Caboose Blue Section
It was June 6, 1944. The 4th Fighter Group, flying the P-51 Mustang, was on a fighter sweep over Northern France in support of the D-Day landings taking place that day.
No one saw the Mustang, piloted by 1st LT Harold L. Ross, Jr., of Greensboro, NC, go down. The only description of his last mission came from 1st LT Ralph K. "Kidd" Hofer, himself shot down and killed less than a month later, on July 2, 1944.
“I was leading ‘Cobweb Red Section.’ We were split up due to abortives, so...
The Last Pilot of the Last Ship in the Squadron
The intended mission of Lieutenant Roger Pagels’ P-51 of the 357th Fighter Group was a patrol of the area SW of Guernsey Island on June 6, 1944.
P-51 tail # 43-6397 was one of three combat losses for the unit this day. Another flyer, Captain Paul K. De Vries, was the last to see this Mustang.
“….Lt. ROGER E PAGELS was the pilot of the last ship in the Squadron formation. I saw Lt. PAGELS' ship take off. That was the last time anyone is known to have seen or heard from Lt....