December 14-17, 2021 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2021
World War II Purple Heart and Air Medal grouping identified to Staff Sergeant Donald L. Beba. The group consists of Beba's cased Purple Heart with extra ribbon. The Purple Heart is unnumbered but is beautifully script engraved on the reverse. Also included is his unengraved, cased air medal with extra ribbon, ribbon bar with three oak leaf clusters, lapel pin, and Distinguished Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster. There is also a copy of "Helton's Hellcats A Pictorial History of the 493rd Bomb Group" and a book about the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Donald L. Beba was born on September 17, 1924 and resided in Cambria County, Pennsylvania during his youth. He would only complete two years of high school, as he dropped out in order to find a job and support his family, which was not an uncommon thing for young men to do during the pre-war era. Donald moved to Coatesville, Pennsylvania and later enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on April 2, 1943. After his enlistment, he completed his training in flexible gunnery and was assigned to the 861st Bomb Squadron of the 493rd Bomb Group, better known as "Helton's Hellcats". Initially, Donald was assigned as a Nose Turret Gunner in a B-24 Liberator and flew missions against occupied Europe from Felixtowe, England. The squadron's 32nd mission, which was on July 28, 1944, was Donald's first combat mission in the nose of a B-24. Donald flew ten more missions in the nose of a B-24 before the squadron transitioned to B-17G Flying Fortresses. After the transition, Donald became a waist gunner on a B-17, mostly flying on B-17G serial #43-38190, more affectionately named "Sweet Sue". He continued to fly in order to achieve the coveted goal of 35 missions, but his 30th mission would be his last. On December 30, 1944, Sweet Sue and other bombers from the 861st Bomb Squadron departed Felixtowe in order to bomb strategic targets in Kassel. During the start of the mission, the B-17 was climbing through overcast clouds over the English Channel when the No. 1 engine started smoking and exploded in a burst of flames which separated the cowling from the engine. The pilot, First Lieutenant Bernard T. Vaughan, reacted quickly by immediately feathering the engine in hope of extinguishing the fire. During this action, the plane lost between 2000-3000 feet as the pilot attempted to regain control and recover from his vertigo. After stabilizing the B-17, Lt. Vaughan proceeded to carry out an intercom check which revealed that five of the enlisted men, including Beba, had bailed out of the seemingly doomed bomber during the course of events. It is presumed that they had become momentarily panicked when they witnessed the explosion and bailed out because they thought the wing was on fire and the plane was going down. Vaughan piloted the B-17 back to Woodbridge and managed to land the struggling plane on an emergency air strip. It was later discovered that the engine had blown the top cylinder head. Extensive search and rescue efforts were conducted immediately with no avail, as none of the five missing aircrewmen were ever found. Donald and his fellow crew members remain missing to this day, and they are remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery. A sad end to a young life, as Donald was only 20 years old when he died during the war. The medals were cared for by Donald's sister until her passing and she expressed her wishes that Beba's remaining wartime possessions never be split up in order to preserve his memory. CONDITION: The medals are very clean and have been well taken care of, The script engraving presents wonderfully and the engraving is unmolested. The books are also well preserved and appear to be complete exhibiting little blemishes. The group is accompanied by a folder of research from the consigner. Overall excellent. JLD
Item Dimensions: 10" X 10"