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Letter to Edward H. Hovde stating what he recalls
happening on 3 Sep 1943 by Gene H. Hogge
We had dropped part of our bombs and were heading for
the airport to drop the rest of them when we were hit and on fire. We fell
several thousand feet or dived to put the fire out. We then leveled off
and seemed to be climbing, so I thought, to catch up with the group. I
then noticed Jimmy Sides (James M. Sides) was on the floor unconscious,
his oxygen mask disconnected. I sat him up and re-connected his oxygen
mask. I heard machine gun fire and saw we were being attacked by fighters.
I got off two fast bursts at an ME-109 going under us and looked to see if
Harms (Rudolph H. Harms) in the ball turret was going to fire at it also – the turret was
turning in jerking motion and I realized he was having to hand crank his
way out. By this time the hatch was on top so I jerked it open and handed
Harms an oxygen bottle. He headed into the radio room and grabbed a fire
extinguisher. He did not strap on his chute.
We were now being attacked by fighters again. Monk
Wise (Donald E. Wise) was firing
at a FW-190 coming from behind – I was firing at another ME-109 coming in
at 2:30 high. I knew by my tracers I was hitting this plane. Suddenly we
banked real sharp to the left – we never recovered from this one. I
thought the fighter hit us, but changed my mind later. What did happen Ed
(Edward H. Hovde)? Did we roll clear over – did we explode – did we bread
in two – all I know is I was held by the pressure on the floor so I
couldn’t get up. It was a roaring flame mass back there and I knew my time
was up—and then suddenly I began to slide and the next thing I was
flipping through the air. I flipped so hard I lost my gauntlets and boots.
I fell as far as I dared before pulling my chute. I hit the ground pretty
hard and was a little stunned. There were a lot of people running toward
me, one man said he could hide my chute so I ran toward a barn. I could
see then I was hit in the calf of the left leg and the bone of the right
leg. Some Germans in white uniforms picked me up and took me into a radio
shack where they later brought Sides in and what I was told by a German
pilot was your (Edward H. Hovde) chute. It was saturated by blood and I
was told you had lost and leg and a arm.
This last information was given to me after I was in
a cell in the Paris Prison. A German pilot who spoke perfect English came
into my cell. When I tried to stand up he told me to just lay quiet, he
could see I was in pain. He then congratulated me on being the one who
shot him down that day. He also told me five people and named Curry
(Trafford L. Curry), Anderson (Ernest Anderson) and Hovde (Edward H. Hovde)
and my self had escaped from the plane. Although I would not confirm it,
he also told me which position each of us flew and the names of each man
who was killed in our plane except he named Derrill Piel as the radio man
killed.
I’m a little mixed up aft4er reading Curry’s
(Trafford L. Curry) account of what happened. He must have bailed out
quite while before you and Anderson (Ernest Anderson) jumped.
Also, Ed, after my chute opened something hit and
ripped one panel of my chute so I feel the plane exploded or broke up very
badly while it was still up there. Curry said it was still in level flight
when it crashed. Couldn’t be, Ed.
Oh how I wish we could all get together. Maybe we
could figure out what happened up there. I am glad you didn’t lose your
arm also, Ed, I was told you did – and were able to go on and make a good
life for yourself.
I was taken from Paris to Frankfurt, Germany and was
in interrogation unit for three weeks and then in an English prison camp
–least mostly English were in the camp. It was while there the wound in my right leg ruptured and drained
all that poison out. I had been so afraid I was going to lose that leg. …
Gene H. Hogge -end-
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