Edward W. Masterman was born on April 9, 1922 in the town of Selah in Yakima County, Washington to Ed Masterman and Rhubell Lenore Masterman, nee Richardson. Ed’s siblings were Ethel, Gerald, and Donald Masterman. The family lived in Selah, where Ed’s father was a farm laborer. Ed, Jr. attended Selah High School.

Edward Warren Masterman registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. He was 20 years old, 5’9” tall, and weighed 145 pounds. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion. He lived in Seattle and was working for the Boeing Aircraft Company. He enlisted in the United States Army on December 12, 1942 in Tacoma, Washington. His residence was King County, and he was working in aircraft manufacturing. He was single, without dependents, and had completed one year of college.

Edward W. Masterman reached the rank of Staff Sergeant in the 614th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. According to Missing Air Crew Report #8711, Masterman was a tail gunner on B-17 Flying Fortress #42-31098, nicknamed “Penny’s Thunderhead.” On December 11, 1943, the crew left Deenthorpe Airfield base in Northamptonshire, England to bomb the Emden docks in Germany. The plane was hit over the target. Eight of the ten crew members bailed out of the plane, landing in the North Sea. The pilot and bombardier stayed on board and managed to safely land the plane at the Royal Air Force base in Lindholme, Yorkshire. Of the men who bailed out, one man, Radioman John Barret, was rescued by the Germans and taken prisoner of war. Three others were identified after their bodies washed up in Holland. The remaining four crew members were thought to have drowned; their remains were never found.

Staff Sergeant Edward W. Masterman was initially considered to be missing in action. His status was later changed to Killed in Action. His name is inscribed on the Tables of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands. He was posthumously awarded the Air medal and the Purple Heart.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen 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.

SBTSProject/Washington/Clark

Sources:

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 26 Dec 1943, Sun, Page 24, https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/567859908/?terms=%22edward%20masterman%22&match=1

Missing Air Crew Reports, WWII, https://www.fold3.com/image/28698870

U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/701788379/blank-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/record/90846265/edward-w-masterman-wwii-army-enlistment-records

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529874026/edward-w-masterman-american-battle-monuments-commission

Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56301458/edward-w-masterman

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/112998617:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=e3a15913d3f8bcdde6b8752f0e2b11ba&_phsrc=xOR57320&_phstart=successSource

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/64889762:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=e3a15913d3f8bcdde6b8752f0e2b11ba&_phsrc=xOR57319&_phstart=successSource

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8393:62207

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/37045172:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=e3a15913d3f8bcdde6b8752f0e2b11ba&_phsrc=xOR57318&_phstart=successSource

Edward W Masterman