Pettit, Thomas Junior
Air Force Airman 1st class

Thomas Junior Pettit, age 20, from Covington, Kentucky, Kenton county.

Parents: Ralph T. Pettit

Service era: Korea
Schools: Holmes High

Date of death: Tuesday, June 10, 1952
Death details: On the evening of June 10, 1952, a B-29 Superfortress (tail number 44-62183A, call sign “Saloon 47”) departed Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, with thirteen crew members on a night bombing operation targeting railroad bridges near Kwaksan, Korea. This Superfortress was part of a multiple-flight strike force that included twelve B-29s. As “Saloon 47” began its bomb run, it was illuminated by enemy searchlights and attacked by MiG-15 fighters. “Saloon 47” exploded and then fell to the ground in flames. Aerial searches failed to locate the aircraft or its crew, and circumstances surrounding their loss were unknown at the time. However, on August 30, 1953, during Operation Big Switch, one crew member from this loss was repatriated. He reported that the sudden explosion blew aboard the hit aircraft blew him outside midair and he lost consciousness but during his freefall, he regained consciousness, opened his parachute and landed in a rice paddy and was captured. Signs of the other twelve crew members were not reported or found following the incident. Airman First Class Thomas Junior Pettit entered the U.S. Air Force from Kentucky and was assigned to the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group. He was the right gunner aboard this Superfortress when it crashed on June 10, 1052. No returning POWs mentioned contact with A1 Pettit, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Airman First Class Pettit is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Kentucky Post and Times Star (1952), Associated Press (1953)