I am Madelyn Stahl Bolt and I am researching information on my father, Lt. Benjamin A. Stahl. ( see picture- 450 Kb)

He was shot down by "friendly fire" on Oct. 7, 1943. He had flown over 30 missions over Burma from Assam, India, escorting bombers. He was stationed at Kunming with the 14th Air Force on detached duty. His group was known as the Assam Dragons (25th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Gp, 69th Composite Wing, 341st. Bombardment Grp., 14th Air Force).

He was on a mission to hit the docks at Haiphong, French Indochina (Viet Nam) when he was shot down while flying a P-40. He was able to eject and suffered a sprained back on his descent. He eventually met up with a local and was turned over to a French civilian (Mr. Luciani) and colonial soldiers. He was taken to the French compound at Hanoi and turned over to the Japanese.

He then was taken by plane to Canton, Formosa and Nanking for two weeks questioning and then by train to Shanghai where he was in Brks. No. 0 Shanghai War Prisoner Camp. The report that I have says he was interred with the men from Wake Island and the Marines from North China including Lt. James P. Devereaux. On May 9, 1945, he was taken, with other prisoners, by box cars to Nanking and Peking for a month. In June they went down through Mukden to Korea and to Hokodate Branch Camp 4 on Hokkaido where the officers handled braces for a coal mine above ground. Reports say that a thousand men were jammed in the hold of a freighter for the two day trip to Japan, but none died. They arrived at the camp on July 5, 1945.

On Aug. 18, 1945, they learned officially that the war was over. My report says that my father took over a main camp and set up MP's patrol and waited orders to evacuate. They were liberated on Sept. 14. C-46's brought their own ground crews and landed at Chitose to pick up the prisoners. There were the only Americans on the island. The POWs were flown to Yokohama and went to Manila by ship.

He met my mother on Oct. 26th in Chicago and they were married Feb. 24, 1946. My brother was born late that same year and my mother was pregnant with me when my father was killed in a training accident at Williams AFB in Arizona in May of 1950, he was a Captain in the Air Force at that time and Assist. Flight Commander at Williams.

I am looking for anyone who might have known him.
Sincerely,
Lyn Bolt
Houston, TX