Master Sergeant Sigyr R. Gustafson Survives B-29 Crash off Arabian Coast-July 30, 1948

Ending seven years of decorated military service with an ambitious round-the-world aviation flight, Master Sgt. Sigyr R. Gustafson of Norwood is resting today at a Royal Air Force hospital in Southern Arabia, miraculously surviving as the lone known survivor of a massive B-29 bomber that crashed into the sea Tuesday night.

The Norwood soldier was a crew member on one of three heavy bombers that left Tucson, Arizona, a week ago to encircle the globe in a historic mission designed to train personnel in foreign regional conditions and long-water flights. After departing Tucson, the aircraft stopped at MacDill Field in Florida, the Lagens Air Base in the Azores Islands, and Wheelus Field in Tripoli, Libya, before arriving at Aden, South Arabia. Shortly after leaving port on the next leg of their journey to Ceylon, the bomber crashed just a mile offshore.

While Arabian fishermen heroically rescued Sigyr R. Gustafson and brought him to the English hospital, tragedy struck the rest of the crew. Authorities in Washington and Aden reported that 19 officers and men aboard were missing, with search patrols immediately launched by the RAF and Navy to recover the wreckage visible from land. Capt. Percy H. Kramer, public information officer at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, released the roster of crewmen as families anxiously awaited updates.

Back in Norwood, news of his miraculous escape brought immense relief mingled with deep sorrow for his lost crewmates. Sigyr R. Gustafson was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Arvid Hermanson of Folan Avenue, following the death of his parents when he was six years old. Another aunt, Mrs. Dorothy Legaski, also of Folan Avenue, operates the neighborhood grocery store at the corner of Folan Avenue and Washington Street. Additional family members include his sister, Mrs. Esther Sheehan of 620-A Neponset Street in Canton; a brother, Rungar Gustafson of Milford; and a brother, Ronnie Gustafson, currently serving in the Army. Sigyr R. Gustafson was married this past April to Helen Gilson of Milwaukee, who resides in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was stationed prior to the flight.

A veteran of the Eighth Air Force, Sigyr R. Gustafson first entered the service in June 1941 after formerly working as a shipping clerk with Bird and Son. Stationed in England during World War II, he served as a crew chief with the 306th Bomb Group (part of the First Bombardment Division), earning the prestigious Bronze Star Medal for outstanding service to his plane, which flew eighty-two missions against the Nazis. His unit also received a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism during daylight operations against aircraft plants in Oschersleben, Germany. Having re-enlisted in 1945 following his wartime discharge, he attained the rank of master sergeant in December 1944, bringing a distinguished military career to a dramatic and harrowing chapter off the Arabian coast.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Norwood Messenger