FERGUSON; EARL F
UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES
WORLD WAR II
State SD
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank 2d Lt
Service Number O-740093
Location Rumania
Date of Loss 8/01/1943
Unit 329 BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON 93 BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY)
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004pNoEAI

On September 30, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Second Lieutenant Earl F. Ferguson, missing from World War II.

Second Lieutenant Ferguson entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from South Dakota and served with the 329th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy). On August 1, 1943, he was the pilot and one of ten crew members aboard a B-24D Liberator (serial number 42-40781) that took off from an airfield in Benghazi, Libya. The flight was a part of Operation TIDAL WAVE, a large-scale aerial attack against German oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. After completing the mission, 2d Lt Ferguson's Liberator crashed for unknown reasons, falling in southwestern Bulgaria, near the Yugoslav border. 2d Lt Ferguson did not survive the incident but his remains were not recovered at the time. In 2019, the DPAA began exhuming associated service members from Operation TIDAL WAVE and who were later buried as unknowns. Based upon the circumstances surrounding 2d Lt Ferguson's loss along with forensic testing, DPAA associated one set of these individuals buried as an unknown remains as those of 2d Lt Ferguson.

Second Lieutenant Ferguson is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Impruneta, Italy.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1991257/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-ferguson-e/

Press Release | March 24, 2020

Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Ferguson, E.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Earl F. Ferguson, 26, of Philip, South Dakota, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 30, 2019.

In the summer of 1943, Ferguson was a pilot assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 aircraft on which Ferguson was the co-pilot crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation Tidal Wave, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. One set that could not be identified was designated Unknown X-5300 Neuville, and reinterred into the American Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted for airmen from Operation Tidal Wave losses. On Aug. 28, 2017, Unknown X-5300 Neuville was disinterred and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Ferguson’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Ferguson’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Ferguson will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be decided.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary- Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s

mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our

country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media

at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.

Ferguson’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004pNoEAI.

Earl F Ferguson