Pilot First Lieutenant Nathan Margolies (MIA)
Navigator First Lieutenant Edwin E. Scranton (MIA)
Gunner Staff Sergeant John E. Cunningham (MIA)
Assistant Engineer Staff Sergeant Edward Reed (KIA)
MIA March 24, 1945
Location: Ganges Delta, Bangladesh

Mission History:

The 9th Bomb Squadron B-24L #28, piloted by Lt. Nathan Margolies, was part of a March 24, 1945, 7th Bomb Group mission to attack Bridge Q633 on the infamous prisoner-built Burma-Siam Railway. But as the Group was leaving India, Margolies's plane developed an engine oil leak followed by multiple engine malfunctions. Breaking formation, the ill-fated #28 reversed course over the treacherous Ganges Delta swampland. Even after salvoing the bomb payload, the extra gas tank, and other removable heavy equipment, the B-24 continued losing altitude.

The bailout command was issued. Six of the crew bailed out at less than 1,000 feet, and four others ditched with the plane in a delta river. Lieutenant Scranton's and Staff Sergeant Cunningham's chutes never opened in time; the two men were never found. The pilot Margolies was trapped aboard the plane and sank with it; neither he nor the plane was ever recovered. Assistant engineer Staff Sergeant Edward Reed died after reaching the shore; his body was returned. The six survivors were rescued the next day.

Education: Graduated Alliance High School, Alliance, OH, 1934. Graduated Mount Union College, Alliance, OH, 1939 (BS Mathematics).
Civilian Occupation: Bailey Eng. Co., Canton, OH. Republic Steel Corp., Cleveland, OH.
Enlistment: Enlisted first in U.S. Naval Reserve May 16, 1941. Discharged from USNR Dec. 1941 (likely failed carrier simulated landings). Reenlisted in USAAF Apr. 21, 1942, Cleveland, OH.
Memorialized: Officially at Manila American Cemetery. Memorial headstone at Arlington National Cemetery. Full-honors ceremony at Arlington May 26, 2005. WWII Registry of remembrance, National WWII Memorial. Memorial Park, Alliance, OH (hometown). Find A Grave Virtual Cemetery for KIA/MIA crew of B-24L #44-49607 www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcList&contribId=47540915

Scranton, Edwin Ely, 1LT