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 Horace Seaver Carswell, Jr. Posted by:  QuesterMark
N 32° 45.774 W 097° 25.228
14S E 647954 N 3626106
This post-mounted subject marker stands to the left of the Fort Worth Army Air Field marker within Airfield Falls Conservation Park.
Waymark Code: WMW3V7
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/06/2017
Views: 2
Marker erected by the Texas Historical Commission.
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry Carswell, Horace Seaver, Jr.
Address 200 Pumphrey Dr.
City Westworth Village
County Tarrant
Marker Year 2016
Marker Location within Airfield Falls Trailhead Park
Marker Size 27" x 42" with post
Marker Number: 18384
Marker Text:
Major, United States Army Air Corps
Horace Seaver Carswell, Jr. was born on July 18, 1916, to Horace S. and Bertha Rea Carswell of Fort Worth. He attended North Side High School where he excelled in athletics. Graduating in 1934, Carswell entered Texas A&M College and later transferred to Texas Christian University, where he lettered in football and baseball and graduated with a degree in Physical Education in 1939.
In 1940, Carswell enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Flying Cadet. He undertook Primary Flight Training in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and at Randolph Field (San Antonio), and Advanced Flying Training at Kelly Field (San Antonio). Upon receiving his wings in November 1940 he served at Randolph Field and Goodfellow Field (San Angelo) where he met and later married Virginia Ede in October 1941. Two months later the U.S. entered World War II.
Carswell served in stateside assignments until April 1944, when he was transferred to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations and to the 374th Bombardment Squadron, 308th Bombardment Group. Major Carswell commanded a unit of radar-equipped B-24J bombers at Liuchow, China. On October 26, 1944, he led a nighttime interdiction mission over the South China Sea. While attacking an enemy convoy, his aircraft was severely damaged by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. Carswell nursed his aircraft to the China coast where he ordered his crew to parachute to safety. When two of his crew could not bail out, he selflessly remained with his aircraft, searching for a spot to land until the damaged plane crashed into a mountainside. Carswell was posthumously awarded the medal of honor, which was presented to his wife and young son. In 1948, his remains were repatriated and buried in Fort Worth. That same year, Army Air Field was renamed Carswell Air Force Base in his honor. Its airstrip is still officially named "Carswell Field." (2016)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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