Military man in Austin H. Winn’s letters 2
Mentioned in letters as: G. J. Fiegel
Master Sergeant engineer on Austin’s new July 1945 crew; Austin noted Fiegel had about 22 missions when he took the crew. Likely the “H. Feigel” signature on the City of Annapolis crew photograph in manuscript chapter 18 (initial/spelling differ).
FACT from the letters: On 4 July 1945 Austin listed “G. J. Fiegel” among the enlisted men on his new crew. On 7 July he wrote, “my engineer, Master Sgt. Fiegel has 22.”
FACT from the photograph: The ink over the standing man at the far left appears to read “H. Feigel.”
HYPOTHESIS: That “H. Feigel” is the letters’ G. J. Fiegel. The initial and the spelling both differ, so the join stays a handwriting hypothesis.
FACT from the rosters: The 20th Air Force association’s 19th Bomb Group indexes for F and G do not list Fiegel or Feigel. No newspaper, award card, or obituary found here names a Master Sergeant G. J. Fiegel with this crew or airplane. He is not Col. Leland G. Fiegel of Eighth Air Force command.
Sources: 20af.org — 19th Bomb Group roster (F); 20af.org — 19th Bomb Group roster (G).