I am the nephew of Lt Donald Schaefer. Thank you for this information. It differs from the information my grandmother recounted. I had been told that they crashed on their very first mission and that they crashed into the plane in front of them when that plane stalled on take off. It is good to know the actual history of the crew and that they flew 4 missions before the crash. It is nice to know how welcomed they were by the people in Iowa. I know my uncle married June Sites but the families did not stay in touch after the war. I never met June. I am very proud to be related to a very brave and accomplished man, Donald Schaefer.