Note: In reading this blog, click on blue highlighted phrases to open links to other information which might be helpful in understanding the content and historical context. A bit of the history below was found in Shadow: A Cottontail Bomber Crew in World War II, a book about their plane and crew.[1] This book, which included interviews from my great-aunt Irene (the youngest sibling) about her brother, is a favorite one in my personal collection. Other facts were referenced in the footnotes below.
My great-uncle, Robert Bryant Stricklin (nicknamed “Strick” just like his older brother, William, whom he admired), paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, killed in action on 15 July 1944, during WWII. He was a bombardier, originally serving with a 10-man crew on the Shadow, a B-24 Liberator bomber, part of the 450th Bombardment Group (15th Army Air Forces (AAF) based in Maduria, Italy).[2]
Known as “R.B.” to his family, he was born 4 June 1916, in Amarillo, Texas, to William Edward “Ed” Stricklin and Irene Wilson.[3] He was the youngest of three sons, and fifth in order of birth, with younger sister, Gertrude Irene “Little Irene” Stricklin as the sixth and final child. My paternal grandmother and the second oldest child, Madeyline Bell Stricklin “Sweetie”, helped her mother with the younger children and with sewing projects.
R.B.’s father, Ed, was born in Illinois, and was a butcher by trade, a valuable skill later during the Great Depression years. R.B. was named after his mother’s father, Robert Bryant Wilson, a twice elected sheriff in Brown County, Texas (Brownwood as the county seat). Ed met his future wife in Brownwood. Irene was the granddaughter of Greenleaf Fisk, who settled first near Mina, Texas (now Bastrop) in 1834. He fought at the Battle at San Jacinto during the Texas Independence War and then returned to the area, providing city, county and state positions in Bastrop and Williamson Counties before eventually donating 80 acres for the town of Brownwood, in Brown County. He fathered 15 children, with two wives. Irene’s mother was Emma Fisk.[4]
By 1920, Ed and Irene had moved the family to Dallas.[5] Ed worked at the “Piggly Wiggly Store #40” first as a marker manager then as a meat cutter. The 1920s and early 1930s were tough on the family, as they moved several times while living in Dallas.[6] R.B. was a kid who loved being outside, imagining adventures, fueled by his love of Mark Twain’s book, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.
With all of the uncertainties and difficult circumstances felt through the Great Depression years, Irene and Ed grew apart. By the mid-1930’s, Irene divorced Ed. The four oldest children had married and left home, while the youngest sister Irene and R.B. lived at home with their mother. She sold bakery items and took in sewing projects to help make ends meet. R.B. graduated from high school and began working for his older brother, William, at Stricklin’s Food Store, near where they lived.[7] Even though he registered for the draft in October 1940, he was not enlisted until February of 1942. R.B. was drafted into service at age 25, older than most draftees. He began service at Camp Wolters, in Mineral Wells, Texas.[8] He soon switched from the Army to the Army Air Corp, in hopes of becoming a pilot. During training, he switched gears to bombardier training, which required pre-flight school and gunnery training at navigator school; he excelled in this field.
The crew met each other during their 90-day training in Clovis, New Mexico. On 13 November 1943, the initial crew listing of “Crew #4-N-33” included Capt. Grant D. Caywood (pilot), 2nd Lt. William C. Donaldson (co-pilot), 2nd Lt. Robert B. Stricklin (bombardier, the oldest of the crew, age 26), Sgt. Richard M. Jacobson (engineer and gunner), Sgt. Manuel F. Esquivel (radio operator and gunner), Sgt. Stanley S. Butynski (aerial engineer and gunner), Sgt. Theodore H. Morris (aerial engineer and gunner) and Sgt. Maurice H. Gilliam (aerial gunner). By December, Herbert Gouldon (navigator) and Norman Woodward (aerial engineer and gunner) were added to the crew and Maurice Erickson replaced Sgt. Donaldson as co-pilot.
Their plane was named “Shadow” after Capt. Caywood’s black cocker spaniel, who had flown with the crew several times during training. After training in Clovis, they flew to Langley AFB in Virginia to work on radar and night flight training scenarios, working through December and the Christmas holiday of 1943. These scenarios were especially important for the pilots and navigators who would be tasked with flying at night without landmarks. The rest of the crew joined in on these night missions to gain experience. The crew then flew Shadow to Florida, for the final deployment to the Mandurian Airfield to begin combat as part of the Cottontail squadron of B-24 bombers in the 450th B.G.
It was incredible that most of the crew of the Shadow was able to complete 50 missions; a requirement to be able to go home. The average life-span of bomber crews was fifteen missions! Most of the crew did head home but five of the officers continued on with their work, including the recently promoted lead bombardier, 1st Lt. R. B. Stricklin. In a letter home on 5 July 1944, R.B. stated that he had completed 44 missions, “sweating them out”, and hoped to be home by Thanksgiving.
On 15 July 1944, he was assigned to one of the Cottontail bombers (Strange Cargo,[9] led by Lt. Col. William C. Snaith) to fly through the dreaded Polestri, Romania oil fields, home to the German’s marshaling yards, used as a deployment center for shipping petroleum products. Several of R.B.’s comrades had died or had become prisoners of war on downed aircraft in that region. The crew for this assignment as lead bomber aircraft was handpicked, the best of the best. At this point, R.B. was the Group Bombardier and was picked for this mission.[10]
As the lead bomber crew flew through smoke as a result from a recent run by another bomber, they targeted their bombs using a specialized “Mickey” radar. As they were turning to leave the bomb run, the plane was hit.
Of the crew on that plane, only one survived (Snaith), parachuting right next to the burning wreckage on his way down. He was captured and held with other U.S. airmen in a POW camp in Bucharest, run by the Romanians. R.B., the only original crew-member of the Shadow B-24 bomber, was killed in action, at age 28. His mother (my great-grandmother, Irene Wilson Stricklin), and his siblings including my paternal grandmother, were notified about six months later when his remains were found. As can be imagined, the family was devastated.
Robert B. Stricklin’s remains are buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, located about 12 miles south-west of Liège in Belgium. The cemetery (90.5 acres) contains 5,329 American war dead.[11]
The Field of Honors website provided pictures and details on his life and service and referenced the 450th Bombardment Group website which provides details on the men who served in the group (H), 47th Wing, 15th Air Force, United States Army. I was also able to find the Missing in Action Report (MACR) #6995 report for the missing crew.
On 20 May 1945, Robert Bryant Stricklin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart, both posthumously, at a dedication ceremony at his high school, Forest Avenue, in Dallas, Texas.[12]
Click on the pictures (to enlarge them) to see the details.
A researcher can find so much information about their ancestor when searching for finite details about their service; these were amazing details about R.B., whom my father favored in appearance.
Follow SYFT on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, to be alerted when blogs are posted. As you begin researching through military records, check my previous blogs on military history (November 2022); intro, American Revolution, 19th century conflicts, and 20th century conflicts. I’m happy to talk through what was discovered and offer advice, especially as new clues are discovered about your ancestor(s). You can fill out the Contact SYFT form or email me directly at shapingyourfamilytree@gmail.com.
REFERNCES
[1] Raiford, Neil Hunter (2004). Shadow: A Cottontail Bomber Crew in World War II. Jefferson, N.C. & London: McFarland & Company, Inc. [see index, p. 238, for Stricklin, Robert Bryant].
[2] Official Website: 450th Bombardment Group Memorial Association. Lt. Col. William C. Snaith, Strange Cargo, 721st Squadron. https://www.450thbg.com/real/crews/snaith.shtml : accessed 27 May 2024.
[3] “Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X21N-Q7L : accessed 27 May 2024), Entry for Robert Bryant Stricklin and William Edward Stricklin, 04 Jun 1916.
[4] Texas State Historical Association (1952 / 2015). Fisk, Greenleaf (1807-1888). https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/fisk-greenleaf : accessed 27 May 2024.
[5] “United States Census, 1920”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHY1-FYX : accessed 27 May 2024), Entry for William C Strickland and Irene Strickland, 1920.
[6] “United States Census, 1930”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C446-53Z : accessed 27 May 2024), Entry for William E Strickland and Irene Strickland, 1930.
[7] “United States Census, 1940”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K479-CBV : accessed 27 May 2024), Entry for Robert B Stricklin, 1940.
[8] “United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMFB-NYY : accessed 27 May 2024), Robert B Stricklin, enlisted 24 Feb 1942, Cp Wolters, Texas, United States; citing “Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946,” database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
[9] Official Website: 450th Bombardment Group Memorial Association. Strange Cargo, 42-51153, 721st Squadron. https://www.450thbg.com/real/aircraft/42-51153.shtml : accessed 27 May 2024.
[10] Official Website: 450th Bombardment Group Memorial Association. Lt. Col. William C. Snaith, Strange Cargo, 721st Squadron. https://www.450thbg.com/real/crews/snaith.shtml : accessed 27 May 2024.
[11] Monumental Inscriptions. USA. Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium. 15 July 1944. (Birth: 4 June 1916). STRICKLIN, Robert Bryant. Find A Grave Memorial: 55903266. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55903266/robert_bryant_stricklin : accessed 27 May 2024.
[12] Fields of Honor – Database. Stricklin, Robert B. https://www.fieldsofhonor-database.com/index.php/en/american-war-cemetery-ardennes-s/55011-stricklin-robert-b : accessed 27 May 2024.