| 2nd Lt John
A. Carroll II |
P |
NOC |
|
|
|
2nd Lt Thomas E. O'Neil |
CP |
KIA |
31/3/45 |
ZEITZ |
| 2nd
Lt JosephD. Bohrer |
NAV |
NOC |
|
|
| 2nd
Lt DavidD. Crichton, Jr. |
BOM |
NOC |
|
|
|
S/Sgt JosephM. Popson |
ROG |
KIA |
31/3/45 |
ZEITZ |
| Cpl
RaymondR. Bazata |
TTE |
KIA |
31/3/45 |
ZEITZ |
| Cpl
JamesP. Myers, Jr. |
BTG |
CPT |
14/3/45 |
SEELZE&HANOVER |
| Cpl
RayU. Muffley |
WG |
POW |
3/3/1945 |
BRUNSWICK, MT |
| Cpl
ClementP. Chovanak |
TG |
CPT |
5/4/1945 |
NURNBURG |
| Cpl
JohnE. Kaiser, Jr. |
TG |
POW |
31/3/45 |
ZEITZ |
349th Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined
the 100th Group on 5/10/44. The 4 men who
went down on 31/3/45 were flying with the crew of A. G. Larsen. Ray Muffley was with the crew of J. W. Thrasher on 3/3/45
Letters to
Chovanak 1983/1984 unanswered.
|
| CREW: 349th Sqdn. |
| DATE: 31 March 1945 |
A/C #44-6470 |
|
MISSION: Zeitz |
MACR#13714,
Microfiche#5010 |
| 1st Lt Arthur
G. Larsen |
P |
KIA |
|
|
| 1st
Lt Thomas E. O'Neil |
CP |
KIA |
|
|
| 2nd Lt Dale
F. Watterson |
NAV |
KIA |
|
|
| T/Sgt Charles M, Dineen |
TOGG |
KIA |
|
|
| T/Sgt Raymond
R. Bazata |
TTE |
KIA |
|
|
| T/Sgt Joseph
M. Popson |
ROG |
KIA |
|
|
| S/Sgt Willard P. Bostrom |
BTG |
KIA |
|
|
| S/Sgt Marvin F. Barner |
WG |
KIA |
|
|
| S/5gt John E. Kaiser |
TG |
POW |
|
|
EYEWITNESS:
" A/C 44-6470 was hit by flak
immediately after bombs away. #3 engine was knocked loose and dropped
off the wing. The A/C nosedup; then leveled off and started for the
undercast in a steep glide. At the Rally point pilot made a 180 degree
turn and headed back toward Russia. He was heard over VHF saying that
#4 prop was running away and that he would attempt to reach the
Russian lines. The A/C was under control and there was no fire. One
chute was seen to leave the A/C. Allied fighters were escorting A/C. "STATEMENT OF
S/SGT. JOHN E. KAISER. JR. 18243028
The following
information was received by Captain Charles W. Terry, Station 139
Prisoner of War Officer on interrogation of S/Sgt. Kaiser 24 April
1945. S/SgtKaiser, since this date has returned to the Zone of
Interior. "On 31 March
1945, A/C 44-6470 was hit by flak while over the target at Zeitz,
Germany and its #3 engine was knocked out of its mount. It nosed up
out of the formation, leveled off, then started down in a steep glide.
Just before reaching the undercast, the pilot was heard to say he
would try to reach the Russian lines and the A/C went into the undercast on an easterly heading.
"
S/Sgt Kaiser
was flying as tail gunner and states that his A/C was hit twice. After
the flrst hit it remained in level flight and the engineer called on
inter-phone to ask if he was all right. There were noises from the
front that sounded like pieces of the plane were ripping away. When it
was hit again a few seconds later, the A/C started down in a steep
glide. He fastened on his chute and called over interphone but no one
answered. He looked back into the waist but could see nothing because
of smoke. The A/C was vibrating badly so he decided to get out. His
clothing hung on the handle of the escape hatch and he was trapped
there for about 30 seconds. He tried to climb back into the A/C but was weak from
lack of oxygen and could not, so he pulled his-self up as far as
possible and let go. This freed him from the plane so he opened his
chute and looked down. He floated across the German Air Field located
at 5059 N 1231 E. As he floated over the woods just east of this A/F,
he noticed that there were hundreds of E/A dispersed there. He landed
in an open field just east of the woods and was momentarily
unconscious. When he came to, he saw several soldiers (Luftwaffe)
approaching, so he stood up with hls handsover his head. After being
captured and brought to a Prisoner of War Camp at Weimer he was
interrogated by a German Officer. The interrogator asked him the names
of the members of his crew. He gave him their last names and was told
that his crew had crashed a few miles away and all had been killed. As
proof he produced a basket containing the dog tags, bill folds,
watches, and other personal property of the men. Sgt. Kaiser was
allowed to look through this equipment and when he found the wedding
ring of his Pilot, 1st Lt
Arthur G. Larson, Jr. he asked the Interrogator if he would not allow
him to take it to Lt. Larsen's wife. He replied ''sure" and gave it to
him. |
-end-
|
|
