Topics - North American F-82G Twin Mustang
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Introduction
The North American F-82G Twin Mustang was introduced in 1946 and was among the first combat aircraft sent to Korea when the war broke out. Based in Japan, the Twin Mustang had two occupants--the pilot and his co-pilot/navigator. Its responsibility in the Korean War was to serve as an escort fighter, all-weather point defense interceptor, and a ground attack aircraft. The aircraft could reach a speed of 400 miles per hour. It had six 50-calibre machine guns, twenty 5-inch rockets, or 2,000 pounds of bombs.
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Page Contents
Remembering Their Ultimate Sacrifice
Crashes and Fatalities
1950, June 28
Aircraft 46-358 was with the 339th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 6162nd Air Base Group, stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. On this date the aircraft was returning from providing a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) for the evacuation of civilians in the Rheinholte Freighter from Korea. The clouds were low and heavy when the plane crashed in a mountainous area while attempting to land at Itazuke Air Base, Japan, killing the pilot and radar observer. The two men were among the first six American fatalities in the Korean War.
Pilot: 1Lt. Derrell Bryce Sayre. (Missing in Action) Lieutenant Sayre was born November 20, 1922 in Racine, Ohio, the son of Herbert L. Sayre (1898-1992) and Doris Evelyn Sayre Sayre (1902-1986). He was married to Doris I. Hayman Sayre (later Rogers - died January 08, 2007) in Montgomery, Alabama, and they were parents of two sons, Bryce Sayre and Daniel Sayre. Lieutenant Sayre enlisted in the Air Corps on January 28, 1941 at Ft. Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. During World War II he flew navigation training planes in Texas. He was discharged after the war but reenlisted and was stationed in Japan when the Korean War broke out.
Radar Observer: 1Lt. Vernon Alfred Lindvig. (Missing in Action) Lieutenant Lindvig was born February 09, 1924, in North Dakota, a son of Martin Lindvig (1893-1985) and Emma C. Dahl Lindvig (1893-1991) of Lakota, North Dakota. He married Emogene Holen of Aneta, North Dakota, and they had a daughter, Valerie A. Lindvig (Eliasen), who was born on September 20, 1950. Lieutenant Lindvig's siblings were Maurice Lindvig (1915-1976), Irene J. Lindvig Broe (1917-2003), baby Raymond Lindvig (1925-1925) and Marian Lindvig Fahey Locken (1927-2011).
1950, July 06
Aircraft 46-402 was flying an aerial recon/attack mission looking for enemy tanks/APCs/trucks/etc when it crashed into a mountaintop at Chongmong-ni, Pung-myun, killing both occupants. The aircraft was part of the 4th Fighter All Weather Squadron.
Pilot: Maj. Ernest Charles Fiebelkorn. (Missing in Action) Major Fiebelkorn was born December 12, 1922 in Pontiac, Michigan, the son of Ernest Fiebelkorn and Helen Fiebelkorn. He was married to June A. Fiebelkorn of Riverside, California, and they had one son, Eric Vaughn (adopted by his stefather Cooper). Major Fiebelkorn was a World War II Ace who destroyed nine enemy aircraft and damaged another while in aerial combat, as well as strafed two enemy aircraft on the ground. He was the recipient of the Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, a Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster. His remains were recovered in 1953. [KWE Note: It should be noted that Major Fiebelkorn's son Eric Cooper (1945-2019) entered the Air Force and as a result of his service in North Vietnam he received a Distinguished Flying Cross and ten Air Medals.]
Radar Observer: 1Lt. John Joseph Higgins. (Missing in Action) Lieutenant Higgins was born September 13, 1921, the son of John T. and Catherine C. Higgins of Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Air Corps on October 13, 1942. His brother Robert H. Higgins (1923-1942) was serving in the Navy in World War II when he went missing in action at sea.
1950, August 07
Aircraft 46-355, a night fighter with the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing, was on a combat mission southwest of Chinju, when the pilot dropped an emergency flare and the plane crashed.
Pilot: 1Lt. Francis Joseph Meyer Sr. Lieutenant Meyer was born November 22, 1918 in Indiana, a son of B. Frank Meyer and Gertrude Meyer. He was the husband of Margaret E. Meyer, and the father of Francis Joseph Meyer Jr. (age 5) and Katherine Meyer (age 3). His siblings were Mrs. Frances Burkhardt, Miss Gertrude Meyer, Mrs. Gabriella Wirta, and James A. Meyer. Lieutenant Meyer served as a radar operator on night fighters in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, having enlisted on January 21, 1941. He was discharged in 1945 and worked in a department store (L.S. Ayres and Company) before reenlisting in the Air Force in 1948. His remains were recovered and he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was the recipient of an Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.
Radar Observer: 1Lt. Charles B. Moran. Lieutenant Moran was born April 17, 1924 in Hart, Kentucky, the son of Tom McGee Moran (1899-1933) and Sallie Bryant Moran (1902-1987). He was married to Lillian Y. Moran. His sister was Mrs. James Walter (Sallie Ann Moran) Walter McCurry (1930-2019). His grandparents were Chares B. and Pearl M. Moran. Lieutenant Moran entered the Air Corps on August 05, 1942. He was a star basketball player in high school. His grandfather was a Major League ballplayer.
1950, November 07
Aircraft (tail unknown) "DPAA: On November 7, 1950, an F-82 Mustang (tail number unknown) took off from Naha Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, carrying two crew members on a combat air patrol against enemy targets over the East China Sea. At some point during the mission, the crew reported engine trouble and returned to base. While beginning its approach to the runway, the Mustang crashed into Naha Bay, Okinawa, and exploded. Immediately following the crash, a search recovered the radar observer's body from the water but failed to locate the missing pilot. An approaching typhoon caused increasingly rough seas that forced the suspension of search efforts on November 17."
Pilot: Maj. Adam Peter Tymowicz (Missing in Action). Major Tymowicz was born November 23, 1919, the son of Walenty Tymowicz (1884-1958) and Zofia Fafara Tymowicz. His wife was Margaret D. Troppe Tymowicz (1924-2007). They were parents of Michael Tymowicz and Mary Rose Tymowicz Stonehouse (1946-2021). His sisters were Pauline "Polly" Sefcik (1918-1997), Josephine Mary Partak (1921-2007) and Valerie Richards. A World War II veteran, he enlisted on March 06, 1942.
Radar Observer: SSgt. Ray Lue Jennings (Remains Recovered). Sergeant Jennings was born December 03, 1925 in Phoenix, Arizona, the son of Raymond M. Jennings and Ruth C. Jennings of Missouri. He was married to Marjory B. Jennings of Phoenix, Arizona. They were parents of Susan L. Jennings (Wahrendorf), who was two years old when her father died. He enlisted in the military on November 30, 1945. He was recalled to active duty from the Enlisted Reserve Corps to serve in the Korean War. He is buried in Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona.
1950, December 07
Aircraft 46-400, a night fighter with the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing, crashed 18 miles from K-14 (Kimpo) airfield while on a night weather reconnaissance mission.
Pilot: Capt. Warren Gamaliel Harding. Captain Harding was born December 31, 1920 in Minnesota, the son of William D. Harding (1892-1954) and Oella Cragoe Harding (1899-1980). He enlisted in the Air Corps in September of 1941 and was called to active duty December 18, 1941. He trained at Gulf Coast Air Force Training Center at Brooks Field, Texas, and received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in August of 1942. He married Virginia Jean Madson on November 30, 1942. (Jean Harding Lukens was born in 1920 and died in 2015.) Warren was sent to Europe during World War II, serving with the 9th Air Force conducting 138 missions in a P-51 Mustang. He reenlisted in the Air Force and was sent to Korea in September 1950. Warren and Jean were parents of a daughter, Sandy Harding (Benson) who was eight months old when her father died, as well as sons James Michael Harding, age three years old on December 06 of that year, and Richard Warren Harding, age four years old. Captain Harding had a brother, Charles A. Harding (1922-2011). Charles served in the Air Force 1944-46. The Hardings are buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Sycamore, Illinois.
Radar Observer: 1Lt. Clifford Francis Pratt. Lieutenant Pratt was born January 10, 1922 in Oakland, California, the son of Frank William Pratt Jr. (1889-1953) and Margaret Ruth Talbot Pratt (1891-1982). His wife was Robbie Mae "Babe" Janac-Pratt (1922-1985). They were parents of a baby girl, Jane Ruth Pratt, born 1948 and died 1949. Lieutenant Pratt's sister was Geraldine Ruth Pratt (1919-2019). During World War II Clifford Pratt served 33 months in Alaska. He is buried in Cedar Park Cemetery, Calumet Park, Illinois.
1951, January 27
Aircraft 46-399 was an F-82G Twin Mustang night fighter with the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing. Its crew failed to return from a combat mission and they are listed as missing in action.
Pilot: Capt. Laurence A. Anctil. (Missing in Action) Captain Anctil was born September 26, 1920 in Pittsfield, Maine, the son of Edward C. Anctil (1895-1958) and Ruby A. Brown Anctil (1895-1961. He married Velma Nadine Ireland on May 31, 1946 in Maine. She died in 2011. Laurence and Velma were the parents of one son, Conrad L. Anctil, who retired as a Master Sergeant in the US Air Force. Captain Anctil was the recipient of an Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Radar Observer: Capt. Robert Lamar Greer. (Missing in Action) Captain Greer was born March 15, 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Russell Alexander Greer (1899-1978). He married Clydie Wiley (1921-2007) and they were parents of two daughters, Mrs. Jerry (Susan G. Greer) Jones and Mrs. John M. Buckley III (Mary Kathryn Green). Captain Greer served in the Air Corps 1942-1945 and 1950-1951. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.
AFPMP-12-E 704 Missing (27 Jan 51)
S.R. and .D. Case #105 Jan 14 1952
MEMORANDUM FOR: DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, PERSONNEL
SUBJECT: Continuance of Combat Missing Status Beyond Twelve Months FACTS
1. Pursuant to the provisions of the "Missing Persons Act," a full review has been made of the facts and circumstances set forth herein to
determine whether the missing in action status of the following officers of the 68th Fighter All Weather Squadron may reasonably be continued after a years's absence, or terminated by a presumptive finding of
death.
NAME GRADE SERVICE NUMBER
Anctil, Laurence E. First Lieutenant AO 747701
Greer, Robert L. First Lieutenant -- ------
2. Circumstances: Lieutenant Anctil and Greer were pilot and radar observer, respectively, of an F-82 type aircraft number 46-399, which departed Teegu Air Base, South Korea, on the evening of 26 January 1951,
for a two hour night combat patrol mission of the area between Pyongyang and Kangdong, North Korea. Lieutenant Anctil arrived in the assigned area at 10:00 p.m. and relieved the aircraft which previously had been patrolling this sector and which departed for the home base twenty minutes later after receiving radio acknowledgement from Lieutenant
Anctil. The aircraft which was to relieve Lieutenant Anctil, arrived at midnight, but was unable to make contact with him. When the missing F-82 failed to return from the mission, the crew was reported as missing 27 January 1951. Crews flying over the Pyongyang - Kangdong area for the following 7 to 10 days were alerted to search for crash signs of lost
aircraft, but none was reported. During the twelve months which have elapsed, no additional information has become available.
DISCUSSION
3. The information available concerning the loss of the personnel aboard this aircraft is so limited that a presumption of non-survival at this time, when the unknown enemy factor is present, may not reasonably
be considered. Since the actual site where the plane crashed is unknown and was unwitnessed, a likelihood exists that favorable circumstances prevailed whereby the missing officers survived and were captured by the
enemy. The non-receipt of a report evidencing they are prisoners is no indication that such is not the case, since the North Korean and Chinese Communist forces have consistently neglected to report captured
individuals other than those which could be exploited for propaganda purposes. Consideration of the above compels the conclusion that the missing in action status of Lieutenant Anctil and Greer should remain
unchanged.
RECOMMENDATION
4. It is recommended that pursuant to the authority contained in Section 5, Public Law 490, 77th Congress, 7 March 1942, and following the mandatory review of all available evidence, an official casualty
report be issued stating that the officer personnel listed in paragraph 1, above, will be continued in a missing in action status following the expiration of the 12 months absence, effective 28 January 1952.
1 Attachment
JOHN H. MCCORMICK (List of Source Material)
Major General, USAF Director of Military Personnel Jan 17 1952 Under authority delegated by the Secretary of the Air Force to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, the above recommendation is approved.
N.S. WETZEL
Major General, USAF
Ass't Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel
For and in name of:
LAURENCE B. KUTER
Lieutenant General, USAF
Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel
-----------1951, February 12
Aircraft 46-373A departed Itazuke Air Base to test the air speed of an F-82 Twin Mustang (tail number 46-373). The pilot had trouble with the aircraft's elevator controls, which would not allow him to depress the nose of the aircraft to maintain level flight. The pilot took the aircraft over the Sea of Japan and advised the radar observer to bail out, which he did. 1st Lt Boughton then lost control of the aircraft, which crashed into the water before he could bail out. An air rescue unit picked up the radar observer but searches for the aircraft and 1st Lt Boughton were unsuccessful. 1st Lt Boughton has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for.
Pilot: 1Lt. George Bernard Boughton. (Missing in Action) Lieutenant Boughton was born October 25, 1928, son of Lloyd Leander Boughton (1895-1968) and Olive Blanche Siddons Boughton (1892-1978). He was married and had one child--a daughter. His wife died in 1975. George had one sister, Anita Pearl Boughton Cathcart (1921-1962). Lieutenant Boughton joined the Army Air Corps in 1946. He was the recipient of a Distinguished Flying Cross.
Radar Observer: 2Lt. Frederick A. Reberg. (Survivor) Fredrick Albert Reberg Jr. Pink, 88, passed away August 12, 2014 at Ogden Regional Hospital. He was born October 2, 1925 to Fredrick Albert and Nettie Lois Reberg in Ogden. He attended public schools in the Ogden area and graduated from Ogden High School in 1943. He earned an Associate Degree from Weber Jr. College, a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, an M.S. from University of Southern California, and later a teaching certificate from Weber State College. Fred married Diane Smith in 1949. They were later divorced. He married Colleen Feeny in 1972. She passed away in 1978. He then married Beverly Buchman Mathieu in 1979 and were together for 35 years until his death. Fred joined the Army Air Corps in 1945, and later, the United States Air Force in 1950. He was a navigator in two-seat F 82 Twin Mustang fighter plane during the Korean War. His military career took him to Korea, Japan, Alaska, India, German and many states in the United States. He was awarded the United States Air Force Commendation Medal in 1968. Fred retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970 and returned to Utah. After marrying Bev, they moved to Three Lakes, Wisconsin in 1982. There he taught math and science in the local school system. They returned to the Ogden area in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Bev; two sisters: Helen Pett and Virginia Gladwell; four children: Nancy Bailey, Chris Kynaston, Mike Reberg, Mark Reberg; four grandchildren and five great- grandchildren. Along the way he blended, embraced and loved many step children and their families. He is preceded in death by his brother Rick. A gathering and remembrance of Fred will he held Saturday, August 16, 2014, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at Leavitt Mortuary, 836 36th Street, Ogden, Utah.
1951, March 14
Aircraft 46-394 F-82G Twin Mustang night fighter with the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing failed to return from a combat mission. Both occupants are listed as missing in action
Pilot: Capt. Julius "Jay" "J.C." Cleveland Fluhr Jr. (Missing in Action) Captain Fluhr was born November 2, 1919, a son of Julius Cleveland Fluhr Sr. (1892-1961) and Ethel Marian Gunyan Fluhr (1896-1990). His siblings included Ethel C. Fluhr MacTaggart, Helen M. Fluhr Yefko (died 2005), Robert "Bobby" Stanley Fluhr (killed in action in Korea while serving in the Air Force), Marion E. Fluhr MacNamee, Edward D. Fluhr, James Fluhr, and Philip W. Fluhr.
Radar Observer: 2Lt. Frederick H. Milhaupt Jr. (Missing in Action) Lieutenant Milhaupt was born July 28, 1925, a son of Frederick Henry Milhaupt Sr. (1888-1980) and Margaret Lucille Hiss Milhaupt (1894-1983). His siblings were Jean Lucille Milhaupt (a Dominican Sister), Rosemary Milhaupt Brown, Marilyn Milhaupt Hefferan, and John Milhaupt. Lieutenant Milhaupt served from 1947 to 1951 and was the recipient of an Air Medal.
1951, May 26
Aircraft 46-357 F-82 Twin Mustang night fighter with the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing was on a weather reconnaissance mission 20 miles north of the 38th parallel when contact was lost. The crew is listed as missing in action. From Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: "On May 26, 1951, an F-82G Twin Mustang (tail number 46-357A) carrying two crew members took off from Itazuki Air Base, Japan, on a reconnaissance mission near Chorwon, North Korea. This aircraft checked in with the airborne forward aircraft controller and reported there were several possible targets in the flight’s reconnaissance area, but poor weather might hinder any attacks. About two hours and thirty minutes into the mission, the crew of the Twin Mustang reported that they would return to home base; this was the last radio message received from the aircraft. The Twin Mustang failed to return to base and was declared missing once its fuel supply would have been exhausted. A search of the flight route from Itazuki Air Base to the target area failed to find the missing aircraft or its two crew members."
Pilot: Capt. Ralph Donald "Don" Mulhollen. (Missing in Action) Captain Mulhollen was born February 24, 1918 in Colorado, the son of Ralph Dentch Mulhollen and Ina M. Barbour Mulhollen (1891-1987). He married Martha Moore Thomas (1919-2007) in 1942 and they were parents of Ralph Donald Mulhollen II and Martha Lynne Mulhollen. Captain Mulhollen was a World War II veteran who was shot down over Italy and taken prisoner of war. He was liberated in 1945. He was the recipient of a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.
Radar Observer: Capt. Arild Christian Nielsen. (Missing in Action) He married Virginia Lee Roby and they had three children, including daughters Sandra and Ingrid.
"Arild was born May 1, 1922, in Williston, North Dakota. He attended school in Williston until about 1937 when the family moved to Missoula, Montana. He graduated from Missoula County High School where he was on the high school boxing team in the 145-pound weight division. After high school he attended the University of Montana for two years working summers as a Forest Service lookout and in 1942 as a Missoula smokejumper, making at least three fire jumps. After smokejumping, Arild enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and in March 1944, he graduated from the Army Air Forces advanced flying school as a second lieutenant. He married in August 1944 and continued serving in the military while he and his wife had three children. He flew in the Pacific theater of operations in WWII and in the Korean Conflict. Contact with Arild was lost on May 26, 1951, when the F-82 he was flying disappeared in North Korea while flying a weather reconnaissance mission 20 miles north of the 38th parallel. In July 1951, he was officially listed as Missing in Action and in July 1954, he was reported as "presumed dead" when a returned prisoner of war from communist North Korea reported that "Captain Nielsen died while a prisoner of the Reds." Arild's remains were never recovered." [Source: National Smokejumper Association]
1951, July 03
Aircraft 46-378 was hit by anti-aircraft artillery and crashed into the sea. The two crew members were rescued.
Pilot: Capt. James E. Johnston (Rescued)
Radar Observer: 1Lt. Roderick S. Doll (Rescued) Lieutenant Doll was born January 18, 1917 in New York, the son of Isabelle R. Doll. His brother was William Doll. Roderick died September 11, 1990.
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