Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel Information
B-24 Tail Gunner with the 13th Air Force, 372nd Bombardment Squadron, 307th Bombardment Group
Information and pictures on this page have been reprinted with permission from Miles E. Morrison.
Please submit additioanl 307th Bomb Group information and pictures to: webmaster@missingaircrew.com

Top Row (From left to right): Technical Sergeant James Quigley, Staff Sergeant Jack C. Schuyler, Staff Sergeant Paul C. Gindlesperger, Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel, Staff Sergeant Albert F. Etheredge, Staff Sergeant Douglas P. Berry Jr. Bottom Row (From left to right): First Lieutenant William V. Apple, Second Lieutenant F. Dale Cummings, Second Lieutenant Manuel S. Martinez, Second Lieutenant William A. Holt

My name is Miles Morrison and I am writing on behalf of my grandfather, Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel (B -24 tail gunner), who served in the 13th Air Force 307th Bomber Group 372nd Bomber Squadron "The Long Rangers").

The following files contain mission documents, training and gunnery reports, and a few news articles that my grandfather received. As for the crew picture in my last email, that was the crew of Lt. William V. Apple (Former Canadian Air Force) who gained his crew some fame in mission 30 in particular. My grandfather served 43 missions and a total of 432:20 combat hours. He volunteered an extra mission that included transporting units to their planes. He wanted to wait...to see if a lost crew would return that was on another flight on the same shipping strike...so rather than leave with his crew with the required missions accomplished...he stayed around on the island...hoping that the catalina would bring his crew home safely... However, he regretted staying as they never returned and no one had heard from them since... He would also see planes come in with shot up crew...planes trailing blood as they taxied to park. After this, he returned home as the rest of his crew had.

Combat missions from my grandfather (Eulis S. McDanaiel) lasted from December 6, 1944 to late May 1945.

According to my grandfather, he flew on many of the various planes as seen in the nose art pictures, including "This is it!" at one time.

Mission 30 in particular, was one of the missions I enjoy to talk about with my grandfather...Although he has many other great stories from other various missions....I need to get together with him and have a little interview...maybe I can send you some of his stories. Included in the .ZIP is a mission report from mission 30....in some areas it is hard to read....sorry as the docs are old and worn out...mostly because my scanner couldn't distinguish some of it. This document in very interesting. Here is some of my knowledge of this mission...some of it described by my grandfather:

It was a volunteer mission to fly from Morotai to Kuching, Borneo on a solo B-24 flight. The B-24 was painted in jungle camo with no markings and fitted with two 400 gallon fuel tanks in the bomb bay for extra long range (Their squad was called "the long rangers" after all.)... so there wasn't much room for bombs, just 4 bombs. The mission was intended to be a recon mission to spot for jap ships in the harbor. When they got there they took pics of a destroyer and a sub, but they also noticed an airfield in the area full of jap fighters. They knew they couldn't escape after they alerted the fighters so they swept down the airfield at 25 to 100 feet off the ground and all the gunners opened fire on the planes as japs ran to them to intercept the B-24. They also dropped their 4 bombs on the runway to prevent any takeoffs. It was confirmed they took out 20 to 30 planes with the gunners. After one run they took a hit when the japs managed to man the AA guns. They realized after 45 minutes of buzzing the airdrome they wouldn't have enough fuel to make it back, especially with the damage. The only solution was to land on a tiny airstrip on palawan. As they approached the airfield you couldn't see the runway. As they neared it, fillipino guerillas pulled away trees and brush that was used to camo the runway. They were everywhere, the armed geurillas. After they landed the crew were told they were the first american heavy bomber to land in palawan. It is also said they were the first american plane to visit borneo since the japanese invasion of borneo. After the landed they were ordered to remove all the guns and take out the extra fuel tanks to lighten the load.... or they would land in the ocean on takeoff. The process had to be done quickly...and just enough fuel to make it back to morotai. While on the island a crew member saw a dog and asked them if he could take it. They let em' take it with them on the plane back to Morotai. They made it back to Morotai with just enough fuel and the prop blades touching the water on takeoff from Palawan as they turned out. I think he received an air medal on this mission. (I have all his medals also, including two of his air medals).

Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel Documents:

Gunnery Training Larado Texas (pdf file 525 KB) Lt. Apple Crew Mission Report to Kuching, Borneo (pdf file 7.4 MB) Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel Mission Record in the South West Pacific (pdf file 2 MB) Please submit additional information.

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Staff Sergeant Eulis S. McDaniel Pictures:

290 946 A captured Japanese 457 squadron A6M Reisen (s/n5622), more commonly known as the Zero. After it was repaired into flight condition, it was transported by the TAIU-SWPA. This aircraft was made a gift for the RAAF, and was used in several test flights. It's outcome is unknown. AT6Texan BeechAT11 BeechAT11B26left BiakNewGuinea BobbieLow617 ceremony1 ceremony2 ceremony3 ClubHours EulisSMcDaniel GrandfathersCrew Green GunneryTrainingLaradoTexas halmaheracelebesea Hawaii Jan743 Janie-535#2 Janie535 Another captured Japanese aircraft. This time a Mitsubishi Ki-43 Oscar presumably from the 248th Hiko-Sentai of the Japanese Air Force. Pictured in Hollandia, New Guinea among other captured airframes. This is a captured Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-51 Sonia dive bomber. This airframe is from the 1st Chutai, 1st Sentai, Japanese Imperial Air Force, and is pictured in Hollandia, New Guinea. This is a captured Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-51 Sonia dive bomber. This airframe is from the 1st Chutai, 1st Sentai, Japanese Imperial Air Force, and is pictured in Hollandia, New Guinea. LockheedHudsonLodestar Mission30Brief Mission30-pg1 Mission30pg2 Mission30-pg3 MissionReport-pg1 MissionReport-pg2 MissionReport-pg3 MOROTAIIsland neilson-field NewGuinea NewGuinea2 OilFieldBorneo RuthAnn-945 SamAnderson scan0003 scan0004 scan0010 scan0016 scan0026 scan0027 scan0034 scan0039 SittingPretty-236 SouthPacificCELEBESMorotai Thisisit!133 Please submit additional information.

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