USAAF 401st BG Airfield find (Strange Mystery)

[Safariman]

Hi Guys

First of all I do have full landowners permission to have this find and also have contacted the 401st Bomb group chairman directly regarding this find.

I have found a destroyed mess tin on a USAAF 401st BG airfield and it has a name scratched on it. From what I can make out I am convinced the scratched name is "Yemma". After some research I found out there was a waist gunner at the base with the name Yemma in May 1944 but he was shot down on his first mission and interned in Sweden for the rest of the war. I have also been informed by AZPhil from this forum that Airman would not have been issued with mess tins so it is probably not his. So I was hoping maybe somehow some more light could be cast on this find. I have taken some photos of the mess tin which I think has been badly damaged by farm equipment as it has been in the ground for over 70 years.

I look forward to any comments or info regarding this this item

[BlackCat1982]

Great find, always good to get a find with some personal information on it. There are 8 guys named Yemma who enlisted during WW2, most in the Army. Sadly your messtin lid doesn't have any part of an ASN or a laundry mark on it which would clinch the owner for you. Heres the list;

31047130 Yemma, Anthony C. Hartford, Connecticut enlisted 6 April 1941 born 1915
31372599 Yemma, Anthony J. Essex, Massachusetts enlisted 26 August 1943 born 1925
31385522 Yemma, Anthony Washington, Rhode Island enlisted 24 June 1943 born 1906
06914169 Yemma, Dominic A. Hartford, Connecticut enlisted 31 January 1946 born 1919
11054094 Yemma, Dominico O. Essex, Massachusetts enlisted 23 June 1942 born 1921
31243900 Yemma, Francis L. Washington, Rhode Island enlisted 8 November 1942 born 1918
11054274 Yemma, Michael Essex, Massachusetts enlisted 28 June 1942 born 1921
31299225 Yemma, Orlando J. Essex, Massachusetts enlisted 23 February 1943 born 1922

[Safariman]

Wow thanks Blackcat1982 that is fantastic - any of them posted at Deenethorpe apart from Orlando Yemma which is the airmen I mentioned above

[BlackCat1982]

From the enlistment record it isn’t possible to see whether they were Army of Army Air Force, just out of interest with a bit of help from the web,

https://images.findagrave.com/photos...1463938521.jpg

This is Anthony Yemma from Rhode Island, born 1906. His grave states he was a PFC in the Army, just an example of the amount of research you can start delving into to try and ID the owner of your mess tin lid. Perhaps he was flown in to Deenethoroe on his way back to the US, have some fun and see if you can find him, you only have 7 options.

[Safariman]

Thanks Blackcat will see what I can dig up. 401st BG are researching as well

[Paul B]

401BG personnel were most certainly issued with all the standard US Army mess kit.

I've also found a nice M1918 canteen at Deenethorpe a few years back, sadly un-named.

[Safariman]

Oh wow thanks Paul - where did you find yours? I think I have been lucky finding this one as all the "Yemma's" seem to come from one or maybe 2 families in the USA

[BlackCat1982]

Given the name, the location found I would say this is highly likely to have belonged to Orlando.

[Safariman]

Will be wonderful if it is because I was shocked to read Orlando's war history - very interesting