COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
Crew #17 Aircraft #42 5867 "Alice From Dallas" M.A.C.R. #117 Crew was flying A/C #42-5862 "DURATION + 6" on July 25, 1943
1st Lt William D. Desanders P COMPLETED TOUR 13 FEB 1944
2nd Lt William J. Styles CP POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde. Kiel
2nd Lt Calvin H. Defevre NAV KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
2nd Lt William E. Griffith BOM KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
T/Sgt Lester I. Berg TTE KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Charles J. Mayville WG KIA 25 July 1943 WarnemNnde, Kiel
T/Sgt George L. Rudden ROG COMPLETED TOUR (With Crew #10)
S/Sgt Norman C. Eddy BTG KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Maynard T. Parsons WG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Robert D. Lepper TG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
Mission Log of William D. DeSanders with comments by DeSanders shown in brackets.
1. 6/25/1943 Bremen, Ger. (Lost 3)
2. 6/28/1943 St. Nazaire, Fr. (Flak rough - all OK - Good bombing)
3. 6/29/1943 Le Mans, Fr.
4. 7/10/1943 Le Bourget @ Paris. Fr, (Lost Duncan) This is Charles L. Duncans crew?pw
5. 7/24/1943 Trondheim, Nor. (Beautiful bombing)
6. 7/25/1943 Kiel, 25862 "Duration + 6"
"On July 25, 1943, Bill Desanders had an ear infection and Captain Richard Carey, Operations Officer of the 350th, flew in his stead and became a POW. Another replacement on the crew this day was T/Sgt. Steven S. Kopczewski, the regular radio operator on Crew #11. He was killed in action. The Aircraft "Duration + 6" was so damaged by flak that Capt Carey decided to ditch in the North Sea. 6 were KIA and 4 POW." "Capt. Carey, Lt Styles (CP), Sgt Robert Lepper (WG) and S/Sgt Maynard Parsons (TG) were picked up by a Danish fishing boat and the latter two were taken to a hospital in Schleswig." Unable to bomb Warnemunde, the primary target, the Group flew to Keil where intense flak was met. Plane was so damaged by flak that Captain Carey decided to ditch in the sea. All the crew except for pilot and co
pilot were in radio room when ship hit the water.
Apparently, Parsons and Lepper, both of whom were wounded, got out ofthe overhead hatch but the others in the radio room were trapped and went down with the ship which rapidly sank. A subsequent report by William Styles said that, "Griffith was struggling to get out of hatch as the plane was sinking, that is the last I saw of him."During a search for survivors, Danish fishermen found the body of Sgt. Kopczewski but, after making certain of death, left it in the water. Carey, Styles, Lepper and Parsons were picked up by a Danish fishing boat and the latter two were taken to a hospital in Schleswig It was mission #8 for this crew who were flying in "Duration + 6" and not their regular plane, "Alice From Dallas".
Story:
Bill Griffith and Big Joe were shooting Pheasants and killed a few. The local constable caught them and said they had killed the landowners foul and needed to go and appologize to them personally in Class A's. So they dress up in Class A's and go knock on Sir Rupert Manns manor and they were invited in. Instead of getting the 3rd Degree, they were invited in for Tea and cookies and talked for over and hour.
Subj: name missing
Date: 1/18/2005 5:26:25 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: Jcstyles16@aol.com
To: mike@100thbg.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
My husband William J Styles was a member of the 350 BS yet his name is not listed any where as a member…He was co-pilot with Bill DeSanders on "Alice from Dallas" but was switched to fly with Dick Carey on a mission and was shot down July 1943. and became POW until his release in 1945..I don't see his name on that list either….Do you need more info to list him?
Jane Styles
conversation with Capt Frank Murphy, Nav on Cruikshank crew and roommate of Capt Dick Carey 1/19/05
MPFaley [12:36 PM]: Frank did you know a Lt Styles at Stalag Luft 3
MPFaley [12:36 PM]: he was on Dick Careys plane when it went down
FrDMurphy [12:36 PM]: Mike, no, what compound was he in?
MPFaley [12:37 PM]: not sure Frank, but Styles wife is trying to get all this info on POW and people who knew her husband for a project her Granddaughter is doing
MPFaley [12:38 PM]: we told her to get your book
FrDMurphy [12:39 PM]: Good. I have considerable info on the South Compound where Dick and I were interned and will see what I can find out, if anything about Styles.
FrDMurphy [12:39 PM]: If she will give me her contact address and/or e-mail I will try to help.
MPFaley [12:41 PM]: will do, hold on
MPFaley [12:42 PM]: he was Dicks copilot on the mission
MPFaley [12:43 PM]: Jcstyles16@aol.com Her name is Jane.
FrDMurphy [12:45 PM]: Okay, Fine. Have noted it on my writing pad. I wonder if he was in our compound as I believe I would have known about him if he was. Dick had a couple of guys who regularly came over and chatted and played cribbage with him
FrDMurphy [12:51 PM]: I will look into it, Mike
MPFaley [12:51 PM]: Thanks Frank, I am sure the family would appreciate it.
FrDMurphy [12:52 PM]: Hang on a second, Mike. I think I have something.
FrDMurphy [12:56 PM]: Okay, Mike. Lt. W.J. Styles was in the South Compound. He got out of the airplane and drifted 15 minutes in his Mae West before being picked up by a Danish fishing boat and was taken by the Germans when they returned to port. He was from Troy, NY.Okay.
MPFaley [12:56 PM]: so he was in your compound
MPFaley [12:58 PM]: is the book Stalag Luft III any good for them as research?
FrDMurphy [1:00 PM]: Yes, although I did not remember him specifically. There is no book that will give them any info that I dod not have. Styles was with Dick. They were actually not shot down. Engine failures caused them to drop out of formation and become stragglers. The airplane mushed out and went into the drink. He injured his back in the ditching but recovered.
MPFaley [1:01 PM]: You ARE the person they need to talk too
FrDMurphy [1:02 PM]: A friendly bomber circled Styles but they were about 150 miles from England with no chance of air/sea rescue. That's about all I have.
FrDMurphy [1:06 PM]: My info is that Styles was born on August 24, 1920 and was a Roman Catholic. Will they verify that?
FrDMurphy [1:14 PM]: I remember Dick well because we were roommates. Lt. Styles lived in a barracks two rows over from us. If I can help it would be my pleasure. Give Jane my e-mail address.
From: Jcstyles16@aol.com [mailto:Jcstyles16@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 2:14 PM
To: Wilburn, Wayne
Subject: Re: picture
I do have one of him in uniform and had already sent it to the WWII memorial but never thought of sending it to his Bomb Group...I will try to send it to you...as far as his story is concerned, he enlisted right after Pearl Harbor....Recd his training in Alabama and Georgia (where I pinned on his wings) He was the co-pilot of the "Alice from Dallas" was shot down over the No Sea in July 1943...returned home (Troy NY) got married and joined the family Business (Funeral Director) with his father. He died March 22, 1975.Let me know if you receive all this (including pic)...and Thanks Jane
MEMO 2:
Trapped in aircraft when it sank.
Lester I. Berg was born in North Dakota in 1920. No parentage, census data, or early-life records have been located.
According to his NARA enlistment data, he was drafted, and inducted into military service on February 5, 1942 at Fort Custer, Michigan. He had completed 2 years of high school, and was employed as an unskilled worker in the auto manufacturing business.
He was assigned to the Army Air Forces, and given training as both a flight engineer and as an aerial gunner. He was then assigned to crew training with Lt.Desanders. This crew moved to England in 1943, underwent familiarization training, and was dispatched on 8 combat missions.
On July 25, 1943, the crew was scheduled to bomb targets at Warnemunde and Kiel, Germany. Unable to release bombs at the primary target, the aircraft proceeded to the secondary at Kiel, and was severely damaged by flak. The pilot elected to ditch in the North Sea.
Four of the crew survived the crash, and were picked up by a Danish fishing boat. They were turned over to German troops, and became POWs. The other six were killed. According to one account, TSgt Kopczewski's body was recovered, but no burial site is known. TSgt Berg is remembered on the Walls of the Missing in the Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England.
TSgt Lester I. Berg was acting as flight engineer and top turret gunner on B-17F # 42-5862, named "Duration Plus Six,"assigned to the 350th Bomb Squadron.
Missing Air Crew Report 117 was issued to cover this loss. Crew records show the crew consisted of:
Cpt Richard Carey p
2 Lt William J. Styles c-p
2 Lt Calvin H. Defevre nav
2 Lt William E. Griffith bomb
TSgt Lester I. Berg eng/tt gun
TSgt Steven S. Kopczewski r/o
SSgt Norman C. Eddy btg
SSgt Charles J. Mayville wg
SSgt Robert D. Legger wg
SSgt Maynard T. Parson tail gun
Cpt Carey replaced Lt Desanders (ear infection) for this mission, while TSgt Kopczewski replaced TSgt George L. Rudden (original crew). No known reason.
