Looking to solve a WWII mystery

[Pathfinder]

Chris--
"He was killed when his dive bomber collided with another on a training mission 60 miles northeast of Miami on June 17, 1944".

This statement comes from the notes preceding his letter at the Historical Society. (Which also suggests the 17JUN44 date of loss.)

You did speculate that his plane might have been a TBM or such....somehow that has been corrupted into TBD.

I introduced the SBD-5 based on the losses for 12JUN44.

Now that we know who the gunner was on the SBD-5 lost on 12JUN we don't know ANYTHING about the loss scenario of Leroy Miller.

We have conflicting dates and unsubstantiated information.

I have an email out to Mike STowe to see if he can correlate some of our data.

[mustangdriver]

Thanks so much!

[Jim MacDonald]

Here`s the accident report. It was a TBM.





Mac

[Pathfinder]

Outstanding! At last some FACTS....

Avengers...target tow aircraft...June 17 (not 12th)

[Pathfinder]

Crewman of the other plane involved in the mid-air:

Matthew D. McIndoe
BRANCH OF SERVICE
U.S. Navy

HOMETOWN Mt. Pleasant, PA
HONORED BY Rusty and Barbie Dicks, Nephew
ACTIVITY DURING WWII
SEAMAN, JUNE 17, 1944, REPORTED MISSING AFTER THE COLLISION OF TWO TORPEDO BOMBERS OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. HE WAS A NAVAL GUNNER.

[Scooby]

Chris--
"He was killed when his dive bomber collided with another on a training mission 60 miles northeast of Miami on June 17, 1944".

This statement comes from the notes preceding his letter at the Historical Society. (Which also suggests the 17JUN44 date of loss.)

You did speculate that his plane might have been a TBM or such....somehow that has been corrupted into TBD.

I introduced the SBD-5 based on the losses for 12JUN44.

Now that we know who the gunner was on the SBD-5 lost on 12JUN we don't know ANYTHING about the loss scenario of Leroy Miller.

We have conflicting dates and unsubstantiated information.

I have an email out to Mike STowe to see if he can correlate some of our data.

Typo on my part (TBD).

Great work finding this information.

I wonder if the family was given the wrong date of his death/loss? Nice work possibly finding his sister some closure.

[Pathfinder]

According to the report the planes went down 60 miles from NAS Miami (now Opa-Locka Airport) bearing 083 deg.

Looks like that would be about 16 miles NNW of the northernmost point of North Bimini Island---346 deg.

Navigators please correct...would that be statute miles (SM) or nautical miles (NM) in a Navy report?

[mustangdriver]

Thank you all so much. I have military records that just show a date of death of 6/12/1944. You guys are awesome. Again thank all of you that helped get some closure for this woman!

[lmritger]

Might've been said already, but 28667 definitely isn't a TBD BuNo. Good to see the teamwork in sorting out this info though!

Lynn

[Pathfinder]

TBF-1 #47626
Ens. MCCLENAHAN, ( GEORGE R ? ) pilot
SEAGLE, CLYDE A JR
County Flier Dies As Bombers Collide
In a collision of torpedo bombers over the Atlantic Ocean, 50 miles cast of Hollywood, Fla., Saturday, Radioman Third class Clyde A. Seagle, Jr., lost his life, two days before his 19lh birthday. The Navy identified Radioman Seagle, son of the C. A. Seagles of McDonald, R. D. 4, as one of the four fliers still missing after the crash. He was graduated from Cecil Township High School in 1941 and was inducted into the service shortly afterward.
(June 20, 1944--The Daily Republican from Monongahela, Pennsylvania · Page 1)

MCINDOE, MATTHEW D (Grave site is here) http://billiongraves.com/pages/record/M ... oe/6225236
==================================================================================
TBM-1 #24523
Ens. HOWARD, Russell Pilot
MIAMI, Fla., June 19.
The body of Ensign Russell Howard, USNR, of New England. North Dakota, one of four men missing since Saturday when two planes from the Miami naval air station collided in the air and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Hollywood. Fla., today was recovered by searching parties. The other men still missing are: C. A. Seagle, Jr.. ARM 4M of MacDonald, Pa.; C A. Miller, S1C of Oshkosh, Wis., and D. H. Klenke, ARM3C from Ardell. Wisc.
(June 19, 1944 The News-Herald from Franklin, Pennsylvania · Page 6)

KLENKE, DONALD H
MILLER, LEROY A

[Scooby]

Thank you all so much. I have military records that just show a date of death of 6/12/1944. You guys are awesome. Again thank all of you that helped get some closure for this woman!

Perhaps the error in the military's documentation of Leroy's death was one of the reasons your family couldn't find out information sooner.