Military Honors

Gilbert Riley Tredway

Gilbert Riley "Gib" Tredway was my first cousin, once removed. His parents were George Riley "Rile" and Pearl C. Howe Tredway. I remember him as a kid in Cuzco, Dubois County, but he was 20 years older, had gone to war, returned, married and moved on. We moved away in 1952 and I lost track of him. About 2008 I found items that he had contributed to the Dubois County Historical Museum in Jasper. That was the first I knew anything of his World War II service. I made several unsuccessful attempts to contact him, and eventually gave up. I should have tried harder. He entered the service in 1940 as an 18 year old. Later he found himself a staff sergeant and tail gunner on a B17F 41-24521, nicknamed "Black Jack". The plane was a Boeing prouduct, stationed in Queensland, Australia, flying support for US Navy ship movements and attacks on Japanese installations in the south pacific. I knew none of this until December 26, 2018, when I received a note from a Dwayne Miller, who lives in northeast Australia. He asked if I was related to a Gilbert R. Tredway, of Cuzco, Indiana. A friend had given him dog tags bearing his name that were found at the former site of an allied air base in Queensland. He wanted to return them to the owner or next of kin. He found Gib in a Jasper nursing home under the care of a great niece, and mailed the tag off to her. By the time the tag found its way to French Lick, Gib had passed, but the tag was buried with him in Cuzco Cemetery. A retired US Navy CPO and friend who lives in San Diego created an honors plaque for Gib and in the process found the B17 history. Photos and history of the plane and crew appear below, courtesy of Pacific Wrecks........Charlie Tredway

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Obituary	Honors _1           Honors_2	Dog Tag
"Black Jack" Last Mission © Pacific Wrecks	"Black Jack" Ctew © Pacific Wrecks	Distinguished Flying Cross Rushville Republican 7/17/1943