Aviator Profiles #1: Don M. Beerbower

[Scott Rose]

Don Merrill Beerbower (August 26, 1921 – August 9, 1944)

Don Beerbowerwas a United States Army Air Force fighter ace who was credited with shooting down 15.5 aircraft during World War II.



Early life
Beerbower was born on August 26, 1921 to Clarence W. Beerbower and Josephine F. (Carson) Beerbower in Davidson, Saskatchewan. He had two siblings, a sister named Lavaun and a brother named Darrel.

World War II
Beerbower was assigned to 353rd Fighter Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group on January 18, 1943 at Hamilton Field, California. On March 1943, Beerbower was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.



Beerbower's P-51 Mustang Bonnie B

On October 21, 1943, Beerbower left with his unit for England. They were initially stationed at RAF Greenham Common in November 1943, before moving to RAF Boxted where they flew their missions from. They flew the North American P-51B Mustangs. Beerbower flew his first combat mission on December 1st, 1943 and scored his first victory, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 on January 5, 1944. Beerbower named his P-51B 'Bonnie B', in honor of his daughter, Bonnie.



Beerbower began scoring additional victories on January 1944 and was promoted to Captain on January 15, 1944. He finally achieved the flying ace status on February 20, 1944 by shooting down a Bf 109, his fifth victory. On April 8, 1944, Beerbower destroyed three German planes and damaged two others out of a numerically superior force which attacked the bomber formation he was escorting.

The 354th FG moved to RAF Lashenden on April 17, 1944. Following the Invasion of Normandy on June 1944, the unit moved to Cricqueville Airfield, an Advanced Landing Ground in the Normandy region of northern France. Beerbower became a double ace on August 8, 1944 by scoring his tenth victory. He was awarded the Silver Star by Lewis H. Brereton, the commanding officer of the Ninth Air Force in ceremonies in France. Though fellow pilots were transitioning to the newer P-51D, Beerbower chose to retain his B-model as it had 4 50 cal machine guns and was lighter as a result, with better speed, climb and maneuver characteristics.



Beerbower scored his final victory, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 on July 7, 1944, bringing his total aerial victories to 15 and 2 aircraft destroyed on ground.
Death

Beerbower destroyed one enemy plane, gun emplacement and aimed for a second. On their second pass, his plane took hits in the wing and fuselage, then went into a straight vertical climb, stalled and dove straight down into the ground. Beerbower jettisoned the canopy during these maneuvers and managed to get out of the aircraft, only to hit the tail. He never opened his chute. The plane crashed and he was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his final mission and the Silver Star for his April 8th mission.

Beerbower was initially buried in Temporary American Military Cemetery in Champigneul, France, before being buried at Epinal American Cemetery.


Awards:
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star (x 2)
Distinguished Flying Cross (x 3)
Purple Heart
Air Medal (x 26)

Legacy
A memorial plate/marker in English and French honoring Beerbower was placed near the entrance to the village’s 12th Century church, Mont d’Hor in Saint-Thierry, France on 2014. He was also inducted to the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2000.




Source:
Wikipedia
Jack Cook Collection
Imperial War Museum

[Scott Rose]

This is a prototype post. What do you think and should this type of posting be pursued or should we stick to mainly the aircraft?

[bdk]

I'm more of a technical airplane kind of guy, but did find the write-up to be interesting. Given the wide breadth of interest in this forum, I think that this is a worthwhile pursuit as long as you don't spread yourself too thin.

Hopefully there are some other authors out there to help, and the WIX can avoid any plagiarism traps. It might be very tempting for authors to copy or closely paraphrase other publications (Wikipedia or newspapers for instance). Maybe some of our professional authors out there can provide advice. It is unclear to me what the standard is.

[LysanderUK]

I've often seen pics and artwork of his P51 but never knew anything about the man himself, many thanks.

Please feel free to post more of these types of thread, after all what were/are the aircraft without the people?

[Adam Kline]

I like it. Without the human what point is the plane?

[phil65]

I turn 55 today, this hero didn't even see 23.
They need to be remembered...

Thanks Scott...

Phil

[4RG.I.'S]

Fantastic idea Scott!
While this site is basically about aircraft, it is the people that made the aircraft. From the designers and factory workers to the support personnel, pilots and crew members, the human element is as much a part of the history as the aircraft. I for one love the aircraft, but appreciate, thank and never forget the sacrifice that the people involved did what they did. Posts like this bring it home and keep the history alive.

[Jesse C.]

The men and women that made this birds famous need to have some recognition.

I approve!

[lucky52]

I'm seeing 15 victory symbols on his plane. I guess he was in another aircraft when he was shot down.

[JohnTerrell]

Bonnie "B" II (43-12375), the P-51B seen in the side/profile photo posted above, is the same aircraft that Don was flying when he was shot down. That particular side/profile photo was taken at Lashenden in early June 1944, not long after Don's ground crew, led by his crew chief Leon Panter, had completely repainted the aircraft (note that the white nose was over-painted, as was the white stripe on the vertical tail). Don's P-51B was one of the very first to receive the dorsal fin fillet kit, in May '44, and had received the Malcolm hood in April '44 (as I recall).

At the time the last known photo was taken of Bonnie "B" II, it had 20 kill markings applied. A Frenchman who saw Don's Mustang go down ended up saving the section of fuselage skin that contained Don's name and the kill markings.

When Don was killed, it was an absolutely terrible blow to the whole squadron, with Don having been held in such incredibly high regard. This was especially so with his ground crew - Sergeants Leon Panter (crew chief), James Downes (assistant crew chief) and Corporal Donald Langran (armorer). Following Don's death, his ground crew requested and were granted permission to crew the then newly appointed operations officer Carl Bickel's P-51D-5-NA 44-13628. Bickel's aircraft was re-coded FT-E (from FT-U) in honor of Don, and in bold lettering on the nose the aircraft was named Bonnie "B" III.

[Forgotten Field]

Excellent effort! The planes don't fly themselves.

Question about rank and/or promotions in fighter or bomber squadrons. I have a grouping for a guy who was KIA and is listed as a 2LT everywhere. But his uniforms all have 1LT brass. He was a bombardier in a B-29 squadron and lost on his 10th mission about 30 days after he arrived in country. My assumption is that he was promoted by local authority due to his time in service (1942-1945), but the paperwork never made it home. Is this a rational assumption?

[lucky52]

Thanks John.

[ffuries]

I like it, people get to see the aircraft, but never the person who flew it. With doing this you are preserving the memory and history of these brave men who flew into the face of death daily.

They like the aircraft, also need to not be forgotten.

Great job and concept, you can call it Valor Friday or whatever day you wish to use, or Stories of Valor, Stories in Valor.

Last edited by ffuries on Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[p51]

I really like it. This post shows photos of the planes and even a Willys Jeep he's sitting on (note the lack of any unit markings on the Jeep).

[lucky52]

Were his goggles American or English?