Harry Edward Haseman was born on May 12, 1920, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Harry E. Haseman and Estella Haseman. Before joining the U.S. Army Air Forces in October 1941, he worked as an office clerk for the Philadelphia Company. Haseman received his pilot’s wings on January 7, 1944, and went overseas the following June. He served in the 786th Bomb Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot of B-24H #42-95157 during World War II.

On August 15, 1944, B-24H Liberator #42-95157 departed RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk, England, carrying a ten-man crew under the command of 1st Lt. Verdun Winston Munroe. Their mission was to bomb the Luftwaffe airfield at Vechta in northwestern Germany. After attacking the target, the crew began the return flight across the northern Netherlands and the North Sea toward England. While crossing the Netherlands, their formation was attacked by approximately twenty German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters from III./JG 53 and II./JG 5. Munroe’s Liberator was repeatedly struck by enemy fire and sustained severe damage. No longer able to remain airborne, the crippled bomber crashed near the rural village of Nijetrijne in Friesland at approximately 1:30 p.m. Six of the ten crewmen were killed. Three survived and were captured as prisoners of war, while the fourth survivor successfully evaded German capture.

2Lt Haseman bailed out through the cockpit’s upper escape hatch. Tragically, he was thrown into one of the aircraft’s propellers, sustaining a broken leg and losing several fingers. He was found alive on the ground but died from his injuries shortly afterward. He is now buried in the Union Dale Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl, americanarchive.iwm.org.uk