Lionel Jerome 'Bud' Emswiler
Material on this page was supplied by Sue Dale.
August 3, 1923 - April 27, 1945
S/Sgt.
Tail Gunner
763rd Bombardment Squadron (H)
460th Bombardment Group (H)
55th Bombardment Wing
Fifteenth Air Force
Jerome recieved his gunnery training at Harlingen Army Air Field, Harlingen, Texas.
Cpl. Jerome Emswiler, of Ekalaka, Montana, son of Mr. & Mrs. S. J. Emswiler, was assigned as an aerial gunner on the crew of Anthony J. Snyder of the 763rd Bombardment Squadron (H), 460th Bombardment Group
The 763rd Bombardment Squadron flew its last mission on 26 April 1945. On April 27, a company of US troops were trapped behind enemy lines and they desperately needed food and ammunition. An emergency mission to drop supplies was quickly scheduled. Bud was one of the airmen who volunteered to make the flight. Their plane was on fire when it returned to the base. They had been caught in crossfire. The plane crased near a monastery in Metera, Italy killing three airmen on board. S/Sgt Emswiler had completed twenty-five missions and was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.
