Capt. Ed Mitchell

4/8/20 - 7/15/09

Seaboard photo courtesy of Pat Parlette Military photos courtesy of David O. Hill Military Archives

Capt. Ed Mitchell enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on Sept. 8, 1941 and was sworn in at 5 p.m. He served as a navigator during World War II. He flew on B‑29s during bombing missions over Japan. This photo shows his crew after a bombing raid on the Japanese mainland in the summer of 1944 - possibly the first since the Doolittle raid more than two years earlier. The mission involved a handful of B‑29s flying out of China. They were among the first to encounter the jetstream, previously unknown to them. The flight took five hours out and ten hours back. The news release, seen here, is attached to the back of the photo. Ed was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. He was later assigned be a B‑29 navigator instructor.

Ed started at Seaboard as the number two navigator hired. He is seen here after his last flight in 1980. Ed is survived by his wife, Sue; daughters, Frances and Sandra; son, Ken; his sister, Shirley Drohan; two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. His first wife, Gloria, predeceased him