Sgt. Wendell Mark Cave
Sgt. Wendell Mark Cave
Brief Life History of Mark Wendell
When Mark Wendell Cave was born on 7 October 1918, in Rotan, Fisher, Texas, United States, his father, Walter Windell Cave, was 46 and his mother, Lavonia Leah “Vona” Shanks, was 31. He lived in Justice Precinct 4, Fisher, Texas, United States in 1930 and Claremont, Victoria, Australia in 1954. He registered for military service in 1942. He died on 28 May 1944, in Paris, France, at the age of 25, and was buried in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, Moselle, France.
The first mission I was able to find took place April 18, 1944.
According to 344th Bomb Group Silver Streaks- “The marshaling yard at Monceau Sur Sambres as the objective. Excellent results were obtained with direct hits on engine sheds and rolling stock in the yards. In addition, the main railway received severe damage as well as auxiliary buildings in the area.”
April 18, 1944 Debrief of pilot Geary
The crew consisted of: Geary, pilot; Bradford, co-pilot; Gniffke nav/bomb; Jeyner, radio/gun; Cave, eng/gunner; Forsythe, tail gun. They were over the target at 6:50 pm and attacked the primary target of Charleroi with good results using four, 1000lb bombs. No enemy fighters or flak were encountered. There were no casualties or damage to the aircraft. Their formation position was 2-2-5.
Hand drawn map of the route taken to Monceay Sur Sambres.
“Both boxes flew as briefed en route shown and encountered no flak.” The locomotive works was attacked at 6:49 pm from an altitude of 11,000 – 12,500 ft. The weather was clear. No aircraft lost or damaged.
The next mission took place April 19, 1944.
According to 344th Bomb Group Silver Streaks- “Two missions were flown April 19, 1944. The morning mission, to attack a coastal gun defense position at Fecamp, was doomed to be a failure, due to the dense cloud coverage over the target. The second mission, however, gave us excellent results when we dispatched forty planes to a construction site (Noball) at Cocove. A heavy concentration of 1000- pound bombs scored direct hits on Ski sites and buildings in the target area. Eighteen of the planes received accurate flak fire, but damage to them was slight. No casualties to personnel resulted.”
April 19, 1944 mission 1 load list
The mission was intended for coastal guns located in Fecamp, France. They did not drop bombs due to the weather but got credit for flying a mission over enemy territory. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Geary, pilot; 2nd Lt. Shewell, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun. They took of at 8:50 am in 42-95911 Mary Mae in formation position 2-2-5 and landed at 11:10 am.
April 19, 1944 Mission 1 Debrief of pilot Geary
The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Geary, pilot; 2nd Lt. Shewell, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun They were not able to attack the primary target of Fecamp, Fra. due to weather, failing to drop their load of four, 1000lb bombs. “No enemy fighters or flak were encountered. There were no casualties or damage to the aircraft. “This plane was wing man of Lt. Finch who aborted. When Finch turned out, our plane followed not knowing he aborted.”
Hand drawn map of the route taken to Fecamp, France.
“Both boxes flew route shown no flak encountered. Cloud cover 9/10 – 10/10”
The Fecamp coastal guns were approached at 10:28 am from an altitude of 11,500 ft. The skies were almost completely overcast. No aircraft lost or damaged.
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April 19, 1944 Mission 2 Load List
The mission was intended for April 19, 1944 Noball (V-1 launch site) Cocove, France. They dropped their bombs as briefed. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Geary, pilot; 2nd Lt. Shewell, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun. They took of at 5:15 pm in 42-95911 Mary Mae Y5-K in formation position 2-2-5 and landed at 8:00 pm.
April 19, 1944 Mission 1 Debrief of pilot Geary
The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Geary, pilot; 2nd Lt. Shewell, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun They flew in position 2-2-5 in the formation. They took of at 5:00 pm and were over target at 6:46 pm. They landed at 7:45 pm. They dropped their load of eight, 500lb bombs on target with good results. “No enemy fighters were encountered. They flew and bombed at 11,600 ft., experiencing weak to moderate but inaccurate flak ant landfall, the initial point and the coast when outgoing. They observed two boats heading NW from the direction of landfall. “Gunners would like to have target pictures to see at briefing.”
Hand drawn map of the route taken to Cocove, France.
“Flak seemed to be P.C. “seen” fire. AA at target believed to come from Watten Forest. Crews report rocket fire from point 00˚ 2′ West of the target. 6-gun position seen firing from 2 miles South of Boulogne on coast.”
Bombed the target at Cocove at 6:48 pm from 12,000 ft. The skies were clear. Eighteen planes received Cat. A flak damage.
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“We again engaged a construction site that afternoon, at Heuringhem, France, smashing buildings and
Ski platforms into oblivion, and causing further delay in the enemy’s ghastly planes to launch the uncontrollable robot planes at English cities, in lieu of the Luftwaffe. The enemy inflicted damage to the formation, however, in the brief moments the “SilverStreaks” were on their bomb run. Of the thirty-seven planes dispatched, twenty-eight were damaged, three of which required fourth echelon of repair. Six men received flak wounds and one plane in addition to those damaged, was destroyed at the
target.”
Shewell’s debrief of Heuringhem, France mission April 23, 1944
The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Shewell, pilot; 2nd Lt. Bradford, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun They flew in position 2-3-6 in the formation. They disposed their load of eight, 500lb bombs in the English Channel. No enemy fighters were encountered. Another debrief stated that the lead plane did not drop. Received Cat. A flak damage.
April 23, 1944 Mission 1 Load List
The mission was intended for April 23, 1944 Noball (V-1 launch site) Heuringhem, France. The 495th squadron salvoed their bombs in the English Channel. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Shewell, pilot; 2nd Lt. Bradford, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun. They took off at 10:00 am in 42-95918 Nick’s Chick II Y5-B in formation position 2-3-6 and landed at 12:40 pm.
Gunner Briefing Notes
Hand drawn map of the route taken to Heuringhem, France.
“Window dropped in target area. PCC seen fire at target. Intensity, accuracy, and type of flak in areas indicated above.”
Groups other than the 495th bombed the target at Heuringhem at 11:30 pm from 11,500 – 12,000 ft. The skies were clear. 24 planes received Cat. A flak damage. 4 received Cat AC damage. One plane was lost.
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April 23, 1944 Mission 1 Load List
The second mission for April 23, 1944 was to a marshaling yard in Namur, Belgium. They dropped their bombs as briefed. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Shewell, pilot; 2nd Lt. Bradford, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun. They took off at 6:00 pm in 42-95918 Nick’s Chick II Y5-B in formation position 2-3-5 and landed at 9:10 pm.
Shewell’s debrief of Namur, Belgium mission April 23, 1944
The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Shewell, pilot; 2nd Lt. Bradford, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Gniffke nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun They flew in position 2-3-5 in the formation. They dropped their load of 14, 250lb bombs on the primary target with very good results. No enemy fighters were encountered. They took off 6:17 pm, were over target at 7:42 pm and landed at 9:05 pm.
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Target fro April 28: Maisons Lafitte railroad bridge
Shewell, Cave and the rest of the crew were shot down by flak. See MACR report.
April 28, 1944 Mission 1 Load List
The mission for April 28, 1944 was to a railroad bridge in Maisons-Laffitte, France. The 495th squadron returned their bombs to base. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Shewell, pilot; 2nd Lt. Bradford, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Johnston nav/bomb; S/Sgt. Jeyner, radio/gun; Sgt. Cave, eng/gunner; Sgt. Forsythe, tail gun. They took off at 9:45 am in 42-107691 Y5-N (no name) in formation position 1-2-2 and were lost due to enemy flak.
Summary of 344th MISSING CREW REPORT See MACR report.
MACR# 5141
DATE – 28 May 1944 11:44
MISSION – Maisons Laffitte, Railroad Bridge
HIT BY FLAK OVER TARGET
PLANE # 42-107691 Y5-N
344TH BG 495TH BS
PILOT – 2nd Lt. Jack Christian Shewell 0-749337 (killed)
COPILOT – 2nd Lt. William B Bradford 0-816410 (killed)
BOMBARDIER- 2nd Lt. James Johnston 0-745816 (killed)
RADIO/GUN – S/Sgt. Thomas Ervin Joyner 34665168 (killed)
ENG/GUN – Sgt. Wendell Mark Cave 18201748 (killed)
TAIL/GUN – Sgt. John Forsythe 33592681 (killed)
344th Spread Sheet Info: Shot down by flak over the target on the 28/5/44 mission to the Maisons Laffitte Railroad bridge. The aircraft was hit in the left wing, entered a spin and crashed in the park of castle Henneberg, at St.Germain on the outskirts of Paris. The pilot, 2nd Lt. Jack Christian Shewell and crew were killed.
MACR Summary Statement: Plane was hit by flak directly over target. Bomb bay was open and nose wheel was down, plane left formation in a loose spin. Three chutes were seen to leave the ship. No reported observation of plane crashing.
MACR Statement: Eye-Witness 2nd Lt. Robert C. Branson- Lt. Shewell’s plane was hit in the left wing on the bomb run. The bomb bay was open. The plane pulled out of the formation and went into a vertical dive, dropped 4000 feet, and went into a spin to the left, then straightened out. It then seemed as though a tail came off, dropped into another spin and disappeared from view. No chutes were seen.
Enemy Report KU 22041-22044- Downing of Marauder on 25 May, 1944 11:45 at St. Germain near Paris. Found dead, salvaged and brought to hospital of airforce Clichy: James Johnston, Jack Sewell, unidentifiable
Provided by Alf Egil Johannesson and book 344th BG (M) by Lambert –
42-107691, code Y5- was hit by flak in left wing on bomb run, France. MACR # 5141.
Target was a railway bridge near Paris (group mission # 61). This bridge on the river Seine near Paris was also bombed on May 27th 1944 (group mission # 59).
Crew:
PILOT: 2nd Lt. Jack C. Shewell => Normandy Cemetery, Wall of the Missing
CO-PILOT: 2nd Lt. W.D. Bradford
BOMBARDIER: 2nd Lt. J. Johnston => Epinal Cemetery
ENGINEER-GUNNER: Sgt. M.W. Cave => Lorraine Cemetery, Wall of the Missing
RADIO-GUNNER: S/Sgt. T.E.Joyner
TAIL GUNNER: Sgt. J. Forsythe
From 344th BG history edited by Austin: “Practically all bridges on the Seine River had been bombed by the Marauder groups except one among the few at the outskirts of Paris, which necessary had to be destroyed to completely paralyze their communication systems. With this in mind, we were assigned to the task May 27, 36 planes dispatched but only 29 bombing. A solid wall of flak was reported near the city, the enemy evidently thinking our attack was to be made within the city limits. Some flak was fired into the formation and 16 planes received battle damage. Our results were good to excellent.”
Further…”Repairs to the Paris bridge began immediately and we were again assigned to undo their work on May 28. Thirty-six planes were dispatched and 19 bombed again with good to excellent scoring. Our return to Paris this time found the flak defenses in readiness. They were extremely heavily organized and accurate in their sighting. Five planes were shot down either at the target or were abandoned after leaving the area due to the damage sustained. Along with these planes, 31 crew members were recorded as missing in action against the enemy. In addition to the planes lost, twenty ships received battle damage with one of these planes requiring service unit repairs. Other planes that did not bomb were blown off their bomb runs by the concussion of flak bursts blasts.”
Provided by historian, Alf Egil Johannessen
Formation diagram for May 28, 1944 to Maisons Lafitte railroad bridge
Sgt Cave flew in B-26 Y5-N under Lt. Shewell in position 1-2-2. Circled aircraft were shot down.
Hand drawn map of May 28, 1944 mission
“38 aircraft participated. Bombed in SOP flight attack formation; only three flights bombing. Received intense, accurate flak in target area, especially during bombing run. Flak slackened in intensity after the target, but continued moderate and accurate for several minutes. Four ships downed on bombing run; 10 – 12 chutes reported but none of the ships seen to hit the ground. Two ships landed away from the base badly damaged, and one ship yet unaccounted for. Fire P.C. seen. Weak, inaccurate flak encountered in the area South of Les Andelys.”
Target: RR Bridge near Paris
Time over target: 11:44
Altitude: 11,000 – 12,500 ft.
Weather: Good with slight haze
Damage: 4 ships were lost. 2 landed away from base. 19 suffered Cat. A damage. 1 grater than Cat. A damage
Witness one
(May or may not be Shewell/Cave) “Saw 2 ships going down in spin – 1 slow – 1 tight and neither smoking. one B-26 single engine near Fauville ? about 4000 ft. fighters protecting ? losing speed and altitude. One B-26 dropped out of our formation (N3-G) at English coast, seemed ok.”
Witness two
(May or may not be Shewell/Cave) “#4 left formation out of control one ? bailed out went into spin. #5 Left engine smoking pulled into #4 then peeled off to right seemed to be under control but left formation.”
Witness three
(May or may not be Shewell/Cave) ” Three ships over target six chutes from all.
Shewell(3 chutes)- Bomb bay open- nose wheel down. Under control for some time. (MACR# 5141 DATE – 28 May 1944)
Petersen (think 6 chutes)- 1st box – Left engine burning under control. (MACR# 5144 DATE – 28 May 1944)
Woodrum (3 chutes out)- Under control in glide. (MACR# 5142 DATE – 28 May 1944)
Seale (1 chute possibly 2) (MACR# 5139 DATE – 28 MAY 1944)
One ship very low straggling behind on way back. Fill in with later flight.
2 P-47 went down over Paris
#43’d flight in England on single engine N3O. Same plane on single engine losing altitude over coast of France when last seen. (landed Mansion)
1st Flight #5 engine left engine. Under control for a time.
1st flight #4straight down 1000ft. min.
Lt. Burdette states Laux definately in #7 position 3’d flight 1 box – His tail gunner confirmed this and states as they turned left after bombing, Laux went straight ahead and lost altitude and he saw the ship crash.” (MACR# 5143 DATE – 28 May 1944)
Lt. Reynolds 7I-L (MACR# 5140 DATE – 28 May 1944)
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Sgt. Mark W. Cave buried in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, Moselle, France.
