Returning to the States Joe volunteered for duty with B-29s. Joe and his crew, #3917, were one of the first in the 39th Bomb Squadron, 6th Bomb Group flying out of Tinian. They arrived on Tinian 10 Mar 1945. Upon arrival at Tinian, the crew was unhappy to find that they were losing both their plane and their A/C. Cpt Barney R. Olive (A/C) swapped places with 1/Lt Donald M. Fox, former Pilot on Crew #3901. The reason for this swap was to allow Cpt Olive to gain combat experience with an experienced crew and to allow Crew #3917 to gain combat experience with an experienced A/C. The crew completed 9 missions before being shot down over Tokyo on a night incendiary mission the night of 25/26 May 1945. Only one crew member, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, survived.
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In the Charles D Oliver crew photo the names on the front row are reversed. Joe Atchley is on the right end of the row.
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In the B-29 crew picture, aircraft 42-63558 "Tokyo Trolley", the crew members are (front row) 2/Lt Walter L Wentz, Jr, radar operator, 2/Lt John W France, navigator, 1/Lt Donald M Fox, aircraft commander, 2/Lt Leland L Sanderson, co-pilot, 1/Lt Herman W Thomas, bombardier, (back row) S/Sgt Charles W Snell, tail gunner, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, left waist gunner, S/Sgt Robert E Warren, right waist gunner, S/Sgt Donald R Arnston, top turret gunner, S/Sgt Charles E Barron, engineer, T/Sgt Joe A Atchley, radio operator. It is believed that the picture was taken the day of the last mission, May 25, 1945.
Joe Atchley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.
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The crew:
2 Lt. Walter L Wentz
2 Lt. John W France
1 Lt. Donald M Fox
2 Lt. Leland T Sanderson
1 Lt. Herman W Thomas
S/Sgt. Charles W Snell
S/Sgt. Harry D Magnuson POW
S/Sgt. Robert E Warren
S/Sgt. Donald R Arntsen
S/Sgt. Charles E Barron
T/Sgt. Joe A Atchley
Returning to the States Joe volunteered for duty with B-29s. Joe and his crew, #3917, were one of the first in the 39th Bomb Squadron, 6th Bomb Group flying out of Tinian. They arrived on Tinian 10 Mar 1945. Upon arrival at Tinian, the crew was unhappy to find that they were losing both their plane and their A/C. Cpt Barney R. Olive (A/C) swapped places with 1/Lt Donald M. Fox, former Pilot on Crew #3901. The reason for this swap was to allow Cpt Olive to gain combat experience with an experienced crew and to allow Crew #3917 to gain combat experience with an experienced A/C. The crew completed 9 missions before being shot down over Tokyo on a night incendiary mission the night of 25/26 May 1945. Only one crew member, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, survived.
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In the Charles D Oliver crew photo the names on the front row are reversed. Joe Atchley is on the right end of the row.
~
In the B-29 crew picture, aircraft 42-63558 "Tokyo Trolley", the crew members are (front row) 2/Lt Walter L Wentz, Jr, radar operator, 2/Lt John W France, navigator, 1/Lt Donald M Fox, aircraft commander, 2/Lt Leland L Sanderson, co-pilot, 1/Lt Herman W Thomas, bombardier, (back row) S/Sgt Charles W Snell, tail gunner, S/Sgt Harry D Magnuson, left waist gunner, S/Sgt Robert E Warren, right waist gunner, S/Sgt Donald R Arnston, top turret gunner, S/Sgt Charles E Barron, engineer, T/Sgt Joe A Atchley, radio operator. It is believed that the picture was taken the day of the last mission, May 25, 1945.
Joe Atchley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.
~
The crew:
2 Lt. Walter L Wentz
2 Lt. John W France
1 Lt. Donald M Fox
2 Lt. Leland T Sanderson
1 Lt. Herman W Thomas
S/Sgt. Charles W Snell
S/Sgt. Harry D Magnuson POW
S/Sgt. Robert E Warren
S/Sgt. Donald R Arntsen
S/Sgt. Charles E Barron
T/Sgt. Joe A Atchley
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TSGT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORLD WAR II
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