Joseph Herbert Noyes was born to Walter and Frances Noyes on August 11th, 1921, in Beach, North Dakota. He had two younger brothers, Bob and Walter, and the Noyes boys grew up at 410 West Lee Street on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, overlooking Puget Sound.
As a student at Queen Anne High School, Joe aspired to attend the Boeing School of Aeronautics in California. From a young age, he knew he wanted to become a pilot. Flying was in his future.
As one of the first of his peers to obtain a driver’s license, he utilized this privilege by delivering food for a local grocer. That was his first real job, and he enjoyed every minute of it.
Joe Noyes is fondly remembered for being hard-working, dedicated to his commitments, and possessing a keen sense of humor.
After graduating from Queen Anne High School in 1940, Joe enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, his (then girlfriend) Donna remembered that he was at Fort Lewis for a weekend drill. She hastily got a ride down to see him, not knowing if and when he would be sent to the war. It wasn’t long before they became engaged.
In 1942, Sergeant Noyes finally saw an opportunity to earn wings and follow his dreams of flying. He volunteered to become a Flying Sergeant, thinking that meant he would safely ferry aircraft between the factory and a delivery point.
Instead, to his complete surprise, he was among a small group selected to become co-pilots on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
After flight training, Joe Noyes was promoted to “Flight Officer,” a rank nobody had heard of before. He and another pilot, Paul E. Perceful, joked about whether or not this allowed them entry into the officers’ club.
By all accounts, Joe was an excellent student pilot. He learned to fly both the Vultee BT-13 and AT-6 Texan. As a U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet, he trained at Lemoore Basic Flying School, California (S Flight, Class 42K). He later attended advanced flight training at Luke Field, Arizona.
After completing pilot training, Joe was finally assigned to the 334th Bomb Squadron in the 95th Bomb Group (H). That memorable group photo of squadron officers (where I first noticed him) was taken in Rapid City, South Dakota, just before he left for Europe.
The 95th flew its B-17s overseas to war via a southern route that originated in Florida. After a stop at Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, they proceeded to travel through Boriquén, Puerto Rico, British Guiana, Brazil (Belem and Natal), Senegal, and Morocco.
In England, they were moved from Alconbury to Framlingham, a move which even Lord Haw Haw acknowledged. Later, they were permanently assigned to Horham Airbase, next to the village of Horham, about 4 miles southeast of Eye, in Suffolk.
During his first few combat missions, Joe was a co-pilot in the right seat beside Capt. Harry M. Conley. When Harry was promoted and became the new squadron commander, Joe inherited his crew and moved to the left seat.
Harry thought quite highly of his flying abilities and would one day mention Joe in his book “No Foxholes in the Sky,” in which he shared a letter home that he wrote on June 26th, 1943.
I turned my crew over to my co-pilot, little Joe Noyes, a youngster of nineteen, and I’m certainly proud of him. He has done a swell job.
The other day, I flew with Bob into the Ruhr, and Little Joe flew off our wing. He stayed there all through a tough fight, and every time I looked over, he was laughing at me.
He is my boy, and I’m mighty proud of him. He is so little that he sits on a parachute and THREE cushions to see out the window.
He is the favorite of the whole group.
– Capt. Harry M. Conley
Joe usually flew a B-17 named Blondie II, and his nickname was painted under the left pilot seat window. His fiancée’s name, Donna Davis, is also visible in the 1943 photo below.
On August 17th, 1943, with Joe in the left seat, the Joe Noyes crew participated in the infamous Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission. Despite the pressure, the crew safely made it to North Africa, where the last known photo of Joe Noyes was taken (see below).
In his last letter home, dated September 8th, 1943 (see full text below), Joe wrote optimistically about his pending commission and promotion to First Lieutenant. He also mentioned flying the new group commander, Colonel Gerhart (later General Gerhart), across Africa for plane repairs during the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission.
He had also heard of Italy’s surrender, which made him feel encouraged that the war was almost over. He hoped to finish his required 25 combat missions before 1944.
Joseph H. Noyes
Flight Officer
334th Bomb Squadron
95th Bomb Group
A.P.O. 634Dear Mother and Dad,
I haven’t written you in a few days, we have been a little busy again lately.
I just heard over the radio that Italy has surrendered. It will make it a little easier for us now when they start operations out of Northern Italy.
Donna said in one of her letters that you had returned from Frisco after seeing Bob.
My navigator was wounded on a raid yesterday. He probably will never fly again. I haven’t seen him since they took him to the hospital. I won’t be able to get down there for a couple of days yet.
My old airplane Blondie is in the hangar again getting some more repairs and a new engine. They seem to hit her everyday but they can’t knock us down.
If we can just have some good weather for a few days and lots of hopes out, I will be through combat before long. I am sure I will be through by Christmas but I won’t be home just then. Not too long afterwards though I hope.
I had to go into London before a final board for my commission. All I am doing now is waiting for it to come through the mail. It should be here by the first of next week.
When we were in Africa I flew Col. Gerhart across Africa for some plane repairs. He is our new group commander. We hit it off OK. He promised me a 1st just as soon as this comes through. I have been leading a flight quite a bit lately and Captain Conley told me tonight he wanted me to practice leading the group. It means much more work, but I am hoping I will be through before them because you’re right out in front there where you really get the fine works.
I was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross on our trip deep in Germany when we landed in Africa. It usually takes a couple of months for them to come through. I have two Oak Leaf Clusters in my air medal now.
Well, I guess that’s all the news; don’t worry about me they had their chance to knock me down! It’s too late now.
Hope to see you all soon.
Lots of Love all,
Joe
It was Wednesday, September 15th, 1943, when Joe and co-pilot Dave Prees took off from Horham Airbase together for the last time, flying their B-17 into the skies over Europe. It would be their final mission.
As fate would have it, they originally flew the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Blondie II, which was their usual plane. However, shortly after getting airborne, they spun a prop and had to return to base unexpectedly.
Knowing that if he didn’t get the job done, someone else would probably have to take his place, Joe Noyes and his crew found a different aircraft, a B-17 named Sittin’ Bull, serial number 42-3266, and they took off from Horham again at about 1534 hours.
It was expected to be a relatively easy bomb run, with light enemy resistance—a milk run, really. The assigned target that day was the Billancourt-Renault industrial works, which the 95th Bomb Group (H) successfully hit at 1854 hours.
There are conflicting reports of what happened next, but the Sittin’ Bull never returned to England.
On the route back, about 15 miles off Beachy Head, Joe was spotted flying in the number 9 spot in the high squadron. At that point, with no apparent difficulty, he was seen to lose altitude and leave his position.
It was a quiet departure, and puzzled witnesses uncomfortably recalled that the plane was operating normally.
We lost Little Joe Noyes and my old crew yesterday. No one saw them go down. They just disappeared out of the formation and were never seen again.
– Capt. Harry M. Conley
Once he learned about the Joe Noyes crew’s disappearance, Harry Conley penned an encouraging letter to the Noyes family. He honestly believed there was still hope the crew had survived.
Sadly, in October 1943, Joe’s remains were found washed ashore on a beach in Berck-Plage, France. He was initially buried in a small local French cemetery and reburied at Étaples Military Cemetery.
Joe’s bereaved mother wrote diligently to Washington State Senator Warren Magnuson, and they had his remains returned to the U.S. after the war. She was also in contact with the family of Rex Rice.
Today, “Little Joe” rests at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle, Washington. His remains were the only ones ever recovered out of the crew of ten.
Joe Noyes left behind his young fiancée, Donna Davis, who also graduated from Queen Anne High School. Donna saved a pair of his shoes to remember him by. When I spoke to her in 2009, she still had them in her possession.
In 1943, the relatives of the other crew members desperately wrote to Joe’s mother in Seattle to share their grief and concerns. The tear-stained airmail envelopes survive and are in the possession of Joe’s nephew, Tom Noyes. Some of the family members were convinced that all their boys had survived but were taken prisoner of war.
Decades have passed without answers or clues, and over eighty years later, nine brave American airmen from Joe’s crew are still officially listed as missing in action. With that said, they’ve certainly never been missing from the hearts and memories of their relatives.
The data table below shows all the recorded missions that Joe flew with the 95th Bomb Group (H) during World War Two.
| Date | Target | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 05-13-43 | Saint-Omer, France | Co-pilot |
| 05-14-43 | Antwerp, Belgium | Co-pilot |
| 06-11-43 | Wilhelmshaven, Germany | Co-pilot |
| 06-25-43 | Bremen, Germany | Pilot |
| 06-29-43 | Le Mans, France | Pilot |
| 07-04-43 | La Pallice, France | Pilot |
| 07-14-43 | Le Bourget, France | Pilot |
| 07-24-43 | Trondheim, Norway | Pilot |
| 07-25-43 | Kiel (Warnemunde), Germany | Pilot |
| 07-28-43 | Oschersleben, Germany | Pilot |
| 08-12-43 | Bonn, (Wesseling), Germany | Pilot |
| 08-15-43 | Merville-Lille Vendeville, France | Pilot |
| 08-17-43 | Regensburg, Germany | Pilot |
| 08-31-43 | Lille Meulan, France | Pilot |
| 09-09-43 | Paris (Beaumont-sur-Oise), France | Pilot |
| 09-15-43 | Paris (Billancourt), France | Pilot |