Thread by @graemeknows

Believe it or not, the Batman is real. Well, it’s more like a man who was the Bat. This character was beloved by those who knew him. While the story of Robert Douglas Lancey starts in the woods of NH, #OTD in 1944 it takes a dark turn in the unlikeliest of places. A #WWII thread.

On July 20th, 1941, Robert donned a crazy costume at @camptakodah. He looked like a cartoon bat. His job was to surprise the campers and have them chase him. But, no one could catch Robert no matter how hard they tried. He was too fast, too good, and too clever to be caught.

Robert, a dedicated Boy Scout and respected summer camp leader, with a distinctive long face and a “pug nose,” would go on to win a great many personal challenges that he faced well beyond the sanctity of a place that truly is “friendly to all.”

After graduating Columbia High in South Orange, New Jersey (@CHSLibrarySOMSD) in 1938, he attended @SyracuseU with a major in #Geology and a minor in #Mathematics. He worked his way though school at @Prudential and used his spare time wisely to further his academic excellence.

Robert also joined @ZetaPsi and enjoyed living in the fraternity’s house in Syracuse, NY. In 1942, the year Robert graduated, the “Zetes” won the Colgate Sign Contest and were awarded the sought-after Scholarship Cup at the Interfraternity Banquet. It was a glorious affair.

Just before he departed school, Robert rang up an old friend he knew from @camptakodah. “Beany,” as he went by since he was a boy, worked in his family’s famous toy factory in Keene, NH. He helped Robert to get a job working as a manufacturing line engineer for the summer.

As the country rapidly changed before his eyes, Robert knew he couldn’t go from job to job without facing the reality of what was happening in the world around him. On December 3, 1942, Robert Douglas Lancey enlisted in the @USArmy in #Newark, New Jersey.

After 8 weeks of basic training, Robert was assigned to the @USArmy's 653rd Engineer Topographic Battalion, Company “A,” 10th Engineer District. He attended various schools of instruction for training in surveying, cartography, and printing. He absolutely loved it.

With his training complete, Robert and the 653rd made their way across the U.S. and boarded the transport ship SS George Washington. Although they were never told where they were going, Robert, a skilled celestial navigator, was able to figure it out. They were headed to India.

After crossing the equator and earning membership in the Ancient Order of the Deep, the ship made brief stops in Tasmania and Australia. They reached Bombay, now Mumbai, on October 22, 1943 and immediately headed north on the famous Indian Railroad.

They eventually settled in Camp Sunderwala, a primitive place that would come to be called “Map City USA.” For the next several months, he applied his engineering skills and helped produce a wide range of maps in a region of the war that’s rarely talked about and often forgotten.

The 653rd eventually produced and delivered a staggering 9,948,000 maps and navigation sheets including target maps for the 14th @usairforce, the @RoyalAirForce, XX Bomber Command, Eastern Air Command and more. It was an incredible accomplishment that turned the tide of the war.

When the end of January 1944 approached, Robert put in for some well-earned R&R. He and a friend from the 653rd, PFC Evan Rodgers Hammitt, were granted leave and permission to travel to Calcutta.

On January 27, 1944, Robert & Evan took a @RoyalAirForce flight to another #RAF airbase in Kharagpur, India. Once they arrived, they immediately inquired about a flight to Calcutta. They were in luck when they discovered that an aircraft was due to depart early the next morning.

That evening, a rousing party took place with RAF air crews and American personnel. One man, Flying Officer Thomas William Townley, known affectionately as “Chota,” was so “full of life” that he was seen “dancing on the roof of one of the bashas.”

At 0530 on January 28, 1944, Robert and Evan boarded FD-811, a Douglas DC-3 “Dakota” flight operated by the RAF’s 31 Squadron for the Group 221 ‘Mail Run.’ The flight crew consisted of Chota, as pilot, and 3 crew members from the RAF Volunteer Reserve & @RCAF_ARC.

Chota was inexperienced at night flying and when the flight took off at 0600, the sun had yet to rise. Eight minutes later, for reasons that are still not fully known, RAF FD-811 crashed near Khargpur. Everyone on board, including PFC Robert Douglas Lancey, was killed.

But this is not where Robert’s story ends. Within a matter of days, his family was notified that he had died but the details were confusing. His father, Rodney, set out to get answers and have his son returned home. It seemed to be futile. They had simply lost the man.

Even Robert’s person effects were lost when they were sent to the bottom of the Pacific in March, 1944, after two torpedoes were fired from the Japanese submarine I-26 into the SS Richard Hovey, a chartered cargo ship bound for the United States.

In the winter of 1948, Robert’s remains were finally received at a Funeral Home in Fitchburg, MA. A memorial service took place later that week and then Robert was permanently laid to rest in Hillside Cemetery in Townsend, MA. But, that’s not where Robert’s story ends.

On 12 July 1973, a massive fire broke out at the @USNatArchives in St. Louis, MO. Although 42 fire districts battled the blaze for 2 days, the conflagration destroyed millions of Official Military Personnel Files, including the records of PFC Robert Douglas Lancey.

History tried three times to wipe out Robert’s story. First, we lost the man. Then, we lost the effects. Then, we lost the records. But history, so to speak, didn’t realize what it was dealing with.

With his name cast into bronze and placed where generations of people would see it and with the legend of The Bat passed down as well, we could discover and share the story of a man who only wanted to rise above his personal challenges and be all that he could be.

“The Greatest Casualty is to be Forgotten,” they say in the @wwp. From this day forward, Robert Douglas Lancey shall always be remembered. bit.ly/3ostE0b

@threadreaderapp unroll please