“Lady Be Good” Will Not Return; or, What Became of Staff Sergeant Vernon L. Moore?
Summary
Vernon L. Moore was a Staff Sergeant aboard Lady Be Good, a B-24 Liberator that disappeared without a trace on her first combat mission of World War II.
The crew of nine took off from Soluch air base in Libya on April 4th, 1943 on a bombing run to Naples, Italy. Strong winds from the Sahara resulted in a sandstorm that caused many of the bombers to abort and return to Soluch.
Lady Be Good aborted upon reaching Naples due to cloud cover. She dumped her bombs and attempted to return to Soluch.
The last communication came from the pilot Lieutenant William J. Hatton when he radioed Soluch to indicate that his direction finder had failed and he needed guidance.
The Lady Be Good and her crew never made it home, and she was assumed to have been lost over the Mediterranean Sea. At the end of World War II, she was just another aircraft missing in action.
In November of 1958 a crashed aircraft was spotted during an aerial survey of the Libyan Desert by D’Arcy Oil Company. The location was communicated to Wheelus Air Force Base, but they did not investigate since no American aircraft were known to be missing in this area.
The aircraft was found about 400 miles inland.
D’Arcy Oil Company did send a team to investigate in March 1959. They discovered that the aircraft was a B-24 Liberator, it’s radio still worked, along with one of it’s machine guns. While the hull was broken in two, the aircraft was still in excellent condition. The aircraft contained food, water, and a thermos of still drinkable tea.
But there were no human remains to be found.
The log of navigator Lieutenant Hays ended in Naples.
The US Military searched the area for months. The only signs of the crew they could find were pieces of clothing and parachutes that were presumably used to mark their route in hopes of rescue.
The military gave up the search after several months, concluding that the crew’s remains were likely covered by shifting sand dunes.
In February of 1960, British Petroleum employees found five bodies of the crew. These were identified as Lieutenant William J. Hatton, Lieutenant Robert F. Toner, Lieutenant Dp Hays, Sergeant Samuel E. Adams, and Sergeant Robert E. LaMotte.
Robert Toner’s diary was also found. He recorded that none of the men realized they were over dry land when they bailed out. Eight of the nine managed to locate each other by firing flares and revolvers, but Bombardier Lieutenant John Woravka was not found. Thinking they were near the Mediterranean coast, they walked north.
“Operation Climax” was a joint operation by the Army and Air Force to find the remaining crew. Sergeant Guy E. Shelley was found 21 miles northwest of the remains of the first five. Sergeant Harold J. Ripslinger was found 26 miles north of Shelley.
British Petroleum discovered the remains of Lieutenant John S. Woravka in August 1960. His parachute had only partially opened and he died from the fall.
Staff Sergeant Vernon L. Moore’s remains have not been definitively found. However, a desert patrol by the British Army discovered and buried some unidentified remains in 1953, long before the crew were being looked for.
What do you think became of Staff Sergeant Vernon L. Moore?
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Be_Good_(aircraft)
https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/case-closed-2267596/
arqpajp