1st Lt. Merlin Howard Reed
Pilot, 546th Bomb Squadron
Dates Active: 18 October 18, 1943 to March 9, 1944
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1st Lt. Merlin Howard Reed | Courtesy of 384thBombGroup.com⇗
For over eight decades, the name of 1st Lt. Merlin Howard Reed was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery. Although he was known to have been killed, his remains were never recovered, leaving him officially classified as missing in action. That long wait for answers came to a close on February 23, 2026, when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that he was officially accounted for on December 5, 2025.
1st Lt. Reed, age 27, of Cameron, Missouri, was killed on March 9, 1944 while serving as pilot of Silver Dollar⇗. The crew’s original target was the Heinkel Aircraft Plant in Oranienburg, Germany; however, thick cloud cover obscured the target, forcing the Group to divert to their secondary target, the city center in Berlin. It was during this alternate bomb run that Silver Dollar was accidentally struck by bombs dropped from a 379th Bomb Group formation flying directly above them.
Missing Air Crew Report 3005⇗ revealed that just moments after T/Sgt. Robert F. Wellman (Radio Operator)⇗ checked the crew’s oxygen and warned that bombs were falling on them, the aircraft's tail was completely severed. German radar and eyewitnesses on the ground watched as Silver Dollar violently spiraled from 24,000 feet before crashing in a farm field in Berlin-Marienfelde.
Of the Silver Dollar crew, 1st Lt. Peter Gudyka (Navigator)⇗ and T/Sgt. Robert O. Johnson (Top Turret Gunner)⇗ remain missing in action and unaccounted for to this day.
Killed in action were: 2nd Lt. Bruce Martin Rininsland (Co-Pilot)⇗, 2nd Lt. John Lawrence Heiss (Bombardier)⇗, T/Sgt. Wellman, S/Sgt. Joseph Jacobson (Waist Gunner)⇗, and S/Sgt. Emmet Francis Hardy (Tail Gunner)⇗.
Two survived and became prisoners of war: S/Sgt. Arthur John Osepchook (Ball Turret Gunner)⇗ and S/Sgt. John James Plotz (Waist Gunner)⇗.
The 384th Bomb Group Heritage Association is profoundly grateful for this long-awaited news.
The DPAA releases a comprehensive report of the accounting once the next of kin is located and informed.
It is possible that 1st Lt. Reed's family has already been found and has chosen to keep their arrangements private, but the DPAA will issue an updated announcement if a public memorial is scheduled.
The Association will share further details with our members if they become available.
We look forward to welcoming you home, 1st Lt. Reed. You and the Silver Dollar crew are not forgotten.
Information courtesy of 384thBombGroup.com⇗ and Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: "Airman Accounted For From World War II (Reed, M.)"⇗
Silver Dollar after being struck | Courtesy of Ken Decker and 384thBombGroup.com⇗
Standing (Left to Right): 2nd Lt. John Heiss (Bombardier), 2nd Lt. Bruce Rininsland (Co-Pilot), 2nd Lt. Peter Gudyka (Bombardier), 2nd Lt. Merlin Reed (Pilot)
Kneeling (Left to Right):T/Sgt. Robert Wellman (Radio Operator), S/Sgt. Arthur Osepchook (Ball Turret Gunner), T/Sgt. Robert O. Johnson (Engineer / Top Turret Gunner), S/Sgt. Robert J. Casey (Waist Gunner), S/Sgt. John Plotz (Waist Gunner), S/Sgt. Emmet Hardy (Tail Gunner)
Courtesy of Virginia Rininsland, Theresa Eichelberger, and 384thBombGroup.com⇗
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