Dan Godsy Was a WWII Hero That Helped Preserve Our Freedom

Dan Godsy was born in Quay, Pawnee/Payne County, Oklahoma on October 5, 1923. From the 1930 U.S. Census, we learn that Dan’s father, Dave, 30, was a repair person at an air station. His mother, Martha, 28, had three sons living at home at this time; John, 8, Dan, 6 and Doss, a one-year-old. In addition, Dave’s mother, Molly Price, 61, resided with the family. They all lived at Section 15-T8-R6 in Wolf, Seminole County, Oklahoma.

Ten years later, the family lived on South East 39th Street in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, according to the 1940 census. Dan’s father Dave was now the supervisor of a gas plant, in the gasoline department. A fourth son, Dave, was added to the family during the ten years.

This researcher could find no other information about Godsy’s life prior to the Army. The Newspapers.com, Honor States, and Ancestry.com websites were searched.

On June 29, 1942, Godsy registered for the WWII draft in Oklahoma City. He listed Frank Godsey as his next of kin. Dan was working for the Phillips Pet company at 18 years old. He recorded his height as five feet nine inches tall and weighed 160 pounds.

On December 7, 1942 Godsey enlisted in the Army in Oklahaoma City, Oklahoma. His service number was 18194249. After basic training he was sent to the Army Air Corps flight training.

Dan went to training, learning to fly the B-29, Superfortress. This training took place in Harvard, Nebraska and Godsey was assigned to the 505th Bomb Group, 483rd bombardment squadron. After completion of training, Dan was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant with an officer’s service number of O-778781.

On the 6th of November, 1944, the ground crew of 505th boarded a train for Fort Lawton, Washington, just outside of Seattle. Late in the afternoon of the 15th, the 505th Ground Echelon walked up the gangplank from the soil of the United States to the decks of the Victory Ship, USS "Sea Star", headed for an “unknown destination.”

Early in December the Air Echelon took the train to Hamilton Field in San Francisco. There they boarded ATC C-54’s for a flight to the South Pacific Island of Tinian in the Carolinas. All crew and ground personnel were united by Christmas of 1944.

The air field was not quite complete with the Navy Seabees working night and day to finish. The pace of activity at North Field in its construction days was maddening. The line area was a dust bowl with Air Force and Seabee personnel at workday and night. Several Navy Construction Battalions were on the job building four runways, four taxi-strips, and the cross runways. The hardened surfaces were made of coral blasted out of hillsides and moved by truck over "haul roads" to North Field. The CB trucks ran every 30 seconds from coral pit to runway. Blasting was everywhere and constant. Airplanes had to be moved frequently to escape flying debris. Day and night work by the Seabees finished the "World's largest airfield" with its four 8500 ft. runways in an amazingly short time.

The B-29 crews continued training in navigation, radar runs and bombing practice. The first live action occurred as part of the 20th Air Force. They bombed Japanese targets in Iwo Jima and the Truk Islands. Then began daylight missions against Japan, operating at high altitude to bomb strategic objectives. Received a DUC for a strike against the Nakajima aircraft factory at Ota in Feb 1945.

It was on the Ota bombing mission, taking off on February 10, 1945. Godsy was the copilot on the B-29, Serial Number 42-24784, named the “Slicks Chick.” The plane was chased by a Japanese fighter. The pilot, Captain Slaughter turned Slick Chick and hit the B-29 Deaner Boy, resulting in both aircraft crashing. No parachutes were seen. All 23 crew members were killed.

After the crash, villagers buried the fallen airmen. Today, there is a memorial at the site, with the names of all crewmen inscribed along with the following words: “We wish to commemorate these 23 brave souls, and offer a wish for world peace and friendship between Japan and America.”

The crew members’ remains were removed from Japan and returned to the United States. On May 10, 1949, the remains of the 23 flyers were buried in a common grave at the Arlington National Cemetery with a full military ceremony. The headstone is located at section 15, grave 77.

Missing Air Crew Records number 12055

Slick’s Chicks’ crew members were:

· Pilot, Capt. Carmel Slaughter, 26, Orlando, Florida

· Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt. Dan Godsy, 21, Oklahoma

· Navigator, 1st Lt. Kenneth Swanson, 24, Illinois

· Bombardier, 1st Lt. Herbert Weiner, 22, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

· Flight Engineer, 2nd Lt. Joseph Jarosz, 24, New Jersey

· Radio Operator, S/Sgt. Nick Corbo, 25, Scotia, New York

· Radar, Sgt. Kenneth Mago, 21, Wisconsin

· Right Gunner, S/Sgt. Ralph McClellan, 24, Verona, Ohio

· Central Fire Control Gunner, S/Sgt. Robert Yonce, 19, Illinois

· Tail Gunner, Sgt. Frank Kastenmeier, 19, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

· Left Gunner, Sgt. James Melvin, Michigan

· Col. Birrell Walsh (Passenger/observer), 37, Rugby, North Dakota

The crew of Deaner Boy included:

· Pilot, 1st Lt. Owen Barnhart Jr., 23, Contra Costa County, California

· Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt. Donald MacAuley Morrison, Waltham, Massachusetts

· Navigator, 2nd Lt. Cornelius Kerns, 21, Norfolk, Virginia

· Bombardier, 1st Lt. Hugh Burner, 26, Islington, Massachusetts

· Flight Engineer, 2nd Lt. Harley Hazelwood, 24, Pagosa Springs, Colorado

· Radio Operator, S/Sgt. Norman Smith, 23, Baltimore, Maryland

· Radar, Sgt. James Greup, 19, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

· Central Fire Control Gunner, Sgt. George Wilbur III, 23, Iowa City, Iowa

· Left Gunner, Sgt. Harry Harz Jr., 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

· Right Gunner, Sgt. Donald Kissinger, 19, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

· Tail Gunner, Sgt. Harvey Fitzpatrick, 18, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey

All of these 23 names were carved on the headstone at the Arlington National Cemetery.

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This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project ( www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen’s name and read his/her story.

Resources:

https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/505th_Bombardment_Group.cfm

http://fromtheireyes.weebly.com/the-lessons/slicks-chicks-the-overview-of-a-b-29

https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/b-29/b-29-superfortress-nose-art-121-sea-bees-505th-bomb-group-42-24815/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress#New_Mariana_Islands_air_bases

1930 & 1940 U.S. Census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4359746:8750

U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable)

U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49190215

Okmulgee Daily Times (Okmulgee, Oklahoma)09 Mar 1945, FriPage 3

https://www.newspapers.com/image/708561665/?terms=%22Dan%20Godsy%22&match=1

Dan E Godsy