RICHMOND, Va. –
The Virginia National Guard History Program is highlighting the seven Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers who mobilized in 1941 who are still listed as missing in action.
Four were assigned to the 116th Infantry, two to the 111th Field Artillery and one to the 176th Infantry. One of the Soldiers assigned to the 111th was Tech. Sgt. Joshua B. Swanner, who hailed from Henrico County, Virginia.
Like the rest of the Battery E, 111th FA, Swanner was mobilized in February 1941, and sent to Fort Meade, Maryland. Swanner was eventually transferred to the Army Air Corps and assigned to the 72nd Bomber Squadron, 5th Bomber Group, as an assistant engineer and gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
“Tech. Sgt. Swanner received several awards during his time with the 72nd Squadron,” said retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Al Barnes, the Virginia National Guard command historian. “At some point he got married and was the father of a daughter.”
On May 5, 1944, Swanner was aboard the command B-24 on a strike mission in the area around New Guinea over Indonesian waters when a Japanese Zero shot and damaged the aircraft. One engine and a wing caught fire, and eventually the wing crumbled, causing the aircraft to crash into the water. Witnesses saw multiple parachutes deploy before aircraft impacted the water.
Two Soldiers, the pilot and co-pilot, survived and were eventually found in a life raft and rescued. Nine other crew members, including Swanner, did not survive. Swanner was officially listed as “missing in action.” His and the other crew members’ names are listed on the Tablet of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.
“Tech. Sgt. Swanner was killed in action just a month before his 111th Field Artillery comrades landed on Omaha Beach,” said Barnes.
Swanner was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Purple Heart with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster.
Read more about the Virginia National Guard History Program at https://vngpao.info/history.