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Contact Info
Home Town Walker, Minnesota
Date of Passing Jan 09, 1997
Location of Interment Willamette National Cemetery (VA) - Portland, Oregon
He was the bombardier in crew #9 on the Doolittle Raid. After the raid, he completed flight training and gained a commission. He then served as a B-25 pilot in the Pacific and left the service Jul 21, 1945.
His DFC citation: Awarded for actions during World War II
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Sergeant Wayne Max Bissell (ASN: 6579237), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Bombardier of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. Sergeant Bissell with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service. Action Date: April 18, 1942
Division: Doolittle Tokyo Raider Force Crew #9 (Plane #40-2203, "Whirling Dervish", target Tokyo), 34th Bomb Sq. L-R:Lt. Thomas C. Griffin, navigator; Lt. Harold F. Watson, pilot; TSgt. Eldred V. Scott, flight engineer/gunner; Lt. James M. Parker Jr., copilot; Sgt. Wayne M. Bissell, bombardier. (U.S. Air Force photo)
WWII - Pacific Theater of Operations//Leyte Campaign (1944-45)
From Month/Year
October / 1944
To Month/Year
July / 1945
Description (Leyte Campaign 17 October 1944 to 1 July 1945) On 17 October 1944, after preparatory bombardment, the invasion of the Philippines got under way with the seizure of islands guarding Leyte Gulf. The landing on Leyte itself on 20 October was strongly contested by Japanese forces on land and at sea. Organized resistance on the island did not end until after Christmas, and mopping up operations continued for a long time. Meanwhile, at the end of October, the neighboring island of Samar was occupied with little difficulty.
