield when they invaded France, and flew their own Bf-109 fighters from there. Late in August 1944 the Laon area was liberated by the Third Army, and Laon-Couvron was captured around 7 September. The airfield was declared operationally ready for combat on 10 September. Under American control it was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "A-70 Laon-Couvron." Ninth Air Force based P-47 Thunderbolt fighters at the airfield on 15 September. The fighters flew support missions during the Allied invasion of France, and into Germany, patrolling roads, strafing German military vehicles, and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops if spotted.

On November 17, 1944, 1 Lt. Alderman departed ALG A-70, in P-47D-15RE A8- #42-76152 (nicknamed “Topsy”) with a flight of the 391st FS on an armed recce mission to Hürtgen, Germany, during the Battle of Hürtgen. As the flight was nearing the target, they received many accurate bursts of heavy flak. 1 Lt. Alderman was last seen attacking a column of tanks and trucks along a road near Merode Castle on the edge of the Hürtgen Forest. MACR 10873

On that day, November 17, 1944, the 391st FS flew what was perhaps the worst mission of the war for the squadron. A ground offensive had begun the day before along the Western Front from the northwest edge of the Hürtgen Forest up through Eschweiler, Germany. The weather was terrible with low-hanging clouds and light rain, but the squadron was able to take off with each plane loaded with two 500-pound bombs and a 150-gallon belly tank. Sixteen planes from the 391st FS were involved in the mission. When they reached the target area, they had to come in under the overcast at 4,500 feet. Dive bombing from such a low altitude is always a challenge.

1 Lt. Alderman was shot down by flak, crashed, and was killed on November 17, 1944 at 1240 hours at Merode, Germany, 3.75 miles southwest of Düren, 30 miles west of Bonn, and 150 miles northeast of A-70. He was 22 years old. Two other pilots of the 391st FS were killed on the same mission, on the same day (1 Lt. Gus N. Girlinghouse – O-401572 and 1 Lt. Rufus O. Barkley – O-770174). 1 Lt. Alderman and 1 Lt. Girlinghouse were flying in number 3 and 4 positions during the same bombing pass and were shot down at the same time.

German Report J-2524 states that 1 Lt. Alderman was found dead in his crashed plane. The following items on his person were recovered: several papers, immunization record, shipping orders from Harding Field, Louisiana, and Luke Field, Arizona. What happened to his remains is unknown, and he remains Missing in Action.

He is commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in the village of Margraten, Netherlands. The cemetery contains the graves of 8,288 American war dead and is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. The walls on either side of the Court of Honor contain the Tablets of the Missing on which are recorded the names of 1,722 American missing servicemen.

A Memorial Plaque honors the 366th Fighter Group "Hun Hunters" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a Memorial Marker to the 366th located in the cemetery of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1 Lt. Alderman was awarded the Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.

Thank you for your sacrifice and service, 1 Lt. Alderman … Rest in Peace.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

SBTSProject/Washington

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at roktscientist@hotmail.com … I would be honored to make changes/additions where requested.

Sources:

1. 1930, 1940 Federal Census

2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56296247/richard_lockwood-alderman

3. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/richard-lockwood-alderman

4. https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/missing-aircrew-reports/macr-10873-42-76150.cfm

5. https://api.abmc.gov/decedent-search/alderman=richard

6. https://api.abmc.gov/print/certificate/496871

7. https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=177535

8. https://www.dpaa.mil/portals/85/WWIIAccounting/washington.html

9. https://aircrewremembered.com/Alderman-Richard.html

10. https://www.ancestry.com

11. https://newspapers.com

12. Familysearch.org

13. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/121011/

14. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_4.html

15. http://cgibin.rcn.com/jeremy.k/cgi-bin/gzUsafSearch.pl?target=42-76150&content=

16. http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/366th_Fighter_Group.html

17. https://www.366thgunfighters.org/the-366th-in-ww-ii.html

18. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/366th-fighter-group

19. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/391st-fighter-squadron

20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/391st_Fighter_Squadron#:~:text=The%20391st%20Fighter%20Squadron%20is,the%20United%20States%20Air%20Force.

21. https://www.natotigers.org/tiger-unit/391st-fighter-squadron

22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt

23. Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-406-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

Photo Credits:

ancestry.com, americanairmuseum.org, findagrave.com, laststand.com, militarygraphics.com, pinterest.com, wikipedia.com

Richard L Alderman