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Written by Becky Watts
Published on Pikecountytimes.com
Family of Missing Airman Asks for Public's Help to Bring Him Home
CONCORD, GA - It happened on a routine ferrying mission that departed from
Kunming, China. The B-24J Liberator named "Hot as Hell" flew in the China,
India Burma Theatre during World War II. On January 25, 1944, this
aircraft from the 14th Air Force, 308th Bomb Group, 425th Bomb Squadron
never arrived at its destination in Chabua, India.
The eight crewmen aboard "Hot as Hell" were officially listed as Missing
in Action (MIA) and a report dated November 20, 1944, advised that the
plane was "still listed as MIA". A Bombardier named 1st Lt. Robert E.
Oxford--affectionately known as Eugene--was one of the missing. Back home,
his family worried about him. They wondered exactly what had happened and
when he was coming home.
Eugene was the youngest of five children born to Charlie and Bessie Oxford
from Concord, Georgia. Fred was born in 1912, Paul in 1914, Clay in 1915,
Martha Kate in 1917, and Eugene in 1919. Eugene and his sister and
brothers played and went to school in Pike County. Eugene was engaged to
be married to a Pike County girl named Susan Brown.
Eugene's brothers served in the Armed Forces so it was only natural that
Eugene would do the same after he graduated from High School. He graduated
from Midland Army Flying School in Texas on August 13, 1942 and joined the
war effort after that.
The China-Burma-India Theatre was a struggle between Chinese soldiers and
the Japanese force that was attempting to overcome their country. The US
Air Corp which would eventually become the US Air Force, the British Royal
Air Force, and the Royal Canadian Air Force joined in the struggle against
Japan. Food, ammunition and supplies were ferried from one area to another
in this region.
Plane crashes were a common occurrence resulting from hostile fire, bad
weather, and both navigational and mechanical error. Hundreds of planes
were lost with multiple crew members on each plane. According to the MIA
Recoveries website, "The US Department of Defense stated in 2004 that more
than 500 US Aircraft and 1,200 crew members were still missing in the
China-Burma-India Theatre from WWII, with nearly 416 Americans remaining
missing in India alone."
Eugene's older brother, Fred, told me that survivors of plane crashes did
walk out of the jungle months later. This is why there was such a lapse of
time between crew of "Hot as Hell" being declared MIA and the crew members
on the flight finally being declared dead after 2 years. However, their
bodies were not recovered and brought home to their families.
Mary-Kate Roan writes about a letter that was returned to her grandmother
after Eugene's death. "I hope you get home before you get this letter,"
she wrote. "It would be the best thing we could have happen to us now to
hear that you were out of that jungle and on your way home. We certainly
haven't given up hope and won't. We have read so much about boys that have
been in those jungles for months and still find their way out. It really
gives us encouragement," she wrote. 63 years would pass before Eugene's
family received word about their loved one.
On September 3, 2007, a message was posted on a Genealogy website asking
if anyone was familiar with the family of 1st Lt. Robert E. Oxford of Pike
County, Georgia. The post was from a relative of one of the other crew
members of "Hot as Hell". It went on to say that the wreckage of the plane
had been discovered in a remote area in northeastern India and that their
family was trying to contact relatives of missing crewmen in order to
persuade the Department of Defense to send a recovery team to the site of
the wreckage.
It just so happens that Fred's nephew's family live in Thomaston and
Merrill Roan--Mary Kate's mom--had begun work on the family's genealogy.
Merrill found the message on Genealogy.com and corresponded with a member
from one of the other families. This correspondence has spread to include
family members from several of the crew members of the lost plane in an
effort to bring their family members home.
Sure enough, the B-24J nicknamed "Hot as Hell" had been found. Arizona
adventurer Clayton Kuhles had filed an archeological site report form with
the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Command
on December 7, 2006 showing that the plane had been located near Damroh,
India. Less than one week after the posting of a message searching for the
family of 1st Lt. Robert E. Oxford of Pike County, Georgia, Eugene's
family was learning what had happened to him during his tour of duty in
the military after 63 years of waiting and wondering.
Clayton Kuhles has embarked upon MIA search expeditions for the past
several years. One story from a 2002 expedition tells how difficult it was
on an earlier trip. It tells how Kuhles and his guides ate only beetles
for food when supplies ran out because the villagers refused to sell food
to his group. It was said that Clayton lost 25 to 35 pounds on that trip.
Since then, he has made contacts that have made the return trips
considerably easier.
According to his MIA Recoveries website, a typical expedition lasting one
month costs about $10,000 with some trips lasting as long as 2 months.
Clayton has been able to reach and document about 2 to 3 MIA aircrafts on
an average trip to India. Clayton's guide had found the wreckage for "Hot
as Hell" a couple of years prior to the trip in 2006. A parachute and
oxygen bottle were found at the site as well as bones that are likely
human remains. The markings on the plane identify it as "Hot as Hell".
Pictures can be seen on the MIA Recoveries website through the link below.
Through Clayton's work to document the wreckage of WWII planes, families
are joining in a growing effort to bring home their loved ones who have
been missing in action since the war.
"Eugene's family always hoped that Eugene would be found," Merrill said.
Now Eugene's family asks that their loved one be brought home to rest in
Concord at the cemetary where his marker stands. "The family is asking all
veterans to contact their representatives to help us bring our family
member home."
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