The crew of B-29 Superfortress 42-24598 "Waddy's Wagon", 20th Air Force, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bomb Group, 869th Bomb Squadron, the fifth B-29 to take off on the first Tokyo mission from Saipan on November 24, 1944, and first to land back at Isley Field after bombing the target.

A member of the Chapman family was a gunner on Waddy’s Wagon.  He was Sergeant Wilbur J. Chapman of Panhandle, Texas.  In the above photo, he is standing on the far right, holding a slingshot with his arms extended.

Crew members, posing here to duplicate their caricatures on the plane, are:

• Plane Commander, Captain Walter R. "Waddy" Young, Ponca City, Oklahoma, former All-American end.
• Lieutenant Jack H. Vetters, Corpus Christi, Texas, co-pilot.
• Lieutenant John F. Ellis, Moberly, Missouri, bombardier.
• Lieutenant Paul R. Garrison, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, navigator.
• Sergeant George E. Avon, Syracuse, New York, radio operator.
• Lieutenant Bernard S. Black, Woodhaven, New York, Flight Engineer.
• Sergeant Kenneth M. Mansie of Randolph, Maine, Flight Technician
• Sergeant Lawrence L. Lee of Max, North Dakota, gunner.
• Sergeant Wilbur J. Chapman of Panhandle, Texas, gunner.
• Sergeant:  Corbett L. Carnegie, Grindstone Island, New York, gunner.
• Sergeant:  Joseph J. Gatto, Falconer, New York, gunner.

All were killed when "Waddy's Wagon" was shot down attempting to guide a crippled B-29 back to safety during a mission against the Nakajima aircraft factory in Musashino, Japan on January 9, 1945.