Introduction

On a night intruder mission over North Korea, this B-26B (#44-34247) disappeared and was presumed to crash.  The last contact with the crew was at 0045L inbound to a target.  There were three crew members, all still listed as missing in action. 

[KWE Note: On June 29, 1951, this aircraft, known as BC-247, was involved in a crash at Iwakuni Air Base in Japan.  Harry C. Torrey was piloting the plane during this incident.  Cause of the crash was mechanical failure.  The plane (identified with a dragon on its nose) was later transferred to the 3rd Bomb Wing, 13th Bombardment Squadron.]

Missing in Action

• Beacham, Thomas Henry - tail gunner
• Gould, Capt. Gene Wilton - navigator
• Newton, Maj. Robert Roy - pilot

Bios of the Missing

Thomas Henry Beacham

Thomas was born January 22, 1930 in Mississippi, a son of Henry Wayne Beacham (1901-1974) and Ruby Dexter Beacham (1905-1997).  Henry's siblings were Henry Felder Beacham, Sissy Beacham, and Dr. Albert Wayne Beacham (1933-2013).  There is a memorial to Airman Beacham in John Felder Memorial Park, Pike County, Mississippi.  He was the recipient of the Air Medal.

Gene Wilton Gould

Gene was born July 21, 1924 in Illinois.  He was the son of Loren Gould (born 1902) and Myrtle Harriett Wilton Gould (1898-1987).  He married his wife, Yvonne Marie Strickland Gould (1926-2013), in 1945.  They had a son, Richard Strickland Gould, and daughter Marian J. Gould.  Yvonne later married Robert Louis Schmidt.  Captain Gould was the recipient of a Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal (four clusters).  There is a marker for him in Fort Logan National Cemetery.

Robert Roy Newton

Major Newton was born March 17, 1923.  He was from Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado.  He was the recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with two clusters.