https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56134486/sam-p_-wagner

Sam Powell Wagner born 1 May 1918 in Charleston, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.

Graduated with the United States Military Academy Class of 1942 at West Point, New York and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. Completed Primary flight training at Hancock Field, California and Advanced multi-engine flight training at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico.

In January 1944, he underwent B-29 aircraft operational transition and combat crew training at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas. In October 1944, he deployed from Mather Field, California (with re-fueling stops at Hawaii and Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands) to the Central Pacific Theatre of Operations and was assigned to 20th Air Force, XXI Bomber Command, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bombardment Group, 870th Bomber Squadron stationed at Isely Field on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

On 24 November 1944, during the first B-29 raid against Tokyo from the Marianas, he flew in the left seat as the Airplane Command Pilot aboard a Boeing B-29 Superfortress nicknamed "Lucky Irish" (serial #42-24622) Tail Code: A-Square-26.

It was one of 111 aircraft launched in a multi-group formation to bombard the Musashino Aircraft Engine Factory near Tokyo, Honshu, Japan. After a flight of approximately seven hours and some 1,200 nautical miles, his aircraft reached their check-point above Mount Fuji on the main island of Honshu, and began their bomb-run north-east towards Tokyo.

After the bomb run, just off the coast of Choshi, the group was attacked by a band of Nakajima Ki-44 single-engine "Tojo" fighter planes. His B-29 aircraft was struck by one of the Tojo fighters, which was coming under gun-fire from B-29 A-Square-22, shearing off its vertical stabilizer and left elevator.

After the collision, Japanese Pilot CPL Yoshio Mita of the 47th Sentai (Squadron) was also killed when his fighter burst into a fireball, and went down with A-SQ-26.