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                  <text>I

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES
WASHINGTON.^. C.

WAR DEPARTMENT
HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES

WASHINGTON

AAF 201 - (693)

James P.
Dibble, Jams
0 733 844
30 October 1943.

Mrs. Maxine Dibble, •
% Ray Erway,
Rural Route # 5
Hastings, Michigan.
Dear Mrs. Dibbles

&gt;ur husband First Lieutenant James P. Dibble was
Notification that yot
Lon in the ./North. African Area s^nce September 9th,
, ^reported missing in actic
was sent to you by The Adjutant General on September 24th.

Further information has been received to the effect that Lieutenant
Dibble was the pilot of a P-38 Lightning fighter plane which left Sicily
on September 9th on a patrol and strafing mission to southern Italy. The
report states that about 5:25 p.m. while strafing an enemy truck convoy
along a road approximately 30 miles east of Agropoli, Italy, Lieutenant
Dibble's plane was observed to climb to about 2,000 feet with his cockpit
on fire apparently caused by enemy antiaircraft fire. From this position
your husband bailed out and was last seen with his parachute open about
1500 feet above the ground drifting away from the convoy. •
There were no other persons in the plane with your husband.

The above facts constitute all the information available. Your
anxiety during this trying period is fully appreciated and you may rest
assured that any additional data received will be sent to you immediately.
Very sincerely,

z/JOHN B. COOLEY,
^Colonel, A. G. D.,
Acting Air Adjutant General.

�</text>
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                <text>James P. Dibble: Killed in Action</text>
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                <text>Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at &lt;a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener"&gt;FindAGrave.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jump to other sections of the collection:
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5"&gt;James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6"&gt;His Early Life&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7"&gt;High School into the Army Air Corps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8"&gt;Flight Training&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17"&gt;We Got Married!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9"&gt;Combat!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10"&gt;Mission Reports&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11"&gt;Letters Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16"&gt;Flying with Eisenhower&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12"&gt;The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13"&gt;Killed in Action&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14"&gt;The Search for Answers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15"&gt;The Monument in Padula, Italy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
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              <text>Letter to Maxine Dibble providing further details on James Dibble's crash and status, details later found to be in error</text>
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              <text>Killed in action report</text>
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              <text>Col. John B. Cooley</text>
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              <text>10/30/1943</text>
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              <text>Hastings Public Library</text>
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              <text>Jim Dibble</text>
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              <text>1/18/2022</text>
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