Great Bend in Barton County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
SSgt Thurman Walling
My Dear Kansas Friend
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., November 13, 2012
1. SSgt Thurman Walling Marker
73rd BW 497th BG 870th SQ
30 combat missions from Saipan.
Enroute home in the famous 52-mission
"Dauntless Dottie" which led the first
Saipan-Tokoyo [sic] Raid, the plane crashed
on Kwajalein, June 7, 1945
In memory
Herbert W Hobler Princeton, N.J.
2nd Lt 1st SQ 9th BG 313th BW
Tinian
Erected by Herbert W Hobler.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • War, World II.
Location. 38° 20.836′ N, 98° 50.99′ W. Memorial is in Great Bend, Kansas, in Barton County. It is on 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Marker is at the B-29 Memorial Plaza at Great Bend Municipal Airport. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Great Bend KS 67530, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Central Kansas. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, on the Southern Plains, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Leslie J. Campbell Jr. (here, next to this marker); Crew 52 (here, next to this marker); Duke's Lead Crew (here, next to this marker); Great Bend AAF Ground Training Unit (here, next to this marker); Honey - V☐ 42 (here, next to this marker); Pacific Queen Z-35 (here, next to this marker); Rover Boys Express (here, next to this marker); Welch's Wolves (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Great Bend.
Also see . . .
1. B-29 Memorial Plaza, Great Bend, Kansas. (Submitted on June 28, 2013, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. Dauntless Dotty. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on November 21, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
3. 73rd Bomb Wing Film and Photos. (Submitted on June 28, 2013, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr.
2. B-29 Memorial Plaza, Great Bend, Kansas
Photographed by B-29STaN, November 24, 1944
3. "Dauntless Dotty is readied for the first B-29 mission to Tokyo."
Photographed by B-29STaN, 1945
4. Marker
SSgt Thurman Walling is kneeling on the far left
Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2013, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 496 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 28, 2013, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on April 9, 2013, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on December 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.
