Crew #11 --
A/C #425862 -- "Duration Plus Six" -- M.A.C.R. #678
| 1st Lt |
Roy F. Claytor |
P |
EVA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| 2nd Lt |
Raymond J. Nutting |
CP |
EVA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| 2nd Lt |
Oscar C. Amison, Jr. |
N |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| 2nd Lt |
Kenneth R. Lorch |
B |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| T/Sgt |
John W. Burgin |
E |
EVA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
Charles K. Bailey |
WG |
EVA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| T/Sgt |
Steven S. Kopczewski |
R |
KIA |
25-Jul-43 |
Keil (with Crew #17) |
| S/Sgt |
Robert H. Wussow |
BT |
KIA |
8-Oct-43 |
Bremen |
| S/Sgt |
Joseph E. Kehoe |
WG |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| S/Sgt |
Edward A. Musante |
TG |
KIA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
On the Regensburg mission this
crew was the lead crew of the second element of the low squadron. Wingmen
were Ronald Braley and Thomas Hummel, both of whom also went down.
At 1020 a swarm of fighters
attacked the low squadron over eastern Belgium and so severely damaged the
aircraft that Claytor sounded the bailout alarm. Eight of the men aboard
got out safely but Musante's chute caught on the horizontal stabilizer
and, when the plane exploded in midair, or when it crashed, he was killed.
A William M. Hinton, who was flying in place of Robert Wussow, apparently
did not bail out he may have stayed too long to assist Musante and was killed. Both Hinton and
Musante were given a military funeral and were buried 20 August 1943 "on
the Airdrone St. Trond." Hinton in grave #287 and Musante in grave #268.
Two other replacements flying on
the crew that day were, William M. Quinn as radio operator and Clifford R.
Starkey as tail gunner. Starkey became a POW but Quinn evaded capture and
made it back to England.Claytor, Nutting, Burgin and
Bailey also were successful in evading capture and, after months with the
underground, got back to England. Kenny Lorch was finally made a POW after
hiding out nearly eight months.
It was the 10th mission for most
of the crew but only number two for Hinton.p>When questioned, after the war,
as to Musante, Claytor had this to say: "He was a strange boy and was
frequently given to air sickness. I think he was actually afraid of the
air. However, I mentioned having him removed from the crew several times
but he always persuaded me to keep him. He seemed to be brave and
courageous except I believe he had an inherent fear of the air. I admired
him very much and have never seen him fail in anything but I do believe he
was afraid to bail out."
Charles Bailey's statement as
regards Musante was as follows: "Musante was the RWG and I was the LWG. I
always took a personal interest in him because I was older then he, and he
seemed to depend on me to a great extent. He always had trouble hearing
over the intercom and I always made it a point to be sure that he always
understood the commands given over the intercom so when the pilot gave the
command to bail out I checked with Musante and he started making
preparations to bail out. We both went to the escape hatch and I pulled
the emergency release, and Musante stepped up to jump, but for somee
reason he changed his mind, and motioned for me to jump first. Because two
engines were on fire, and the plane seemed to be going down fast, I.
couldn't see any reason to waste more time, so I jumped. After my chute
opened, I .tried to keep my eye on the plane to see how many chutes opened
but all I could ever see was eight chutes.The underground organization that
helped me told me that one of the crew members was killed when the plane
went down because his chute hung on the plane and from their description I
knew it was Musante." Crew #12 -- Aircraft
#4230050 -- "Judy E" -- M.A.C.R, #268
| 1st Lt |
Charles L. Duncan |
P |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| 2nd Lt |
Archibald L. Robertson |
CP |
EVA |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| 1st Lt |
Oliver M. Chiesl |
N |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| 1st Lt |
William H. Forbes |
B |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| T/Sgt |
Ernest De Los Santos |
E |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| S/Sgt |
Bernard I. Hanover |
WG |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| Pvt |
John K. Beard |
R |
CPT |
24-Jan-44 |
-- |
| S/Sgt |
Gene F. Frank |
BT |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
| S/Sgt |
George R. Appleton |
WG |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| S/Sgt |
William D. Whitley |
TG |
POW |
10-Jul-43 |
Paris Le Bourget AF |
Apparently George Appleton did
not fly to England with this crew. The last page of Special Order #103
(which sent the 100th on its way overseas on 25 May 1943) shows one T/Sgt.
James C. Brown assigned to Crew #12 apparently to replace George Appleton.
Brown was KIA 28 April 1944 in aircraft flown by W. G. Lakin and Colonel
Robert Kelly. Soon after arrival in England, it seems that Sgt. Parrish
Reynolds joined the crew to replace Brown and Reynolds was flying as a
waist gunner on 10 July. He became a POW.
Edmund Oliver from Crew #10 was
flying as radio man in place of John Beard and became a POW.
According to Bill Forbes, the
"Judy E" (named for Duncan's little daughter) was returning from the
target when jumped by FW 190s. This was about at the channel coast near
Dieppe and with #1 engine and the wing on fire Duncan gave the bailout
order. All got out safely, but Ollie Chiesl was stuck in the nose escape
hatch briefly and Forbes had to jump on him with both feet to kick him
loose.Bernard Hanover had been the
first man in the 100th Group to be awarded
a Purple Heart when he suffered a slight hand wound
from flak over St. Nazaire on 28 June 1943.
However, the honor of
earning the first Purple
Heart in the 100th Group has to go to one of the members of the three
crews from the 349th Squadron who were lost on 25 June 1943. Crew #13 -- Aircraft #4230068 -- "Phartzac"
| 1st Lt |
Norman H. Scott |
P |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 2nd Lt |
Kenneth O. Blair |
CP |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 1st Lt |
Donald L. Strout |
N |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 1st Lt |
Norris G. Norman |
B |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
James E. Parks |
E |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| S/Sgt |
Blazier Paddy |
WG |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
Norman M. Smith |
R |
KIA |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
Lewis D. Miller |
BT |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Pvt |
Britton I. Smith |
WG |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| CP1 |
Jerome E. Ferroggiaro |
TG |
POW |
8-Oct-43 |
Bremen |
No record of the members of this
crew, except for Ferroggiaro, following the Regensburg mission have been
found. Several 100th Group vets who were on the base at the time, dimly
recall that the crew was broken up and that some of the members may have
gone to another group.
On the now famous Regensburg
shuttle mission, this crew, with Squadron C.O. “Bucky” Cleven, led the low
squadron of six aircraft. Only two of the six reached North Africa and "Phartzac",
the aircraft flown by this crew, was badly mauled as detailed in the often
quoted article, "I Saw Regensburg Destroyed" by Colonel Beirne Lay, Jr. (Saturday Evening Post, November
6, 1943):
"...Now, nearing the target,
battle damage was catching up with him (Clever) fast. A 20mm. cannon shell
penetrated the right side of his airplane and exploded beneath him,
damaging the electrical system and cutting the top turret gunner in the
leg. A second 20mm entered the radio compartment, killing the radio
operator, who bled to death with his legs severed above the knees. A third
20mm. shell entered the left side of the nose, tearing out a section about
two feet square tore away the right‑hand‑nose‑gun installations and
injured the bombardier in the head and shoulders. A fourth 20mm shell
penetrated the right wing into the fuselage and shattered the hydraulic
system, releasing fluid all over the cockpit. A fifth 20mm shell punctured
the cabin roof and severed the rudder cables to one side of the rudder. A
sixth 20mm shell exploded in the‑#3 engine, destroying all controls to the
engine. The engine caught fire and lost its power, but eventually the fire
went out ...."Exactly what transpired in the
cockpit at this point is probably known only to Bucky Cleven and Norm
Scott. Beirne Lay admitted in his article that the situation was such that
abandonment of the plane was justified and that Scott and others wanted to
bail out. According to Tay however, Cleven "using blunt language"
overruled the bailout idea and "the B17 kept on".
This incident has been referred
to in many WW II books and articles over the past 40 years and often the
details have been warped and twisted. In one rather wellknown case it was
inplied that Scott panicked and that Cleven's words to him were, "You
sonofabitch, you're going to sit there and fly this airplane."It does seem to us most
unfortunate that somehow Scott and his crew have been painted with a
derogatory brush. Testimony from those involved is very badly needed. We
wish it were forthcoming. Crew #14 -- A/C #423232 -- "Flak Happy" -- M.A.C.R. #676
| 1st Lt |
Ronald W. Hollenbeck |
P |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| F/O |
John L. Williams |
CP |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| 2nd Lt |
Harold L. Weintraub |
N |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| 2nd Lt |
Zeak M. Buckner, Jr. |
B |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| T/Sgt |
Rush S. Mintz |
E |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
William A. Rouse |
WG |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| T/Sgt |
Emile A. Reimherr |
R |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
John Q. Paciotti |
BT |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
Glen H. Keirsey |
WG |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
| S/Sgt |
Thomas E. Flounders |
TG |
POW |
17-Aug-43 |
Regensburg |
On the Regensburg mission, this
crew was flying as left wingman to Norm Scott and "Bucky" Cleven who led
the low squadron. Bennie Demarco was flying as right wingman and gives
this account: "B17 #232 was hit in Bomb Bay and jettisoned its bombs
fifteen minutes before the target. The bombs fell in a wooded area. It
stayed with formation until we circled at Verona to pick up stragglers
where it continued on Route alone. No. 4 engine feathered as aircraft
pulled away. It appeared that one of the crew was injured and was being
worked on in nose of aircraft. It is thought that this aircraft may have
landed in Sardinia."
Glen Keirsey was taken prisoner
but eventually escaped and made his way back to England. On 22 June 1944
in a statement to Military Intelligence Service ETO Glen gave the
following statement:
"On August 17, 1943, at about
1300 hours near Ghedi, Italy and at approximately 3000 feet I bailed out.
The ship had #3 and #4 engines shot out
the former was windmilling. The entire crew bailed out safely and
the plane crashed into a mountain. The enlisted men all escaped from Camp
54, but Reimherr, Mintz, Paciotte and Flounders were soon recaptured.
Rouse was not recaptured until 27 February 1944."A 1979 letter from Bill Rouse
reads as follows:
"August 17, 1943 (Regensburg), we
were low squadron trail group. We made it over target, one engine out,
badly shot up. We tried to go on to North Africa. We could not keep up
with formation. All alone we tried for Switzerland. We were forced to bail
out as we were unable to make Switzerland. We bailed out as soon as we
cleared down to 3,500 feet over Milano, Italy. All of the crew were able
to get out. We were picked up by German and Italian troops. I ended up in
Camp 54 (POW) then escaped. I was picked up six months later and sent to
Germany. I finally escaped in April 1945 and went back to England. I
stayed in the Air Force for over 30 years and retired at Eglin A.F.B.
Florida." |