COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
1ST LT DONALD K. OAKES
ORGINAL 100TH PILOT
CREW #19 A/C #42-30080 "HIGH LIFE"
1ST LT DONALD K. OAKES P: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
F/O JOSEPH C. HARPER CP: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT HIRAM E. HARRIS, JR. NAV: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT HOWARD G. BALL BOM: POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN
T/SGT GEORGE W. ELDER TTE: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT NOLAN D. STEVENS WG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
T/SGT JAMES P. SCOTT ROG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT LESLIE D. NADEAU BTG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT LEONARD P. GOYER WG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
CPL VINCENT E. McGRATH TG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
HOWARD BALL'S PLACE ON CREW #19 WAS TAKEN BY 2ND LT LLOYD A. HAMMARLUND (FROM LT AMIERO'S ORIGINAL CREW) WHO WAS INTERNED WITH THE OTHERS.
THIS IS BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST AMERICAN BOMBER TO LAND IN SWITZERLAND. IT WAS FOLLOWED BY OTHERS BEFORE THE WAR'S END.
LT OAKES STATEMENT FOLLOWS; "SOME TIME BEFORE REACHING THE TARGET A 20-MM SHELL EXPLODED IN THE NO #3 NACELLE,
CUTTING THE THROTTLE CABLE AND STARTING A HEAVY OIL LEAK. I THEN FEATHERED THE PROP. THE BTG ADVISED ME THERE
WAS A HEAVY OIL LEAK IN THE NO #2 ENGINE. THE PLANE COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH THE FORMATION AND I LANDED AT THE
NEAREST FIELD, WHEELS UP, ON THE BELLY. WE DID NOT HAVE TIME TO BURN THE PLANE AS IT WAS IMMEDIATELY
SURROUNDED BY SOLDIERS. MYSELF AND THE REST OF THE CREW WERE INTERNED."
On mission to Le Bourget AF at Paris on 10 July 1943, Harris and Howard Ball were both wounded. Ball's wounds required a lenghty stay in
hospital and was replaced on the crew by Lloyd Hammarlund. Upon release from the hospital, Ball flew with another crew and became a POW.
…….Jim Brown
Special Orders, March 2, 1944 (http://www.americanswiss.org/andrews/Special%20Orders%20Bern.htm)
The Special Orders cut in Switzerland on 2 March 1944 designating seven U.S. Army officers to be exchanged against seven German aviators also interned in Switzerland.
Lst Lt. William Cantwell was a B-17 pilot of the 99th Bomb Group based in Tunisia. His plane was shot down on 1 October 1943 while on a mission to Regensburg, Germany. Only five of his plane’s ten-man crew parachuted out and landed safely in the Alps where they were picked up by Swiss soldiers.
Lst Lt. Donald Oakes piloted a B-17 of the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. He landed at Dubendorf near Zurich on 17 August 1943 while on a mission to Regensburq, Germany. His was the first B-17 -- though not the first plane -- to land in Switzerland.
Lst Lt. Martin Andrews piloted a B-17 of the 306th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force, who made a forced landing at Magadino, Switzerland while on a mission to Stuttgart on September 6, 1943.
lst Lt. Alva Geron, piloting a B-24flying out of Tunisia, was on a mission to Wiener Neustadt, Austria when he was forced to make a landing in a farmer's field at Thurnau, Switzerland on 13 August 1943. His was the first American plane to land in Switzerland.
Lst Lt. Sam Turner, piloting a B-17 of the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th AF, was on the same mission to Stuttgart as Andrews. He was forced to ditch in the Lake of Constance where his dead ball turret gunner went down with the plane.
2nd Lt. Robert Titus was a navigator of the 95th Bomb Group of the 8th AF. When his plane went down over France on the 6 September 1943 mission to Stuttgart, he parachuted safely down, evaded capture and crossed the French-Swiss border. Because he had walked into Switzerland, he was considered an "Evadee," not an "Internee," and could move freely around Switzerland.
2nd Lt. Stephen Rapport piloted a B-17 of the 390th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. He was on the same mission to Regensburg as Lt. Oakes, when battle damage forced him to make a crash landing in a farmer's field near Utzendorf, Switzerland.
HIGH LIFE
A FORTRESS LOVED
THE LAST BOMBING MISSION
BY T/SGT JAMES P. SCOTT JR.
RADIO, OPERATOR, GUNNER
LT DONALD OAKES CREW
I supposed that most veterans have a war story hidden somewhere or could come up with one if it suited the occasion. Sometimes, all it takes to get one started is a pair of willing ears. I hope that your ears are willing to hear me out. I will set free a story that has been locked in memory for almost forty years, yet seems as fresh as the swirling mists of the English country side where it flourished. Never again will I see “High Life’s” beautiful outline etched against the early morning sky. Never again will she tell me that we are ready to go out once more. Never again will we wing away and come back for another journey tomorrow. For her, there will never be another tomorrow, she is now forever silent except when the pain of her battle scars return on bleak lonely nights. Then, her cries can only be heard by other runway ghosts, lumbering past in the wind. She was a magnificent Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that the crew christened “High Life”. We had “High Life” and the pretty Miller logo with a girl sitting in a half-moon, painted on her nose. Everyone recognized this logo and it gave our Fortress personality. “High Life” flew with the 100th Bomb Group while stationed at Thrope Abbotts, England during World War II. Let me tell you about her last flight.
Early on Tuesday morning, 17 August 1943, the air crews finished breakfast and the Combat Crew Mess and groped their way through the eerie blackout to the briefing hut. Inside dozens of voices were heard chatting in rapid short bursts while trying to get a grip on the anxiety and dread that always haunted mission briefings. The group Commanding Officer, Colonel Neil B.”Chick” Harding and his briefing staff arrived about four o’clock. The crews sat in stunned silence when the curtain covering the huge wall map of Europe was pulled back. A red string stretched from England to Regensburg, Germany and then South over the Alps to Italy and across the Mediterranean to North Africa! The air crews saw something new and unnerving. “My gosh, we’ll never make it. Who dreamed this one up? I feel sick! This trip ought to count as two.” These remarks came from voices muffled by the strain of uncertainly. There was downcast disbelief and hushed attention as we listened to the briefing officers. Our target was the Messerschmitt 109 fighter factory at Regensburg, Germany. After bombing the target, the crews would fly to airdromes in North Africa. Fuel capacity was not sufficient to risk returning directly to England under combat conditions. At least that was what we were told.
The briefing staff stated that if the Me109 fighter factory could be pulverized it would be a major blow to the German Luftwaffe and one of the most important bombing missions of the war. There were about one hundred sixty Fortresses scheduled to bomb the Messerschmitt factory. The 100th Bomb Group would furnish twenty-one bombers, with Blakely and Kidd, piloting the lead Fortress, number 42-3393, named “Just-A-Snappin.” The briefing continued with S-2 (Intelligence) pointing out probable fighter and flak belts along the designated flight corridor for this mission. The crews knew from experience of other bombing missions that S-2, like some weathermen, did not always come up with an accurate forecast. Today’s prediction would turn out to be no exception. The briefing finally came to a close with the usual synchronizing of watches. The crews now headed for the trucks and jeeps that would take them to their assigned Fortresses. There was little said on the way to hardstand number five where “High Life” was parked. The aircrew losses were running about ten percent and we pondered the odds of making it back from a raid so deep in the Third Reich without fighter escort. We knew that our fighters, affectionately known as “Little Friends” would have to turn back for England just short of the German boarder. We also knew that before the day was over, we would most likely be locked in mortal combat with a blood-thirsty enemy defending the Fatherland. The mission to the Me-109 factory at Regensburg, Germany was the thirteenth mission for the crew of “High Life” except for our bombardier, Lt Lloyd A. Hammarlund. He replaced our original bombardier Lt Howard G. Ball who had been injured on the 10 July 1943 mission to Le Bourget Air Field (Paris) France.
On Aug 17. 1943 Lt Thomas E. Murphy, pilot of “Piccadilly Lily”, was the flight leader and “High Life” was flying on his left wing. Lt Col. Beirne Lay Jr., author of the book and movie “Twelve O’Clock High”, was the co-pilot and 8th AF observer in “Piccadilly Lily”. Our Flight was tail-end of the formation in the high squadron. This position was called “Tail-End Charlie” but better known as the “Coffin Corner” We flew on the 100th Bomb Group’s first bombing mission which was to Bremen, Germany on 25 June 1943. Since that date, we had averaged one bombing mission every four days. This had not been and easy task for the air crews and the toll was heavy. To illustrate, not one complete crew (ten men) of the original thirty-six air crews that made up the 100th Bomb Group, finished the required twenty-five missions. In some of the original crews, as many as nine members completed their tours but never all ten members. We were known through out the Eighth Air Force as “The Bloody Hundredth”.
After a long delay due to local weather conditions, “High Life” lined up for an instrument take-off with her belly full of 250 pound incendiary bombs. “High Life” responded like an eager beaver to every demand made by our expert pilots, Lt Donald Oakes and Lt Joe Harper, as she raced down the runway and thundered into the thick cloud draped skies. The mission was on! After what seemed like a lifetime of flying through one cloud layer after another, we assembled in our assigned tail-end position behind a massive air armada that stretched for miles across England! This giant air armada was now formed up according to the mission plan. It left the coast of England and headed across the channel. ‘High Life’s” Crew, fun loving on the ground and in the English pubs was a serious and deadly team in the air. Were well trained, experienced, confident, and determined to reach the target, bomb it and return back to our home base. We intended to make a graveyard in the air for any German fighter pilot that tried to stop us. We manned our assigned battle stations, doubled checked our equipment to include test firing our machine guns and kept a sharp eye out for enemy activity as we crossed the English Channel and headed over occupied Europe. I glanced at my watch and it was ten o’clock. It had now been eight hours since we had been rousted out of bed at two in the morning.
The enemy fighters in countless numbers, swarmed on us about the time that we crossed into Germany south of Aachen. The savage fighter attacks came from all around us. The fighters came at us like jackals taking after the next meal and wanting to satisfy their hunger quickly. It is difficult to describe how terrifying it was to watch the German fighters, in pairs and in foursomes, come swooping in toward our formation with their wings blinking like Christmas lights as the dreadful 20mm cannons were fired. Internally, I felt like an old man whose nerves had become petrified. This feeling was short-lived as a fight came whizzing through our flight. As this German pilot rolled by “High Life”, I could feel his arrogant eyeballs dancing across my frozen face. It was an unforgettable experience. Heroes in air battles are made in one split second or made legendary by some deed of self-sacrifice, or by a latent ability to rise to an extraordinary unforeseen event. Then again, there are those of us in battle who did our work without the fleeting chance or glory ever coming our way. And so it was with the crew of “High Life.” There would never be headlines or curtain calls for us and we wanted none. To give you a better picture of this savage air battle, let’s take a look at some excerpts from Lt Col. Beirne Lay’s report to the Commanding Officer, 100th Bomb Group, dated August 25, 1943: “It was 1042 hours over Europe that I looked out of my co-pilots window after a short lull and saw two whole squadrons, 12 Me-109’s and 11 FW 190’s climbing parallel to us. The first squadron had reached our level and was pulling ahead to turn into us and the second squadron was not far behind. Over the inter-phone came reports of an equal number of enemy aircraft deploying on the other side. Swinging their yellow noses around in a wide u-turn, the 12 ship squadron of Me-109 came in from 12-2 o’clock in pairs and in fours and the main event was on. A shining object sailed past over our right wing. I recognized it as a main exit door. Seconds later, a dark object came hurtling through our formation, barely mission several props. It was a man, clasping his knees to his head, revolving in a triple summersault. I didn’t see his chute open. Our airplane was endangered by various debris. Emergency hatched, exit doors, prematurely opened parachutes, bodies, and assorted fragments of B-17’s and Hun fighters breezed past us in the slipstream. On we flew through the strewn wake of a desperate air battle where disintegrating aircraft were commonplace, Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, and still no letup in the attacks. The fighters queued up like a breadline and let us have it. Each second of time had a canon shell in it. After we had been under constant attack for a solid hour, it appeared that the 100th Bomb Group was faced with annihilation. Seven of our group had been shot down, the sky was still mottled with rising fighters and it was only 1120 hours, with the target-time was still 35 minutes away.”
We had been under constant brutal fighter attacks for the past hour and a half and both sides were bleeding badly. During the onslaught, “High Life” had suffered severe damage to the number two engine and then received a direct hit to the number three engine from a Me-109 fighter. With two engines dead and one of them windmilling, our effective power was reduced far below normal. The pilots struggled vainly to keep up with the formation; but in spite of all their skill, “High Life” began to drop behind. Don Oakes instructed the bombardier to drop the bomb load in an effort to stay with the formation. The bombs were jettisoned over a forest thought to be somewhere in the vicinity of Heilbronn, Germany. The gap continued to increase even with the bomb load gone. Our Fortress could not catch up with the formation and Oakes decided to pull away. Under such circumstances it was the pilots’ duty and privilege to use his own best judgment as to what action would be the safest and best for the crew. Oakes ordered the crew to prepare to bail out. However, before Oakes had to make the final decision to sound the bailout alarm, our top-notch navigator, Hiram Harris, who knew our position at all times, advised our pilot that Switzerland was only about thirty or forty minutes away. Oakes decide that we should make a run for Switzerland and swung “High Life” on a course Harris had plotted. We prayed “High Life” could maintain sufficient altitude for us to make Switzerland rather than be forced to bailout over enemy territory. Fortunately, the German Fighters did not come in for the kill….probably due to lack of fuel or just plain good luck bestowed upon us from above. One lone German fighter followed us for a time, firing cannon rounds at us, hoping for a hit while staying our of range of our fifty-caliber machine guns. Bursts of bullets spewed from George Elder’s top turret toward this lone fighter. This put him on notice that we were still full of fight. Apparently he was convinced and disappeared without engaging us further. It was another stroke of good luck and a timely one at that. We were having onboard problems. The top turret had started to malfunction; Leonard Gayer’s tail guns were out of ammunition; and the waist guns, manned by Noland Stevens and Vincent McGrath had only a limited supply. Leslie Nadeau, who had been in the ball turret, was now able to leave the cramped position. Nadeau had watched the two engines die and had kept the pilots informed of the situation while engaging fighters boiling up from below. I was the radio operator-gunner crew member. About this time things had settled down a bit and I was able to leave my machine gun and sit down at the radio desk. Repeated efforts to contact England failed. I reported the situation to the pilot and got permission to send out an emergency message. The following message was decided on and pecked out on the radio keys: “SOS SOS SOS HIGH LIFE 180”. This message was repeated several times as the subzero cold cramped Morse code sending ability. There was no acknowledgment of our SOS. The name of our Fortress was well known back at home base since we were one of the original air crews in the 100th Bomb Group. “High Life” was the only airplane in World War II that had been named after a very popular American product and her Miller logo was easily recognized and remembered. I knew that if the SOS message did get picked up in England, it would tell them that “High Life” was out of formation and flying on a course of 180 degrees. I never found out if this last message was received by anyone in England.
Our crippled Fortress was now down to about ten thousand feet as we came in sight of Lake Constance (Bodensee) off in the distance. We continued to lose altitude as we neared the lake. Suddenly a barrage of flak appeared all around us. The bursting flak shells, plus the dreadful sound of shrapnel hitting “High Life” played a horrible tune on our eardrums. We learned later that Friedrechshafen, Germany, which we were passing over, was the location of a training station for German anti-aircraft gunners. Each battery used different colored smoke to aid in scoring. The sky was filled with bursting shells displaying every color of the rainbow, but we failed to see any beauty in this deadly display of fireworks. The pilots took evasive action to spoil the gunners’ aim which caused “High Life” to act like a leaf being tossed by the wind. The shelling must have e come from a beginner’s class since our Fortress survived the onslaught and the crew was not hurt. We made it safely across the lake without further incident. The pilots looked for a flat piece of land and spotted an open field except for a lone farmer lading hay. Oakes told us to prepare for a landing. The landing gear would not go down so we cranked the wheels down manually, only to discover that a tire had been ruined by flak. Hastily, we cranked the wheels up and assumed our crash positions. I prayed and silently cursed the Germans as our Fortress was making the approach for a crash landing. When the pilots brought “High Life” in for a wheels-up belly landing, there was a terrifying shock from the initial impact, together with the awful sound of tearing, ripping and crushing metal. The fuselage filed with dust, dirt and debris before shuddering to a stop. We scrambled out of the various exits and welcomed the feel of good old Mother Earth under our feet. We were shaken up but not hurt, and we considered ourselves lucky just to be alive. Suddenly, Swiss soldiers, in battle dress and armed with rifles, appeared from out of nowhere and surrounded us. The Swiss officer in charge told us in flawless English: “For you, the war is over. You are in Switzerland.”
“High Life” was the first B-17 Flying Fortress to land in Switzerland. My watch indicated that is was almost twelve o’clock. I caught a final glimpse of “High Life” as the Swiss soldiers took us away. She still retained her beauty and personality, lying there mortally wounded in her shallow grave that she scooped out during the crash landing. “High Life’s” image became blurred by tear droplets that had squeezed themselves free from my eyelids. She was no longer in focus but “High Life” will forever be locked in my memory.
James P. Scott Jr.
Radio Operator-Gunner
High Life
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An Internee in Switzerland
by
James P. Scott Jr.
Radio Operator-Gunner
High Life
"You lucky son-of-a-gun!" I heard this expression countless times during WWII after August 17, 1943. That was the day High Life's crew crash-landed in Duebendorf, Switzerland, and became internees.
After we landed and crawled out of our plane, soldiers took us to some Swiss Air Force cadet barracks. There we were placed in separate rooms, searched and interrogated. Fortunately I had eaten the radio codes, which were printed on rice paper, to make them easy for digestion. During the next few days we heard a lot about The Hague and Geneva Conventions and the rules of warfare and how we fitted into those rules. I hardly listened. It was all over my head, and I was more concerned about my Mother and how she would react to the "Missing in Action" letter the War Department would send.
After the initial processing at Duebendorf, we left on August 20 and went to our first billets in the small village of Macolin. We stayed in a small hotel, the "Bellevue." On the next day we were joined by a crew from the 390th and another from the 93rd. Now there were thirty of us.
We felt like monkeys in zoo as hundreds of local citizens paraded by on weekends to see "those American flyers." Everyone seemed to want to take our pictures, talk to us, or just look. It was a strange experience. Fortunately our Swiss guards were good to us.
It was not long before representatives from the U.S. Military Attache's office in Bern arrived. We were given pep talks and advised of rules and regulations about what we were expected to do. Sandwiched in with all of this, we were given absolute orders not to attempt to escape. I was never tempted to try this anyway: Switzerland was completely surrounded by the enemy and enemy occupied territory.
As the intensity of the U.S. daylight bombing of German targets increased, more and more crippled aircraft sought sanctuary in Switzerland. Soon we outgrew the space in Macolin and had to move. On November 1, 1943 under the watchful eyes of our ever present Swiss Army guards, we entrained for a new home, in Adelboden. This small village, deep in the heart of the Bernese Mountians, was surrounded by lofty Alpine peaks covered with snow all year around.
Adleboden was ideal for the purpose. Only one small road led into the village, which made keeping us corralled much easier for the Swiss Army. Soon there were several hundred of us and we were no longer a novelty.We had a great deal of freedom within the village and it outskirts. We were encouraged by the American Attache to buy skiing equipment and participate in local sports. We had various educational opportunities including language instruction.
For food we had Swiss Army rations. Although it took some doing to get accustomed to black bread, a smelly cheese, and acorn coffee for breakfast, we knew our life was superior to what we might have had in a German prison. Even so, the snow covered mountains soon seemed to be prisons walls. The sun appeared late and disappeared early, providing short days and long nights and promise of nothing new for tomorrow.
On September 6, 1943, a crippled plane called "Raunchy" and piloted by the 100th's Sam Turner ditched in Lake Constance about a mile from the Swiss border. In a battle with German soldiers, Joseph Moloney was killed.
Before September had passed, thirteen other crews members were killed and a mass military funeral was held in a beautiful old church at Bad Ragaz. I was selected to be one of the pall bearers. Each coffin was draped with the Stars and Stripes. After a moving ceremony reflecting on the realities of savage warfare, we lifted the fourteen coffins and began the slow procession.
As we moved along the few blocks to the ceremony, my hands felt wet. I looked down. What I had felt was blood that had seeped out of the coffin and ran along the American Flag to my hands. I looked around. The hands of other pall bearers were glistening red. We looked at each other. We knew we could not let what was happening detract from the honor and dignity of the occasion. We kept quiet, marched along, and finally came to the cemetery. There with gentleness and poise we laid our comrades to rest.
On October 5, 1944, in the company of some British soldiers who were also being released, I left Switzerland. To hide the fact that I was and American, I had to pretend I was a British First Lieutenant. I must have made a fair Brit because I got out.
When we crossed into France I left my British friends and reported to the U.S. Forces. Soon I was back in England and on my way home.
Lucky? Yes, I was lucky. I could have been in one of those wooden coffins.
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CREW:
1st Lt Albert F.Amiero P KIA 6 MAR 44 BERLIN (this with a pick up crew, see note below)
1st Lt Kenneth I.Menzie CP XFR 7 OCT 43 ALCONBURY (transferred to 482nd BG, Pathfinders, see note below)
(on Aug 17, 1943 Capt. Norman Scott Crew, see note below)
2ND Lt Lloyd A. Hammarlund BOM INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG (flying with Lt Oakes Crew in High Life, see note below)
2nd Lt W.C. Abbey NAV CPT ? (Transferred to 418th BS)
T/Sgt Russell G.Gilbert TTE KIA 6 MAR 44 BERLIN (Flew with Lt Amiero "pick up" Crew, see note below)
S/Sgt Earl Griggs BTG KIA 3 SEPT43 PARIS (Flew as BTG with Lt Floyd Crew, see note below)
S/Sgt Joe Raff LWG CPT 30 JAN 44 BRUNSWICK (Flew with Capt Moede Crew, see note below)
S/SGT James W. Gregg RWG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (Flew with Lt Gossage pick up Crew, see note below)
S/SGT Richard A. Tangradi TG POW 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT (Flew with Lt John Brown Crew, see note below)
SGT Jerry Korman ROG XFR 7 OCT 43 ALCONBURY (transferred to 482nd BG, Pathfinders, see note below)
349th BS. Joined the 100th BG in July 1943.
Our crew was assembled in Casper Wyoming Jan. 1943, from there we went to Lowrey Field in March 1943, on to Boise Idaho in May 1943 for advanced bombing and gunnery incidently we met the actor Jimmy Stewart who also was in training. From Boise we went to Kearney Neb. To pick up our big bird, what a beautiful plane! I say this because when we got to ta (Thorpe Abbotts) we were shocked to see what we had to fly in, a once proud lady was now a dirty smelly hulk! From Kearney we flew to Bangor Maine, we laid over in Bangor for a few days then we flew to Iceland. We knew then were we were going, we then flew to Prestwick Scotland, very pretty girls.
Now it gets interesting after we got to ta and settled in, the enlisted men of our crew were sent to a place on the English coast. It was a camp for advanced air to air gunnery; it was run by a tiger by the name of Capt Cohen. I'll never forget it when we went for our first briefing Capt Cohen walked in and said "good mourning gentlemen forget all they taught you about gunnery in the United States" gulp! We were there for about a week and he was right "shoot em and kill em". I also found out you can get hurt in this war we went back to ta and found out the crew had been busted up. After awhile thru the grape vine and other resources we found why.
Lt. Amiero had a medical problem that took him off flying status for a while. We never saw the four officers again! Lt. Amiero was probably stuck in some office job, one was sent to the 351st Sqdn (Lt Hammarlund) one was sent to the 418th Sqdn (Lt Abbey) Lt Menzie was transferred to a pathfinder outfit (482nd BG) I believe he was the copilot… S/Sgt Richard Tangradi, TG Dec 8, 2005
Sgt J. Raff flying with Capt.Moede crew completed his 25th mission 30-1-44. From what heard Joe transferred to a B-26 Marauder outfit and did 25 more, the danm nuttttt….rich
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LT AMIERO and S/SGT GILBERT NOTE:
CREW
1st Lt Albert F.Amiero P KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN
F/O Howard L.Kilmer CP KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN
2nd Lt Albert P.Rule NAV KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (from Lt. Leon Morgan Crew)
S/Sgt Thomas S.Elliott TOG KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN
T/Sgt John J.Kovacs ROG KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (original 100th air echelon)
T/Sgt Russell G.Gilbert TTE KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (from original Lt Amiero Crew)
S/Sgt Virgil F.Summers BTG KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (from Lt Ford Crew)
S/Sgt Hobart H.Spires WG KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (from original Sammy Barr Crew)
S/Sgt Owen D.Stockton WG POW 6/3/44 BERLIN (from Lt J.W. Brown Crew)
S/Sgt Thomas D.Baer TG KIA 6/3/44 BERLIN (from Lt Victor Reed Crew)
349th Sqdn. See MACR #3019 (Micro fiche #1021). Flying A/C #42 31731 on 6/3/44
This appears to be a "pick up" crew. Kilmer joined the 100th on 26/2/44 as an individual. Baer was from the original crew of Lt V.Reed. Kovacs was a "spare" on original 100th Air echelon. Stockton was from the crew of J.W.Brown. Hobart Spires (flying his 24th mission) was from the original crew of Sam L. Barr.
S/Sgt Virgil Summers was from the original Crew of Lt Ford. 2nd Lt A.P.Rule on original crew of Leon R.Morgan.
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1st Lt KENNETH I. MENZIE AND SGT JERRY KORMAN NOTE:
Note on Menzie: was with 350th at the time of transfer. On 7/10/43 Special Orders #21 (Hdq. 3rd Bomber Division) the following crew was transferred from the 100th Bomb. Gp to the 482nd Bomb.Gp for Pathfinder training. Crew departed Thorpe Abbotts on 10/10/43 for Alconbury to join the 482 Bomb Group (Pathfinders)
1st Lt Kenneth I.Menzie P (on Aug 17, 1943, copilot on Capt. Norman Scott Crew, manned gun in the nose)
* 2nd Lt Kenneth O. Blair CP
2nd Lt Vanden J.Willey NAV
* Capt Norris G.Norman BOM
Sgt Jerry (nmi)Korman ROG
* T/Sgt James E.Parks TTE
* Sgt Blazier Paddy TG
* Sgt Lewis D.Miller BTG
Sgt Gordon D.Griffith WG
* Sgt Britton I.Smith WG
Those with Asterisks are members of the original crew of Norman H.Scott. According to Norris Norman,these men all CPT with the Pathfinders. Scott and Strout were transferred to Bovingdon, to indoctrinate replacement crews.
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2ND LT LLOYD A. HAMMARLUND NOTE:
CREW
1ST LT DONALD K. OAKES
ORGINAL 100TH PILOT, 351st BS
CREW #19 A/C #42-30080 "HIGH LIFE"
1ST LT DONALD K. OAKES P: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
F/O JOSEPH C. HARPER CP: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT HIRAM E. HARRIS, JR. NAV: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT HOWARD G. BALL BOM: POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN
T/SGT GEORGE W. ELDER TTE: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT NOLAN D. STEVENS WG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
T/SGT JAMES P. SCOTT ROG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT LESLIE D. NADEAU BTG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT LEONARD P. GOYER WG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
CPL VINCENT E. McGRATH TG: INT 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
HOWARD BALL'S PLACE ON CREW #19 WAS TAKEN BY 2ND LT LLOYD A. HAMMARLUND (from Lt Amiero original crew) WHO WAS INTERNED WITH THE OTHERS.
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S/SGT EARL GRIGGS NOTE:
CREW #23
351st BS
Mission: Paris (Beaumont AF)
M.A.C.R.#685
Date: 3 Sept.1943
Aircraft #42-30059 "BARKER'S BURDENS"
Time: 0920
A/C last seen: Over Beaumont Airdrome at Evreux,France
CREW ABOARD:
Charles W.Floyd,Jr. 2nd Lt P KIA
Jack C.Boyd 2nd Lt CP KIA
Robert M.Rosenberg 2nd Lt NAV POW
Frank C.Coon 2nd Lt BOM POW
Theodore W.Price T/Sgt ROG KIA
John M.Neal S/Sgt TTE KIA
Earl Griggs S/Sgt BTG KIA (Replacement)
Dale P.Huffer Sgt RWG KIA (Replacement)
Peter J.Theodore 1st Lt LWG KIA (Gunnery Officer)
John K.Williams S/Sgt TG KIA
The following is from a conversation between Cowboy Roane and Paul West in 1991…Cowboy's remarks are from notes:
"I was with them at Paris and saw King's plane hit amidships by flak. It pitched up in and extreme nose high attitude and struck the tail section of Alvin's (Barker) plane. It seemed like slow motion, or maybe that is just my memory but they seemed to hang there for a time and then Richard (King) went straight down and Alvin (Barker) just exploded then and there. It was and still is a sad day for me, I had been Richard's (King) co-pilot in the states, the entire crew were my close friends. I also knew Alvin (Barker) from back in the states where we were squadron mates as well."
Crash Information: FROM LT KING CASUALTY REPORT
The third aircraft to be involved in a massive mid-air collision in the Paris, France area. A salvoed bomb (from the high group) hit the No# 3 engine of aircraft 42-30059 piloted by 1/Lt Charles Floyd, which collided with aircraft 42-5865 piloted by Lt Victor Fienup, resulting in loss of control. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Richard King received a diredt falk burst amidships and sudden moved upward striking aircraft piloted by Lt Charles Floyd, this aircraft exploded.
When Al Barker, regular pilot of this crew, was made Squadron Operations officer, Charles Floyd moved from the co-pilots to the pilots seat and Jack Boyd, who had flown overseas with the 100th unassigned to a crew, became the new co-pilot.
Earl Griggs and Dale Huffer were flying in place of regular crewmen, Willis Stroud and Robyn Fulton, while Lt. Peter Theodore flew this mission in place of Edwin Morgan.
____________________________________________________________________________________
S/SGT JOE RAFF NOTE:
Bruce E.Alshouse of the J.G.Gossage crew writes (1986) that after the Gossage crew loss on 24/9/43, He, Theodore Don, and Mike Gillen (Bom & ROG) were assigned to the crew Of Capt. Donald H. Moede. Also on the Moede crew:
Capt. Donald H. Moede P
2nd Lt Theodore Don BOM (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)
M/Sgt. Art Gibbon NAV
T/Sgt. Mike Gillen ROG (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)
Sgt Joe Raff WG (originally with Lt Amiero Crew, CPT on 30 JAN 44 Brunswick)
Sgt Don Sackrider WG (he was wlth J.G.Gossage on 3/3/44 and became a POW)
Sgt Richard Pearson BTG
Sgt Bruce E. Alshouse TG (originally with the JG Gossage Crew)
The CP was usually a replacement; Moede flew "The Laden Maiden" after Owen "Cowboy" Roane had flow her for 13 missions..jb
Sgt Joe Raff - FLEW 3 SEPT 43 PARIS MISSION WITH LT HENRY HENINGTON.
____________________________________________________________________________________
S/SGT JAMES W. GREGG NOTE:
CREW
1ST LT JOHN G. GOSSAGE P POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
2ND LT BERTRAND D. McNEILL CP POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
F/O EDWARD A. WARNER NAV POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
1ST LT HOWARD G. BALL BOM POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
T/SGT MICHAEL G. POLANICK ROG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
T/SGT ARTHUR A. COOPER TTE POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
S/SGT THOMAS R. WOODERSON BTG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
S/SGT JAMES W. GREGG RWG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
S/SGT DONALD B. SACKRIDER LWG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
S/SGT ARTHUR V.R. CONGROVE TG POW 3 MAR 44 BERLIN (LNDED IN DENMARK)
MACR #3025,
Microfiche #1023
A/C #42-38017
349th Sqdn..
Lt Howard Ball was from the "Original” crew of Lt Donald Oakes and was wounded on 10 Jul 1943 Le Bourget mission. He had been hospitalized for a considerable period. On 3 Mar 44 this crew was flying in the #2 position of the lead element to the lead squadron. There was a tremendous cloud build up and as the lead element entered the cloud some following ships believed they saw an explosion as if a collision had occurred. Later VHF was heard from Gossage saying he intended to try for Sweden. Actually, he landed the plane on a Schlewig airfield (Denmark) thinking he was in Sweden. This probably gave the Germans their first intact B-17 which they later operated.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
S/SGT RICHARD A. TANGRADI NOTE:
Rich Tangradi
349th, TAILGUNNER
HORNY 1&2 & LADEN MAIDEN
POPB17TAN@aol.com
mr faley have many pics and stories of 349th came to thorpes abbotts july 43 as crewmember of lt al amiera (lt amiero) check spelling its along story why crew was dismantled. I became spare gunner flew many missions lt hennington, flew 25thmission to paris with the '' cowboy'' his 25th I mean trying to get all this stuff together ill close now keep in touch rich tangradi (message board 100th bg)
Mr. faley got your message thanks as best I can I will start from the beginning all dates are aprox. Our crew was assembled in casper wyoming jan. 1943, from there we went to lowrey field in march on to boise idaho in may for advanced bombing and gunnery incidently we met the actor jimmy stewert who also was in training, from boise we went to kearney neb. To pick up our big bird what a beautifull plane I say this because when we got to ta (thorpe abbotts) we were shocked to see what we had to fly in, a once proud lady was now a dirty smelly hulk! From kearney we flew to bangor maine which was at the time the vd capitol of the states keep this statement in mind we laid over in bangor for a few days we flew to iceland we knew then were we were going we then flew to prestwick scotland very pretty girls.
Now it gets interesting after we got to ta and settled in the enlisted men of our crew were sent to a place on the english coast. It was a camp for advanced air to air gunnery, it was run by a tiger by the name of capt cohen ill never forget it when we went for our first briefing capt cohen walked in and said "good mourning gentleman forget all they taught you about gunnery in the united states" gulp! We were there for about a week and he was right "shoot em and kill em". I also found out you can get hurt in this war we went back to ta and found out the crew had been busted after awhile thru the grape vine and other resourses we found why.
We never saw the four officers again lt. amiero was probably stuck in some office job , one was sent to the 351 sqdn one was sent to the 418 sqdn lt menzie was transferred to a pathfinder outfit I believe he was the navigator (CP..mpf) true all true mike I have shots of these men in uniform if you have a copy of contrails my war record I can give you there names and page number there on, how can I get these pictures to you the same with the enlisted men there all in contrails .
I have there names and sqdns there in. When we get this squared away mike ill tell you about other crews and missions I was on before I sign off I must tell you that my son and his wife bought me this pc this past june for my 81st birthday im learning but its tough tough tough bye…Richard Tangradi, TG dec 8, 2005
Mike, here is a list of the crew.
Pilot - Lt. Al Amiero - Page 172, Row 2, No. 7
Co-Pilot - Lt. Menzie - No photo
Bom. ? - Lt. L. Hammerlund - Page 206, Row 6, No. 4
Nav. ? - Lt. W. Abbey - Page 218, Row 1, No. 1 (not sure)
TTE/G - T/Sgt. R. Gilbert - Page 175, Row 4, No. 3
RO/G - S/Sgt. E. Griggs - Page 206, Row 4, No. 8
W/G - S/Sgt. J. Raff - Page 180, Row 3, No. 1
W/G - Sgt. J. Gregg - Page 175, Row 6, No. 7
BT/G - T/Sgt. G. Holton - [Not sure - either with this crew or Hennington, either BT/G or TTE/G) - Page 176, Row 4, No. 8
T/G - S/Sgt. R. Tangradi - Page 181, Row 7, No. 7
I am not a member of the 100th Bomb Group Foundation. Here is the information you need:
Richard A. Tangradi
HCR 1, Box 16P
Paupack, PA 18451
Tel. (570) 226-6387
The crew members photos are 2x3 and other photos are 4 x 5…….Rich Tangradi….TG on Amiero Crew (Dec 10, 2005
Mike a little confused here on last report you sent me sgt j. raff flying with capt.moede crew was shot down and captured going thru pictures to send to you soon came across shot of joe being congratulated on completion of his 25th mission bottom of shot are letters gpr-98-2-100-30-1-44 -j.l.raff -25 missions. From what heard joe transferred to B-26 maurder outfit and did 25 more the damn nuttttt am I right mike…. Rich tangradi TG on original Amiero Crew
mike,
on my last message to you I meant to say I would get back to you after xmass day have a little more to do on my missions and stories I came across something very interesting about our missing bt/g . On 12/11/05 you listed lt.menzie crew I stopped at sgt. Jerry korman's name a bell went off I know this guy I flew with him in the states im not sure mike but if I flew with korman it means he was a menber of lt. amiero's crew! He's not listed as a ro/g on menzies crew. Lets go back to same date s/sgt.earl griggs on org. crew of lt.amiero griggs flew bt/g on lt. floyd's crew kia as bt/g lets go back to our training in the states. All gunners where classified like t/g was bombers armorer w/g was asst. armorer I think this was j.raff tte/g took care turrets and sigths bt/g asst.engineer same job ro/g could be korman! w/g j.gregg asst. ro/g mike I can't recall any turret gunner taking over ro/g position don't forget theywere trained as radio/operaters I don't think were looking for a bt/g mike!!!!! One thougt I'll leave you with if I was lt. menzie and was told to get a crew together woud'nt you pick a guy from your original crew !!!??- I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE TO YOU MIKE A POOPED OUT RICH TANGRADI
CREW
2ND LT JOHN W.BROWN P EVADEE 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT
2ND LT ALBERT F. FITZPATRICK CP POW 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT
2ND LT THEODORE H. KLEINMAN NAV EVADEE 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT
2ND LT LAWSON W. CLEMENTS BOM POW 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT
S/SGT CHARLES R. AMBRUST WG NOC
S/SGT RICHARD F. BRADY ROG NOC
S/SGT LAWRENCE M. PRATT TTE NOC
SGT MILTON GRABEL TG KIA 25 MAY 44 BERLIN
SGT GORDON F. KEON BTG POW 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT
SGT OWEN D. STOCKTON WG POW 6 MAR 44 BERLIN
349th Sqdn. Crew joined the 100th Gp on 28 Nov 1943.. Sgt Gordon Keon was the only enlisted man of this crew to particiapte in the Frankfurt mission of 4 FEB 44. Other aboard for this mission and their fate is a follows:
S/SGT GEORGE E. TOOMEY ROG POW (FROM C.I. MONTGOMERY CREW)
S/SGT LOLA D. FLORIDA TTE POW (FROM C.I. MONTGOMERY CREW)
S/SGT WILLIAM F. KEMP WG KIA (FIRST MISSION)
S/SGT HAROLD F. JANDERUP WG POW (FROM LT HENINGTON CREW)
S/SGT RICHARD A. TANGRADI TG POW (FROM original LT AMIERO CREW)
MEMO 2:
