B-25J Mitchell of 498th Bomb Squadron Hit By Flak and About to Crash

North American B-25J-10-NC Mitchell “Jaunty Jo,“ serial number 43-36192, 498th Bomb Squadron, 348th Bomb Group, Fifth Air Force (Far East Air Force) was struck by hidden antiaircraft artillery just after deploying 250-pound (113.4-kilogram) parachute-retarded demolition bombs on the Byoritsu Alcohol Refinery in Formosa. The cockpit has been torn open. Seconds later the plane crashed, killing the entire crew: Command Pilot Second Lieutenant Robert J. Knauf (October 5, 1924 – May 26, 1945) of Schenectady, New York; Co-pilot Second Lieutenant Martin H. Mulner Junior (January 27, 1921 – May 26, 1945), of Attica, New York; Bombardier/Navigator First Lieutenant Lloyd E. Bodell (May 6, 1918 – May 26, 1945) of Monroe County, Michigan, Flight Engineer/Gunner Corporal Harold O. Montville (August 5, 1920 – May 26, 1945) of Saint Louis, Missouri, and Radio Operator/Gunner Gunnery Sergeant Tennyson C. Harrell (September 5, 1923 – May 26, 1945) of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The plane was one of 16 B-25s that were attempting to deny the Japanese the ability to process synthetic fuel from sugar cane. Byoritsu refinery was hit in March, May and July 1945.

Bodell’s father, Lloyd J. Bodell (December 23, 1895 – August 6, 1918), was also killed in action during World War I. A member of B Company, 125th Infantry, he was severely wounded by German shell fire near Fismes, France, on August 4, 1918, he died two days later.