THE. 99th Bomb Group Historical Society Newsletter

1 Vol 7 Noft3 THE 99th Bomb Group Historical Socity Nwslttr May11987 SOCIETY OFFICERS 1966-87 PRESIDENT - LEW BOATWRIGHT TREASURER - WALTER BUTLER CHAPLAIN - HARVEY JENNINGS EDITOR - GEORGE F COEN VICE-PRESIDENT, JOE KENNEY HISTORIAN -G&QRGE r COEN SECRETARY - DICK DEMPSEY THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE This is an updat on activitis at th 15th Air Forc Runion in Colorado Springs Brni Barr has bn advisd that thr groups ar ddicating mmorial plaqus at th Air Forc Acadmy It was suggstd that a combind crmony b schduld on 16 Octobr 1987 W will hav a 99BGHS hospitality room at th Antlrs Hotl - idntification rquird for ntry Rsrvations can b mad on th Antlrs toll-fr numbr: 1-8-232-2323 Plas notify Chairman Brni if you plan to b thr I hav dscribd som of th 99th's activitis from th tim it was organizd at Gown Fild, Bois, Idaho and th arrival at Marrakch, Frnch Morocco, about six months latr Th airfild rcivd considrabl damag during th Amrican invasion of North Africa Th hangrs lookd lik invrtd colandrs, having bn wll prforatd by fragmntation bombs It was my imprssion th Frnch wr highly incnsd bcaus of all th dstruction My log shows arrival at Marrakch on 2 Fbruary and dpartur on 3 March, 1943 Dstination was Lasnia Airdrom nar Oran, Algria on th Mditrranan coast Sinc our airfild at Navarn would not b rady for a coupl of wks, w wr abl to schdul additional training flights Ths includd procdurs for assmbling a formation of thirty plus aircraft, climb-out, manuvrs, dscnt and landing squnc A formation of this siz was unwildy and all manuvrs had to b gradual and dlibrat Th basic unit of th formation was a flight of thr aircraft arrangd in a "V" If a fourth aircraft was ncssary, it was positiond bhind th flight ladr and blow his wak turbulnc A squadron consistd of a lad flight and a flight on ach sid, again forming a "V" Thus a Squadron could accommodat up to twlv aircraft Th group was mad up of Squadrons following a similar pattrn It was wll stablishd th 99th incurrd fwr combat losss than othr comparabl units in th North African Thatr and that our bombing was highly accurat For xampl, th 347th Squadron did not los a B-17 in combat until aftr compltion of my fifty missions in mid-sptmbr, 1943 As of 3 May 1943, th total combat losss for th group wr lss than th svn aircraft lost on that dat du to wathr

Most of our missions wr without fightr scort Whn nmy fightrs wr ncountrd, w trid to uncovr as many guns as possibl If an attack was coming in from 2 o'clock high, th pilot of th aircraft on th right wing of th flight ladr would position his aircraft slightly lowr and th on on th lft slightly highr rlativ to th flight ladr This minor chang within ach flight from a ''flat V" to a "stppd V" allowd about thirty prcnt mor guns to b aimd at nmy aircraft and for a longr priod of tim 2 Each crw mmbr was connctd to th aircraft intrcom and would alrt pilots and othr crw mmbrs on th position of nmy aircraft Th 99th always flw a tight, wll-disciplind formation This, combind with th profssionalism of th ground and flight prsonnl, was th scrt of our succss Ys, I was on th mission ovr Grbini Airdrom 6 July 1943 (s Bn Warmr's account lswhr in this nwslttr) This was my 34th mission out of a total low fortis for th group My position was Squadron ladr of th 347th locatd abov and to th right of th Group lad Squadron commandd by Gnral Upthgrov Th fightrs mad mor frontal attacks on our formation than I had sn in my prvious thirty-thr missions It appard thy wr trying to brak up th formation using tactics dvlopd ovr Grmany whr thy continud straight through th vry loos bombr formations Our formation was too tight for that xrcis and w sat up thr at thirty thousand ft playing "chickn" Nithr th B-17s nor th fightrs mad a good targt profil hadon, but whn thy "pld-off" our gunnrs got a fw According to nws clippings, th final tally was 41 nmy fightrs shot down and 25 aircraft dstroyd on th ground vs thr B-17s downd It is intrsting to not that th 99th rturnd four days latr and bombd Grbini airfilds Nos 4 and 5 (to b continud) Dar Lw; () 17\',JJ/ LTB I wll rmmbr th rsults of that stppd-down formation On on mission, probably 25aug43 to Foggia without fight r scort (unlss on counts th 1 Grmans alongsid) whn w wr undr atta k from th rar by M-19s in wavs of fiv I1wo FW-19s cam in at 9 o clock, on bhind th othr, boring in on our wingtip Sinc all of our ard firing guns wr occupid, I fard that ths two Krauts wr uno s v, and I trid to bnd my navigator gun to gt at thm By th i im t a d th first Kraut had rachd th 1- y ard mark I ws a a ro: r but At that momnt th plan on our right, pilotd by Zork t s ll thr plans twnty ft, h i l! b!f i; r!fn: o :t s : Tcnrol cutoff of th lmn PP 1 t av a warm wlcom to th first frd th top turrts, th d s i s rddd off him, his partnr found Fock-Wulf As stov - an th ball got a fr shot at said partnr businss lswhr, so gux l t on f tos thr turrts was as smooth as if th Th last-scond dp oymn o thr pilots had on mind In rgard to Grbini, I had th vry satisfying privilg of b in lad navi ator whn th BTO, Dub Hndrson piloting, lad th Group ac t Grbint on 6jullJ3 W xpctd a ral battl, solw wnt ovr to Gzo and ickd up 'an scort of Spitfis A coupl of M-19s cm up and as prmptly wnt down with svral Spitfirs on th 1 ir a s d b: n killd latr fund ut that my budd f y { r!!i1 d h!t!: m h v h'th! last word at Grbini, it was som com or gorg 3 FROM THE VEEP Dar Gorg; March 9, 1987 Last fall thr was an inquiry in th Novmbr Bulltin I bliv, from a fllow who wantd information on th Linz, Austria Bo m bing Mission on July 25, 1944 I happnd to fly that on and hav thought about what information I might pass on that would b informativ In looking ovr my Diary I find a good lot of information thr but it nds to b writtn in a mannr which is mor undrstandabl Rfrring to my Diary I submit th following information on that particular combat mission TARGET: Linz, Austria Hrmann Goring Tank Wurks, July 25, 1944 Aircraft was Radar, tail numbr 232733 Pilot was Captain Karns W wr quit dp into Austria, (nmy trritory) whn fightrs bgan to show up and thir attacks wr vry prsistant on a B-24 Group flying blow and bhind us, with rally quit dvastating rsults on that B-24 Group, thy wr hit havily As mor and mor fightrs cam on th scn, mor and mor of us bcam involvd and w soon wr involvd in a full blown aral battl, th whol war smd to ngulf us On th bomb run th flak bcam intns and vry accurat and this too, bgan to tak it's toll in battl damag and furthr loss of airplans as w progrssd on into th targt In on instanc on whol wing was blown off a B-17 with no survivors Svral othr plans xplodd with th sam "no survivor" rsults Any plac you lookd in th sky you could s a trail of smok and a ball of flam Thr wr many, many parachuts from plans going down Som simply falling from formation, losing altitud and dropping bhind, othrs in vry visibl troubl with th crws bailing out, parachuts appard all ovr th sky Any plac you lookd you could s a trail of smok and a ball of flam At bombs away, I had just chckd th bomb bay clar, Captain Karns took sharp vasiv action to avoid wrckag and blast from a B-17 that xplodd ahad and abov us This was most frightning to m sinc I saw th ground disappar and nothing by sky in sight through that bomb bay until Captain Karns told us what was happning Incidntally, I flw quit a fw missions with Captain Karns and I likd his crw and had th gratst confidnc you can hav in him H was on of th bst Th gunnrs on our crw countd 34 havy bombrs in troubl Not all wnt down, w know som of thos that lft formation did mak it back so I rally don't hav any ida how many bombrs w actually lost on that day, narly all from othr Bomb Groups In spit of all th trmndous opposition our targt covrag was rportd to hav bn good This was my 38th combat mission Gorg, I sur hop this is sufficint for yournds to sing you and Martha latr this month W'r looking forward :i/ar is an ugly thing, but not th uglist thing; th dcayd and dgradd stat of :-noral an:-1 patriotic fling which thinks nothing worth a war is wors A man who has nothing which h cars about mor than his prsonal safty is a misrabl crrtur who has no chanc of bing fr, unlss mad and kpt s o by th xrtions of bttr nn than hir1slf John Stuart ills

I 4 HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTl-1 AIR FORCE APO 5 2 US Army ESCAPE STATEMENT 1 Jordan, Josph A, Sgt 13162, 99th B Gp, 416 B Sq 5 January 1945 Rf: USA/SKP/37 Born - 11 Oct 1921 Enlistd - 13 Aug 1942 Hom Addrss - 645 N Main St, (<G] Pactim Profssion - School MIA - 13 Dc 1944 RTD - 3 Jan 1945 Missions - 1 Casly, John, Sgt, 3689664, 99th B Gp, 416 B Sq Born - 13 Sp 1925 Hom Addrss - 329 Louis Av, Highland Park, Mich Enlistd - 3 Dc 1943 Pactim Profssion - Draftsman, AC MIA - 18 Dc 1944 RTD - 3 Jan 1945 Missions - 1 2 Sourc 1, Sgt Jordan; Sourc 2 Sgt Casly On 18 Dc 1944, Sourcs wr on a mission to Odrtol Th plan was a B-17 and th pilot, Lt John B Clark Troubl was xprincd on th way to th targt No 2 and 3 ngins wr only pulling 15 mis Th spar amplifir was trid, but mad no diffrnc Tubs wr also changd but to no avail Aftr th ship had rturnd to th ara of Budapst, intnding to mak a crash landing, it was attackd by 11Yak a/c and bullts cut through th plan As th plan was flying at a low altitud in a spiral with only two ngins and no guns, th pilot gav ordrs to bal out 25 ft Whn Sourcs bald out thr wr only th pilot, Co-Pilot and Sgt Capn on board 11 3 Nvr in nmy hands 4 Sgt Jordan landd in a tr in th ara (46-44N 19-32E), and was mt on landing by two Hungarian pasants who took him into a narby hous whr h was givn som 11Vui o Whi 1 thr th Navigator F/ Bouchard and Bdr Lt Drw, arrivd with som Russian soldirs Sgt Casly landd in a ploughd fild about 4-5 mils distant from Jordan thinking h might b in Grman trritory h hid his chut and ma wst, and walkd for about a mil in a rivr to put possibl watch dogs off his scnt Aftr hiding undr a bridg h was mt by som Hungarian pasants who took hi8m to join Sgt Carns, Capn and Dabny in a narby hous Sourcs hav nothing furthr to add to Exhibit A on th intrrogation of othr mmbrs of thir crw S this rport (2nd Lt FM Drw and Crw USA/SKP/369) for story of vacuation 3 Incls Incl 1 - Ltrs 336 (2) Incl 2 - Appndix C Incl 3 - Appndix D APPENDIX C KK Knndy Capt, AIS Razors, tooth brush and tooth past should b includd in scap kits which ar othrwis xcllnt Th chocolat bar is bttr than th dxtros bar In Sourcs Squadron, it is th practic to hav scissor and morphin with co-pilot At altitud it is impossibl to disconnct oxygn and go forward to ftch ths 11 Bcaus of this, crw mmbrs wr unabl t t th 1 Austin, who was blding badly APPENDIX D cu c othing and gt at wounds of Sgt Russian officrs and nlistd mn told Sourcs that aftr this war, th y ar going to "knock hll out of Japan" In Blgrad, Tito is not vry popular with th civilians (Yugoslavs) Bulgarian soldirs contactd, ar now vry pro-allid Lightings In th Sky Ch, Hddy Lamarr is a bautiful gal And Madlin Carol is too But you'll find, if you qury, a diffrnt Thory Amongst any bomldr ci w or th ovlist tning of which on could sing (This sia of th Hvnly Gts) Is no blonds or brw1tts of th Hollywood st ' But an scort of P-;8's s, in days that hav passd, whn tn tabls wr massd vitn 1:,lasss of scotch or (;hwnr,a n t Us, intnt l!pon ft:lin no,,, i n lt' r 6 s qui tru tnat tn sight was a tning of d1i611t b r"" l,?ut, no lon r tn aai,, nowauays in this gad, nn w naa north 1ro11, 1 is,inas Straits fak tn sparkling wins vrytid,, just mak min An scort of P-J8 1 s Bryon hlly and Kats ran a dozn dad hats Dscribing th viw from th hl is Of tn vallys in }'iay whn th winds gntly sway ' An aruy of bright daffodils Tak t? d f:odils, Bryon; th wild flowrs, Shlly ' Yours is tn myrtl frind, Kats iust rsrv m thos cutis, Amrican Bautis ' hn scort of P-J's Sur w' :?ravr than hll; on th ground all is swll n th air it's a difrnt story swat out our track thru fightrs and flak, r willing to split up th glory l th y wouldn't rjct us so havn protct h 7 us, a until all this snooting ab&ts, Giv us courag to fig,,t 'm and on othr s:na -1 i tir,- An scort of P-36's ANCIENT RUINS AND ARCHAEOLOGY DCamp in th wintr of 1922-1923 a ship portd Island itslf had sunk bnath th ssa But tim provd that was all right; it was th ship's navigator that was wrong ' that Eastr Eastr Island P 239

( 6 From July 24, 1943 issu "Stars and Strips" (N African Edition) CAPTURED B-17 GUNNERS FORM CHEERING SECTION FOR YANKS By Sgt Jack Foisi Stars and Strips Staff Writr Advancd Allid Hadquartrs--Th Yanks advancing on th Sicilian town of Ra g usa didn 1 t know it, but thy had frinds insid th town chrin g thm on Th coming of th Yanks mant libration for two Amrican Flying Fortrss gunnrs who had parachutd to safty from a dying qun of th sky only to b takn prisonr Upon thir rscu, th two mn, TSgt David Flming, of Jackson, Mich; and 1st Sgt, Alln B Huckab, of Tmpl, Tx, wr abl to rval th story of on of th gratst air fights of all tims--th battl of a singl Flying Fortrss against a swarm of at last 35 kill-thirsty Mssrschmitt 19s and Macchi 22s Th story bgins July 5 Th 11 D--- 11, that 1 s th nam of th B-17, was 1 minuts from Comiso, its targt, whn th first nmy fi g htrs cam around but thy wr just a nuisanc until fla knockd out th numbr four ngin That cut down spd but th formation cut its spd to match and shltrd th D--- as it climbd aftr th bomb run Thn th numbr on ngin wnt out and th Fortrss was hardly making mor than stalling spd Thr was nothing ls thn for th formation to do but abandon th D--- READY FOR THE KILL Immdiatly th Axis fightrs swarmd in for th kill "It soundd lik ric on a tin roof," said Flmin g, "whn th bullts bgan to h it us 11 Th radio wnt out, thn th oxygn, thn th mn Flming was talking in a low, tns voic as h dscribd th pictur of doom Th 43-yar-old Huckab, blivd to b th oldst Air Corps nlistd man in c ombat srvic, mumbld an occasional addition Th firs t man to go was th tail gunnr woundd, h crawld back into th waist and hlpd load anothr gun until h did Th ball turrt gunnr was nxt, crumpling from a 2mm xplosiv shll Th numbr two gunnr was killd almost instantly by th raking cross-fir of two fightrs But th Fortrss continud to fly and fly, though thr wr no hols big nough in th wings and fusla to crawl through Th pilot was struggling to sav th plan Th co-pilot was slumpd ovr against th pilot Fl ming wnt forward t o hlp him H found th co-pilot dad On mor was to di--th blly turrt gunnr On shll struck his gun, curling th barrl up l ik a w ithrd flowr; anothr bullt struck him in th stomach ABANDON SH IP Flming bit his lip; h smd to b r-living that nightmar "Things wr gtting black" h said "W wr fast losing altitud Th pilot gav th ordr t o abandon ship W struggld into our chuts--thr was a rip in min from shrapnl, but I had no tim to far that it might not opn 11 Th nginr was th first to jump H wnt through th shot-out window About thn a shll xplodd th ammunition box and lad bgan to pop all ovr th plac an Army photographr wnt nxt Th bombardir and th navi g ator jumpd Th pilot thought h was th last to clar th ship, but th bomb bay door through which Flming and Huckab in tndd t o jump slammd shut just as thy stood on th dg Th ship lurchd and flung thm to th floor Th two rcovrd and fll out th othr bomb bay opning As thy floatd down, thy watchd th --- "It didn 1 t want to di,u said Flming "Th grand old ship didn't stop I t smd to pil ot itslf, first goin g into a spin, thn coming out of it, thn going into anothr spin, finally catching fir" Fl ming and Huckab cam down nvr saw th othr fi and snt to I taly civilian polic 7 PRISONERS OF WAR ' thy found out latr about 12 1 /gain, althou g h thy latr wr' told that m1 l s h fro m Ragusa Thy armr hlpd th two t o rach z:;ot;; ; h!w:a! h ifladi: ;1f:: bui h!t ;;:f:;:;; Huckab rcivd 11 bull t crackd ankl l 1 air ra1ds--thy had 14 1 wounds and Flmin g wa d a ad bn capturd Fdr;i al Y g oo Th most a arms i n on day and night North Afric/ r n anding Both mn ar on thir way \o n d fiv tims and rcivd a Word rcivd Spt 1 stats that Fl covry at a bas hospital in ; o 1: r m i1 ; urnd to th Unitd S ::s a :;; ma ntly l g rondd from combat srvic wounds althou g h still xpr David is prsntl id I last saw Huckab! r 1 a 1 gg in Flat Rock, MI W hav faild to locat him with uc or F ming has fully rcovrd 1nc1ng som difficulty with his ankl ynn thirst parlor about Jan 1 1944 our postcard sarch, Thodor Haid of Albuqurqu has givn us of gunnry training and shooting at liv targts HERE'S HOW I HELPED WIN THE WAR DURING I spnt a whol month at Gunnr s h 1 Brownsvill th last wk I fl go th following account WORLD WAR II c oo i Harlingn ' Txas nar w AT-6s with a 3 calibr machin o ir at a sock pulld by anothr r I land W had 1 rounds of ammuing at th sock, w would rturn tr thr of us took turns shoot- an gun mountd in th rar cockpit AT-6 Th gunnry rang was Pad ition markd rd, whit or blu mad W flw ight tims count th hols ach on had tiond ; thn w wr known t a t n l targt unls a gun malfunc- had and givn anothr flight I rmmbr on tim th a vrtical div I glancd a ii t, ho was a s/ gt put th AT-6 into air sp indicator, and it rad 25 mph H thn pulld up int O a stp climb, and I blackd out for a scond Thn dizzy as I was 1 rounds at th sock and gav h : wu my gun round and fird all p i ot th signal to lav Bfor I could sit down and fastn t rl roll All I could s wa: y a lt, s h put th plan in a bar During graduation I wo h7ts on th sock I f ound out latr that I had madyt and a going around and around latr I was promotd to s 7; i d from Privat to Srgant and a month group togthr at G ing hard and w wr corn ing n o rw b m r s on night it was snow- W put our w wnt to Walla Walla, Washington o a F ld in Bois, Idaho Thn ' u t w movd to Sioux City wathr was too bad, so Iowa in th 99th Bomb Group ' Thr w traind as th 346 Bomb Squad with a in anding On plan crashd and burnd Th fi r a th crws wr traind, w movd to Salina Kansas to : k This was ' pi up our plan numbr 229512 in J anuary 1943 and th r gav us a wk lav That mant two days ach way by bu at 35 mils an hour and two days at hom I livd in Hrnandz ' N M xico thn Col Rainy told us that any man who rportd l ; rportd in on tim, and t would b ab nt without lav I, and gav him a fals ra ing gur! t snow l ad stoppd up his Pitot tub to go mt him at 9 p m Y Th old hm Col Rainy' s train was lat, bo h of us wnt to th r i i road ta io Rainy as h was gtting off of th t and drivr rady, and park I found Col rain H said, " Tak my bag,"

I I and wnt off to th parking lot, with m following H gav m a fifty cnt tip, and I turnd it ovr to th drivr 8 I might as wll introduc our crw now cap Bliss, Pilot; Lt Larkin, copilot; Lt Banasiak, Navigator; Lt Blvn, Bombadir ; T/Sgt D Lano, Enginr; T/Sgt cannllas, Radio Oprator; S/Sgt Artr, Ball Turrt Gunnr; S/Sgt Hamilton, waist Gunnr; and m, S/Sgt Haid, Tail Gunnr From Salina, Kansas w spnt a wk in D Riddr, Louisiana and anothr wk in Palm Bach, Florida Thy put us up at th Brakrs Hotl, which mad m fl vry important Aftr about a wk, a mail truck pulld up to th plan and loadd on two sacks of mail markd for Casablanca, Africa Now w knw whr w wr going Good-by usa W wr off! our first stop was Purto Rico A truck pulld up and th drivr said, "Load your stuff aboard for th barracks" I had a mustt bag with all my shaving quipmnt, a mirror, a clock, and a carton of cigartts Thn th nginr said, "Haid, you 'r th first on th list to stand guard tonight" And so with a 45 calibr Tommy Gun on my shouldr, I stood guard It was th last tim that I vr saw my mustt bag A coupl of days latr, with th airplan srvicd, w took off for th jungls of south Amrica W landd on a runway cut through th jungl about 2 mils from Gorgtown in British Guyana A bus took us to th mss hall which stood on stilts about 1 ft high I lookd around and saw that all of th buildings wr on stilts At a long tabl, w at biscuits, orangs, and bananas, with cocoa to drink Th nxt morning, w gassd up and took off for Natal, Brazil W stayd long nough for ach plan to install two bombay tanks of 5 gallons for th trip to Africa At on sid of th fild was a showr -- an outdoor showr with canvas sids and no top I dcidd to tak a showr I hadn ' t takn on, othr than natural rain showrs, for a fw days I took a bar of soap and lathrd all ovr; thn th watr stoppd so, I wipd myslf dry and put my cloths back on and that was that It smd thr was a watr shortag Whn w lft, on of th crw had chckd out a vacuum clanr H said, "It's too lat now to tak it back," as w wnt down th runway with nothing but th Atlantic ocan ahad W flw all night and at brak of day, w landd at Bathurst, Africa on a stl-mat runway English soldirs wr busy ovrsing about 1 Blacks who wr working on th stl-mat runway Thy wr working in various forms of garb, lik womn 's silk nightgowns, but barfootd on th hot stl I was ating a sandwich whn a coupl of black kids cam out of th jungl to watch m I took part of my sandwich and hld it out to thm but thy ran I laid it down, and thy cam back, pickd it up, and disappard into th jungl In th morning, w took off again for a dsrt crossing W wr supposd to land in Casablanca, but th Grmans had bombd th airstrip W landd at Mrrakch instad I rmmbr all of th officrs got rooms in town, so our ball turrt gunnr said, "Okay, you guys follow m if you want a bd at a hotl in town" W followd and found out that vry othr door was a whor hous W slpt in th plan that night Th nxt day w flw to Oran, Africa whr w stayd a whol month waiting for th wathr to clar and our ground crw to show up I hard that thy wr on a boat which was sunk, and thy thy wnt on a mission and all got shot down It raind night and day all th tim w wr in Oran Aftr wading in mud for a month, I noticd my shos wr compltly rottd out Thr was no supply whr I could gt a pair Thn Hamilton, who was th waist gunnr, said, "I r 9 ox O f rights siz hav a b with a box of lfts s1 z 1 9 L ' just your siz" I f oun d '2 I sa ' d ", '2 n othr 1 as a oa : 9L a d th Whn our th front ir ground crw d " d ' Th Sa Bs carol through a grain fild d Stif, about 2 mil th summr winds b1!! w took off on a clar immdiatl w 22 missions w ' th 1, I 11 tak thm" n show up, w dcidd t with bulldozrs and ' an w movd in Th nar anothr guy So I had on o mov up to ulldozd a strip ; st Th airstr ip was ast t at wn was calld n wst, and rom th south On ood t r ' th dust would Y W fl : plans ourslvs, loadd b i out a ground crw W srvicd th ombs, pumpd gasolin from 55 gallon barrls, tc ilk run W flw t usual r o Villacidro, Sicily, bu1ld1ng a barracks vasiv actlon b for bombs away bursts of flack burst wll blow us Our first mission was a a plac whr th w for mission, on right aftr t othhing about it, whn W flw tail-nd Charly a f a plan to hav ngin troubl turnd back bfor call it a missi on W flw six missions Th W wnt though our w tims, thn turnd back, waiting If non turnd back, thn w w wr halfway thr Of cours, w couldn ' t t : 1 t:i p:: tria, off th :a A :r c :t 1, ft, on an island Thy flw in f d by Go ring's crack Falk wo l f Y of ths missions := glancing ; i:!, w!: hi : :: t 1 9 on : ch :i q : r aftr o ;! l t!f 1 1t wnt into a spiral w l k w gunnr on our lft as givn crdit for it On our sixth missi n Th M O didn't smo trailing wing, Chuck Ward of Alb k uqur q u, ;i d = d u th : on my rgh n w!:n : : i : h : ; 1 ; ft, I flt a vator Th n on v h s I had gon through th fa r: t through and!!o a : = t: n! :! o ;! On mission was on Grbini du to nmy fightrs show up Ab t 2 formatin ack k itr:1iiii_ ; o!! d; d : v :; d a; i- a_w7ndstorm, Sicily, whr w lost thr P1 ans wr xpcting som P 38 r or M 19s ' consolidat o t y ia wr, and all thr p 1 ans_ wr lagging caught fir t W had hit it ut thy didn't b F inally, th lad pla :: l un p th 348 Squadron lik m : d r :: s of th th radio On plan It lookd lik tim about 1,Cf! =WO= a op nd d a I lo o! v : t t! : n : am paroo Th plan stalld and wnt was coming out of! n a ; n! ingt wo wr all y :i; h p f littl pics ndd up lik th plan w d Prtty soon a M 19 cam from th front a d nt ail From thr on out, ovr I lookd and lookd to t with two M 1 9s fo llowing My guns wnt s ops It lookd lik t h right in my si h a ing right for a bulls y, M 19 suddnly flippd o vr and was g f rom sight 1 rmmbr Gn Doolittl wh n h cam to th b f " t scond on caught fir i n th rad rs wr still irs rappd our bombs n d h add for hom a a barrl roll ovr spitfir right on his thr h was down blow us dwn until thy hit th down sid by load thr 1 6 1 room It th top of us with a th spitfirs took if I could s th third B-17, and d t, so I pulld both triggrs I scond M 19 was 5 1 Thy wr h d ' saw two tracrs go on ss in th tail whn th Th bomb had ' shar o f n :: o i t ing bombs aboard th :s igh b: r s

1 Th nxt morning w flw on th right wing of Gn Doolittl, as w hadd for La Spzia Harbor off northrn Italy whr th Italian Navy was bottld up Thr of us droppd our bombs at th sam tim as w mad a run on a battlship from 25, ft All nin bombs hit thir targt Th battlship bgan to sink About a month latr, sombody got a nwspapr from hom with big hadlins on th front pag that rad, "B-17s from th 99th Bomb Group sink th Italian Navy " w rplacd our lvator that had bn hit (usd on) and a lft wing (it was a usd on also); a fightr had shot our wing full of 2 mm shlls Ovr th targt, w couldn't fathr numbr 4 ngin, as all th oil was gon, and it had to windmill for thr hours on th way back Numbr 229512 was on th last of 37 missions W wr bombing th railroad yards across th straits of Mssina whn flack hit us Our waist gunnrs wr knockd down On had a lg chwd up, and I got hit bhind th ar Th control cabls wr all cut Th insid was a mss I don't know how Lt Larkin brought us down, but h sur did W blly landd in about thr ft of watr in a lak It was about fiv mils bhind th English lins in southrn Sicily Capt Bliss was flying anothr plan, so Lt Larkin was pilot and Lt Jons was copilot on this mission W wr all covrd with mud; th plan scrapd th bottom as it cam in and stoppd about 3 yards from shor An English MP cam out in a jp H brought a strtchr so h could put th injurd man on it Thn two of us, who could walk, carrid th strtchr and put th injurd man aboard th jp Thr was a small fild hospital about thr mils away An English doctor took a look at th two waist gunnrs and said, "W'll kp thm hr " H xamind m and said, "You'r okay to lav " I rcivd a purpl hart as thr was a pic of flack hurrid bhind my ar and it's still thr W soon movd to Tunis with a nw plan and two nw waist gunnrs W finishd th 12 rmaining missions to mak 5 Thank you, Td Your account sur brings back a lot of old mmoris gorg I I 11 AVIATION CACfT ALLMNI ASSOCIATION Harry C Bradshaw RFD #1 Nwmarkt, NH 3857 (: :bl, ( -: )'-- Th Aviation Cadt Alumni Ass th lat Ralph E Parkr (43-E h currnt addrsss of f orm :-, Robrt C Whit 54 Ston Trail Ormond Bach Florida, 327 4 ocat 1 on initiatd b ap1r ) to provid x-cadt! -- - 4-E B lythvi ll) and B ob Whi c cii smats Harry Bradshaw 1 no-dus, non-profit ndavor 1r prsonal com11utrs S?, O s a : o Joks) ar continuing by Fl h ; r om _, g t Class to participc1nts w o 1thr of th abov, ach I y adding nams into ncims ar n ow av a ilabl ho snd a stampd nvlop information as a safguard a gai ; st o f ho rn maintains idntical ar_ askd to snd in thir Fli ht basic and advancd 1 n your activ participatio will oss Formr pilot cadts g Class, prflight a d ocat1ons Ti m 1 your classmats Undr n, primary, is no ongr on our sid h wlco md, spcially b b mad of this i nform ati n 1rcu m s tanc s will commrcial u s! Mr Ernst Gntit Box 398 Bryan Ohio 4356 I saw th notic of your r 3/26/86 magazin W would b gratf n 7 n i n th Amrican Lgion th attntion of your WWII othr communications Many p of th 99th Bomb Group 1 you would bring th abov to lots through your nwslttr or t anks and good luck on th runion - //--, 1y>r- t fl *** -ANY "ACES" AMONG BOMBAJ;ERS? F1WCIS L ''Fraric!' &\IL, class 43-4 at Midland poss an intrsting qustion as to thr or not any 'batbardirs' or 'barbigators' can claim bing an "Ac" by having downd fiv nmy aircraft? Frank rports h has two confirmd kills "1il flying with th 731st Sqdn of th 452nd Baib Group out of Dopham Grn, England It is intrsting to not that h flw fran Jan-Apr 1944 as Lad Barbardir, thn -wnt dtachd srvic to th 96th :&n Gp ( 413 Sq) a radar oprator during May & Jun, thn rturnd to th 452nd as Lad Navigator! In b twn tizll!s, h was shooting down aircraft! How about sar rports of batbardir nmy aircraft ''kills"? -, BOMBARDIERS, INC is looking for Bombardirs, vn if thy ar not yt acs S our Runions column for th add rss Lwis Frank of th 416th Bomb Squadron, ( also known as '' Ac 11) is rmmbrd as having downd fiv Krauts on th 2oct43 mission to Augsburg Your ditor stoppd in Scotland Nck, North Carolina in 195 in sarch of Lw but was unabl to trac him A rcnt postcard sarch was al so fruitlss NEWS, DUES & At St Paul during th busin th po_ssibility of pu tting nams VIEWS 483RD MEMORIAL AT THE AIR force MUSEUM a st ; ting it was suggstd that w should invstigat r dcasd on _th monum nt Jak Grimm, our Archivist, says w can now vrify all of h Aftr som discussion th mmbrshi p f was asibl I askd lt m know os who wr killd votd to mak an inquiry to s i f th proj ct Charls "O'Bi" O'Brin (815), who livs in Fairborn, OH to invstigat and Charli w its "Th M of r thos killd in ation on u rjc i and not tak on th atmosphr th f In addition h says thr is not y can b rad Incidntally, our Mmorial w rally startd somthing s our ida bcaus thy do moria s thy want th Mmorial o a cmtary 11 nough room to put our 2+ nams on th now sts amongst 39 othr mmorials and trs not lik lists of nams Park to rmain a park monumnt so Looks lik

'I I\ I' 12 a j ournyman Your Board of Dirctors has ngag d as consultant as not to join th Should you b s o ill-advisd back to Yundum Juju-man from Yundum So city, you may b transportd 99th Bomb Group Historical Fourth World in Th Gamb ; t Prom MAIL CALL in th 461st LIBERAIDER NEWSLETTER by sugh Hanly - 765th Bomb squadron w wnt to th brifing room AS w n trd, and saw that grim black Grmany, som on mut r t d, into Eastrn lin du almost dirct northast ag ainl" Bill McClain, our n rplid, No, avigator "Oh ----, Blchammr it's ast of that ara" s-2 bgan th brifing by tlling us that th targt today was Odrtal, a small rfinry nar th Polish bordr ;rhr is mor to Hanly' s xcllnt account, for h was shot down, had a hard day at th off ic at whil in th silk, and gnrally by gorg Thanks, Hugh fird So now you know whr Odrtal is (or was) REACHING JUDGi\'i:EHT AT :-rnremberg th that Whn th Fuhrr suggstd Grmany dnounc G nva C onvn against Allid bombing had tion (by this tim Grman p opular rsntmnt put public opinion on his sid rgarding harsh masurs for Allid flirs), that it would b bttr to tak "th m asurs considrd P 258 Donitz rcommndd but not to dnounc th C onvntion publicly ncssary" "I want young p opl to grow up so that thy will frightn th ':'orl, ducati on a viol nt, doinant, crul youth I do not want intllctual A :!itlr, from P 1, A BACKilARD LOOK, by Danil Lang In spit of th dvastating ffcts of th trror b omb ing, th Alli s did n ot succd in stting th Gran popl agains t th ir ladrs quoting a Grman, P 7, A BACKWARD LOOK COURIER FROM WARSAW by Jan Nowak It was wrong to s th Warsaw Rising solly as dmonstration to th outsid world inspird by fals hops Th undrground ladrs wr maintaind to confront whatvr th futur had instor For y ars million of pop l who wr activ in daily clandstin oprations had bn longing for th day whn thy would com out into th opn and strik at th nmy Rgardlss of th immdiat prmiss and cal culations of th th Polish ladrship, ral ffcts of th Warsaw R ising only bcam apparnt in th yars aftr th war, whn Stalin succdd in making Poland his satllit Th forcibl imposition on Poland of Stalin's political systm and conqust : th sub jugation of th minds of th Polish popl Though Poland pupptt govrnmnt signald th bginning of still anothr attmptd rsistd all sh succssfully had no mans to dfnd hr indpndnc, attmpts at Sovit ization Aftr a third of a cntury, Poland rmain P Sl an island in th Sovit sa also dply concrnd for th ttoral of th population, which had to b 13 W rsum th 99 BG War, Diary with th ld t in our fils Th should th fact that th mi run chronol g 1! 11 h ubli : hd accunts nc orth, a lthough and may again So ms run in no ral ord somtims it was m r;;! m th d matrial was micr; causd us problms 1f:: d i n rvrs ordr, svral tims, and so on go HEADQUARTERS 99th BOMB GP (H) APO 52 US ARMY 5 Apri l 1944 SUBJECT : H i stori cal Rcords TO : Command in g G nra 1, Fiftnth A' i r Forc, At tnt, on H i stori a n ( throu g h channls) (H) H adq March 1944, t o 31 March 1944 uartrs for th pri od I nit h istor y o f th 99th 1 u a b c d f g T h prsnt ( US) dsi g n ati on B omba rdm n t Gro u p of th un i t is Fiftnth Ai r Forc throug h 5th Wi ng c hangs in or g ani zation ( 1 ) No chang in u nit ds i g nation (2) No trans fr of u n its ( 3) No chan g i n command, n g offi cr ( 4) O n 1 M arch, L t C o l W a y n E Thurman l ft th Group u ndr ordrs from 15th Ai r For nd ;: s succdd as dputy Griu l',i comma ndr b y L t C 1 o Wi 11 i am J H:n r i Jr fo rmr CO o f th S March Lt Co 1 Jam s / Barntt was q u assi g nd as ac tth ad r on O n 1 6 ( SO #59 p ar 9 5t ng) i n th absnc of Lt Col i f f cutiv officr 1 was confind to th o tal On 15 March,! st L i w, dnr w a s appoi ntd G roup na n off, c r On 2, G roup S-4 offi c o n 3 Ma r ch by c; ' w s transfrrd to 15th Ai r F rch Ma J or J ack Hitt, pt iral d E Van Brgn O n 1 7, and was succdd M w a s t r a nsfrrd t o s uccdd as S-4 off _ th 35th Wi n g (S # 66 7 rc h, C a pt V an Brgn p a r 5 t h Wi n g ) a n d w a s i cr on 28 Ma r h b y MaJ or El 1 is H G ra y St rngth commi ssi ond and nlist d ' (1) Month of March (a) 29 officrs and 48 1 d mn at b g inni ng ) I ncras of 4 nl i st;d'; )) 29 officrs and 52 n 1 istd mn at nd Station: Tortorlla ' Ital y (Fo gg i a #2 ai rd rom ) No movmnts Campai g ns (1) I t al i an (2) B g un 8 Sptmbr 1943, and s t ill in Oprations p ro g rss K n :/ a v mpton, who B ad wat hr hamprd our op rations durin g March sta rtd o ut on a l ot T hs includd at Kl a g nfurt and Fischa d o n Toulon i n F ran c a bl n m y t argts i n 1 ow t on Markt an attack Sofi a in Bu l g ari a and it a roba March whn o u r 1 Y: bl y o u ur u s ual po u n d in g o f r mo s t to blast C a ss : n :f o,nd vi rtuall vr y y ot : n :; cant mi ssion was on 15 p in th MAAF l i nu P i t t mpt to knock out this Grman stron g hol d o Cassino and w r ;\ n for al l Our pl ans m d! r c osd rn and ir _ bombs Earl y i n th month--3 M arch--w rvisitd Rom t o bl ast th L 1 ttorio marshallin standpoint, w achi ards 28 : d u r bst rsul ts i n pinpoi March and y To ty d : F rom an accuracy m ing th V r ona rail t u ri n rai l ards 29 March y swps i nto Austria t f s f1 ons, th y o n l y accompl i s ;!1 thou g h our plan s 2,5 tons of bombs i n a forcd_ thm to rturn wi :r thwa _y a s cond t i m whn ;: a ccss r u l t r i p to

1 1 1 2 2 Incls h i War Diary Photographs Most of our missions during t h mont wr Hadrick, our CO and dputy CO, rspctivly No hadquartrs l osss in action ld by Lt Col L aur and Lt Col h nth includd Lt Col William j Hadquartrs mmbrs c?rat d durrn n t rs 15 March (GO #144 15th AF) Hadrick, aw ardd th D 1strngu1 h F 1Ji ni th 346th squadron on th highly for ou tstanding ach1vmt succssful missioṇ to th F_i um,, n i t f oil rfinry Fbruary 24, 1944 For y, d sortis against th nmy, 1st Lt mritorious ah1vnt,n ssta1 with ight O ak Laf Clustr (GO #99 Robrt L M ccain rci d th Air E M F a rbanks rcivd th scond OLC to th 15th AF 5 M arch); MaJ or Vrnon a, B n w J ons rcivd th Air Mdai (GO 87 15h AF 1 M ar h) { C al (Jt7 15th AF, 1 March); Capt fourth, fifth and sixh OLC to, r d ond OLC to th Air Mdal (GO #7 Russl T Jacobs rcivd th f1r D st : n c rcivd th first OLC to th Air ' 15th AF 1 March); 1st Lt Ernst rya Mdal (GO #85 15t, first OLC to th AirMd al G h AF 1 M arch) Lt Col L awrnc S Samans rcivd th h 1 M ( 'o #87 15th AF 1 March); and Capt P 1 1 P h s ' M arch) Philips rcivd th Air Mdal (GO #99 15t ' 31 M h Enc l osd is th w ar diary of t h unit for th priod 1 M arch 1944, to arc 1944, and historical photographs of th Group 99th Bomb ardmnt Group History Satisfactory War Diary Satisfactory 346th Bombardmnt Squadron History Satsfactory War Diary Satisfactory 347th Bomb ardmnt Squadron History Satisfactory CRITIQUE OF UNIT HISTORIES-5th Wing-3 April 1944 An inf orm at i ona 1 sktch intrst at a l atr dat War Diary Contains xcl l nt dtail 348th Bomb ardmnt Squadron History Satisfactory War Diary Dvotd too largly to missions Photogrpahs VERNON E FAIRBANKS, M aj or, Air Corps, S-2, 99th Bomb Gp of th squadron ara might b of considrabl Mor dtails of vryday lif of th mn, f v alu thir moral, sanitary problms, tc, would b o Excllnt qu ality, wl l slctd, adqua y val uabl addition 416th Bomb ardmnt Squadron Histo D Y War i ary Has information but dos not follow Mmorandum 45-1 Mor mphasis on important things, moral, tc t l captiond, mak up an xtrmly s m p roprly, was in my Th 416th Squadron Diary, if mmory s v it ot chivalrous latr In tim a scatological obscn ty z n : wo r!as at t g tim doing a slow arly 1943 it was writtn oy or as o rk ma hav suff rd from burn from Oranc 's having p iratd his cr w Zo ic ;r a throttl into writrs, cramp aftr th 1 K u bull ul r ;: r : d p from an xcss of chivalry hi s arm I do not rcal a any o s u go MISSION: 3 April, 1944 - BUDAPEST I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : For fiv minuts bfor th t argt, and continuing for 1 minuts af tr th targt, a total of 25 M 19s and FW 19s wr obsrvd at al titud ranging from 19, - 21, I 5 M 19s mad individual attacks, low, at 5, 8, and 1 o'clock, but did not prss in vry closly Ths M 19s smd to b th old M 19s with squ ar wing typ Thy wr obsrvd to b gray colord with th bottom wing paintd silvr Th nmy fightrs appard to far th P-38s and rtird quickly Th scort did a fin job of protcting th B-17s B Fl ak: Ovr th targt this group xprincd modrat, inac curat and havy flak of tracking typ, which inflictd minor damag on 5 A/C En ro ut i ntns, accurat and havy flak was xprincd by th 99th Bomb Group at Imotski L/G, 43 24 'N - 17 3'E, as wll as at Kisoljak 43 59'N - 18 ll'e C Escort forcd fightrs to stay out of rang Assignd buil ding and t hr othrs in sam clustr hit Som bombs southast dg runway Tokol A/D Estimats of 6 to mor than 1 S/S and T/S fightrs on Tokol A/ D SPECIAL NARRATIVE REPORT MISSION: 15 April, 1944 - PLOESTI (town) I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : This group ncountrd 8-1 M 19s, FW 19s, a JU88, and an Ma 21 for about 5 minuts immdiatly aftr coming off th targt, for a total of six attacks Th attacks wr mainly from 1 to 5 o 'clock lvl Th M19s wr sn to hav blly tanks and wr silvr in color with yllow spinnrs, yll ow wing tips and a yll ow band around th fusslag Th Ml9s and th JU88 wr sn to fir rockts and wr first sn from blow and to th right of th bombr formation, l ading to th bl if thir bas was at t h t argt ara B Fl ak : From a man altitud of 22,8' th 99th bomb Group xprincd modrat, havy andccurat flak ovr th t argt This was of th barrag typ and 5 aircraft wr hold II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS Air: to opn, 1 on fir Our # 125-22,', 1 B-17 down in flams at 46 4' N, 28 2'E 4 to 6 chuts sn 1255-2,', 1 B-17 of Group ahad wnt down on fir and crashd--no chuts sn 151 - B-17 ditchd at 42 35 'N, 17 'E, 2 bo ats sn hading toward plan II I CONCLUSION : A Total Losss : B Damag : From Flak - O From Fightrs - 1 Othr Rasons - O From Flak - 5 (minor) From Fightrs - O Othr Rasons - O VERNON E FAIRBANKS Maj or, Air Corps, S-2, 99th Bomb Gp (H) 1 7-1 E/A ncountrd, T actics, LTC On formation of 5 M19s mad attacks in lin abrast from 1 to 5 o ' clock lvl Othr ncountrs from 2 o ' clock and 12 o'clock lvl 2 1 Cl aim :On M19 dstroyd by S/Sgt HJ Wilki ns, 18191799, top turrt, RFD #2, Yukon, Oklahoma

16 3 Rsults wr not obsrvd sinc bombs wr droppd thru 1/1 undrcast Smok was sn coming up thru th clouds as formation lft th targt Bombs blivd to hav droppd in SW parts of th city nar or on th M/Y Escort was not obsrvd MISSION: 4 Apri l, 1944 - BUCHAREST M/Y, ROMANIA ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs: Whi l approaching th targt, just aftr laving th IP, this group obsrvd EAC whi ch startd attacking unaggrssivly out of th sun Attacks continud for approximatly 3 minuts As th grou p wnt ovr th targt, attacks bcam mor aggrssiv and svr frontal attacks wr prssd thru th formation, th EAC thn tu rning and attacking from th rar Som singl attacks wr mad from all clock positions and rockts wr fi rd by on formation of six M 19s making a frontal attack Approximatly 35 M 19s, FW 19s, Ma 22s, JU 88s, M llls and M 21s attackd This group's 6 EAC dstroyd and two damagd, with no losss B Flak: Ovr th targt, thi s group xprincd havy, modrat, inaccurat flak of th barrag ty p No aircraft wr lost to flak from thi s group; howvr, a 824 was sn to go down ovr th targt with its wing on fir, on parachut bing obsrvd to opn THi s group passd ovr - 43 24 1 N - 21 47 'E both going to and from th targt and ncountrd havy, intns, accurat flak at this location Svn AC rcivd minor damag from flak rcivd hr CONCLUSION A Total Losss : From Flak - From Fightrs - O Othr Rasons - O B Damag : From Flak - 8 (minor) 1 a/c flak hol d (major) - S/Sgt RN Camron, minor, fac wounds From Fightrs - O Othr Rasons - c D bombs - Victoris : Non Corrctions on Tlphon Mission Rport: Lin 6 should rad - Jtti sond all 3 tons - 5 mi nuts bfor targt, mchanical troubl PHILIP M PHILIPS, Captain, Ai r Corps, S-2, 99t6h Bomb Gp (H) 25 E/A ENCOUNTERED, TACTICS, LTC M 19s - FW 19s, M 21s and fw JU 88s Som had-on rockt attacks coordinatd with rar attacks by fightrs Som out of sun Not too aggrssiv 19s yllow noss and tails with yllow stri ps around wings Illgibl SPECIAL NARRATIVE REPORT MISSION: 5 April 1944 - PLOESTI M/Y, RUMANIA ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : As thi s group approachd th IP, 8 to 1 miscll anous typs EAC, consisting of FW 19, M 19, M 21, and JU 88, wr sn Most of ths AC did not attack at onc, but som singl attacks wr mad during th bomb run and for 1 minuts aftr lavi ng th targt Singl passs wr mad from 6 o'clock low and 12 o'clock lvl This Group 's gunnrs ar claimi ng two EAC dstroyd B Flak : Ovr th targt, th is Group xprincd havy and slight, intns, accu rat flak whi ch hold svral aircraft, causd on casualty and th loss of on ai rplan Barrag-typ flak was that principally ncountrd, although som tracking flak was obsrvd En rout to th targt, havy, slight and inaccurat flak was obsrvd from th vicinity of Mis, Yugoslavi a I I, I II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS 17 Ai r: 152 an unidntifid twin- or 4-ngind A/C followd th formation for about 15 minuts bfor th targt Stayd 5,' blow th formation, out of gunnrs' rang and lft whn flak startd 1526, 2 chuts going down at 45 41' N - 25 42 ' E ' sourc not known II I CONCLUSION A Total Losss: From Flak 1 From Fightrs O Othr Rasons O B Damag : From Flak 25 (minor) From Fightrs Othr Rasons VERNON E FAIRBANKS Major, Ai r Corps, S-2, 99th Bomb Gp 5-6 E/A ENCOUNTERED, TACTICS, ETC Mostly unaggrssiv attacks at targt ara RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS Targ t ara wll covrd Smok riing_up to 15, ' On targt chart #1-11 8-MA, hits at - 17-18-19-2 6 larg 1 1 firs at K-2 Trmndous fi r at SPECIAL NARRATIVE REPORT MISSION: 7 April 1944 - TREVISO M/Y, ITALY I ENEMY RESISTANCE : A Fightrs: Non B Flak : Slight from Chiaggio and Mstri 6 battris 5 mils SW of Trviso, also E of M/Y and W sid of town N and NW of M/Y havy, slight, inaccurat from Padua Light, slight, inaccurat at 44 56 1 N - 12 25 1 E Light from Campana - 45 22'N - 12 E I I I CONCLUSION Damag: From Flak From Fightrs Othr Rasons 25 (mi nor) MISSION: 12 April 1944 - FISCHAMEND MARKET - AUSTRIA I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : Thi s group was not attackd by any xcpt on of th E/AC sn This on M 19 mad an unaggrssiv pass at ight o'clock lvl and did not rturn to th ncountr Eight to 1 M 19s and FW 19s wr obsrvd just bfor and aftr th targt but did not attack On E/AC was sn attacking a 824 at 25, ft just aftr laving th targt and thr othrs attack ing a B-24 group at about 15, ft shortly aftr laving th targt B Flak : Th fi rst wav of AC of thi s group xprinc modrat, accurat havy flak of th tracking typ ovr th targt Practically all AC of this wav rcivd hits and on wnt down in flams as th rsult of a hit whi l laving th targt Svn chuts wr sn to opn from thi s ai rplan Th scond wav of this group ovr th targt xprincd slight inaccurat fl ak whi ch did no damag I I CONCLUSION A Total Losss : From Flak 1 From Fightrs Othr Rasons O

B Damag: From Flak 16 From Fightrs Othr Rasons O RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS : Assignd bldg #13 3() 1 2/4 hit Ara to ast covrd Fw bombs to wst and northwst Firs and xplosions obsrvd MISSION: 13 April 1944 - GYOR A/C FCTY I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : This group obsrvd 15-2 nmy fi ghtrs in th targt ara, immdiatly bfor bombs wr droppd and for about fiv minuts thraftr On squadron rports two ncountrs immdiatly aftr th targt with /a coming in high from 7 o'clock A considrabl numbr of fightrs was sn attacking th 2nd Bomb Group ahad of us whn thy wr ovr th targt Thr wr many of ths attacks, quit aggrssiv with bandits diving down through thir formations, out of th sun B Flak : Slight, inaccurat and havy flak was ncountrd ovr th targt This was of th tracking varity and did no damag to our aircraft II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS Air: 118 hrs - 1 B-17 losing altitud, 2 to 4 chuts opn, thn A/C straightnd out and continud on cours 1139 - B-17 goi ng down at 47 1 N, 18 2 1 E, 8 chuts 115 - B-17 going down ovr targt, 4-1 chuts 125 - B-17 sn going down in spin, 3 mils south of targt, no chuts 1223 - at 45 36 1 N, 17 2 1 E, 1 or 11 chuts wr sn to opn from a 8-17 which conti nud to fly in a wid circl aftr chuts wr obsrvd 115 - A P-47 was sn going down in flams ovr th targt 1152 - Two M 19s wr sn goi ng down in flams aftr ncountrs with F-38s RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS: Bombs 22-11, P- Explosion of vari-colord smok, brown,yllow, gray, grn (as if chmical plant hit) Many fi rs lft burning North nd bridg at 5- hit Oil tanks at 1- on fir Som bombs on hangars at 18 - Q&R - hangars smoking Escort as brifd : Axis of attack 37 dgrs T instad of 36 dgrs T, bcaus 2nd ovrran IP MISSION : 16 April 1944 - BELGRADE, RUMANIA I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs: No fightr rsistanc was ncountrd on today 's mission En rout to th targt, an M 19, M 11, and JU 88 wr obsrvd at various tims Ths a/c stayd wll out At th targt ara, on M 19 was sn at an altitud of 19, 1 but this plan also stayd wll out of rang B Flak: Ovr th targt ara, from a man avrag of 21, 1, th 99th Bomb Group xprincd havy, intns and accurat flak This was of th tracking vari ty and was dscribd by on vtran pilot as th worst h had vr bn through 23 aircraft wr damagd by this flak On pilot statd that vn though h droppd 5 ft a minut off th targt, th flak smd to follow his a/c down and lad hi m all th way Th first flak notd was in a sris of doubl bursts, which was rpatd four tims, bfor all of th battris opnd up and joind in 18 r II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS 19 Air : 1222-23,5 1, a/c #32,65 hit by flak ovr targt, wing shot off spun down at 44 5--rw-, 2 26 1 E, 2 chuts 1322 hrs - 13, 1, B-17 sn going down ad xplodd on ground at 42 42 1 N, 19 1 E, no chuts I II CONCLUSION Total Losss: From Flak 1 From Fightrs O Othr Rasons O Damag: From Flak From Fightrs Othr Rasons 25 (3 svr, 2 minor) Corrctions on Tlphon Mission Rport : woundd, by flak, instad of 6 Lin 12 should rad 5 min sli ghtly VERNON E FAIRBANKS Major, Air Corps S-2, 99th bomb Gp (H) RESULTS ESCORT GVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS : Bombing was sattrd _ som hits on cntr of A/D and among buildings on wst sid Othr hits on th city and adj acnt to th A/D MISSION: 17 Apri l 1944 - BELGRADE I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs: No nmy aircraft wr sn at any tim by this group B Flak : This group ncountrd modrat, accurat, havy flak of tracking and barrag typs ovr th targt which hold a numbr of aircraft and woundd on man It was rportd that most of th bursts of th tracking typ cam in a sri s of four Two of ths bursts appard consistntly to b of a sli ghtly li ghtr color than th rgular flak bursts and mittd a showr of silvr-colord, thi n squar pi cs of light mtal or papr obj cts approximatly 3 or 4 inchs squar Ths floatd slowly down Ths bursts, togthr with th rgular ons followd th A/C in spit of window and som vasiv action It is bli vd this might b usd as a countrmasur agai nst our fforts or as a basis for aimi ng othr battris II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS Air: 1145 - a singl-ngin plan was sn to crash in flams at 44 45 1 E - 19 13 1 E II I CON CL US ION Damag: From Flak - 11 plans, 1 man woundd 33 DROPPED ON TGT 98 75 TONS 5 LB ROX BOMBS 1/1 FUSES 1 CASUALTIES 1 man woundd in thigh by flak RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS : Escort as brifd Assignd targt blivd hit but 9/1 covrag and much smok rndrd accurat obsrvation impossibl Smok rising to 1, 1 could b sn from 2 mils away aftr turning off th targt MISSION: 2 April 1944 - VENICE (SHIPPING) I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : Thr M 19s wr obsrvd at 1335 nar Viconsa at an altitud of Ths stayd out at a distanc B Flak: No flak was ncountrd ovr th targt 25, I

r I' 2 RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS: Escort as brifd Nar misss on shipping in Harbor at Vnic Wathr compltly closd in at original targt MISSION: 28 April 1944 - PIOMBINO I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : Eight to 12 M 19s and FW 19s wr sn first at approximatly 43 45 1 N 13 6 15'E Thr of th M 19s formd up and startd an attac k on on lmnt of this Grop 's formation from 7:3 o'clock high Two of th att acking a/c pld o ff just aftr st arti ng th attack Th thi rd a/c prssd th attac k and is claimd shot down by on of th dfndi ng gunnrs No othr attac ks wr mad on this group On E/AC was sn shot down by an scort a/c at 43 4 1 N, 13 'E B Flak : This Group ncountrd slight, havy, inaccurat fl ak at th t argt Only about 15-2 bursts wr obsrvd En rout to a nd from th targt, intns, havy, accurat fl ak was ncountrd at 43 25 1 N, ll 5 1 E and at 43 32 1 N, 11 34 1 E Slight, havy inaccurat flak was ncountrd at 42 58 1 N, 12 45E On of th Group 's a/c rcivd minor f} k gyificant OBSERVATIONS Ai r: 15 hrs - 2,', 2 chuts obsrvd at 44 32 1 N, l1 35'E, but a/c continud in formation 1615-15, ', B-17 in troubl at 42 5 1 N, 15 1 'E, blivd to hav bn hit by flak ZYYB (call lttrs), spd 15, cours 147 dgrs 8-12 E/A SEEN M 19s and FW 19s wr sn som distanc away at 43 45 1 N, 13 15 'E RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS: Th targt ara was wl l tovrd with hits starting just off shor and c a rrying through th nti r ara Smo k, fi rs, and xplosions sn SPECIAL NARRATIVE REPORT : MISSION : 29 Apri l 1944 - TOULON I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs : Fiv mi ls aftr comi ng off th targt, th 99th Bomb Group obsrvd 2 M 19s at 1151 hours Ths stayd way out and wr sn to mak a pass at 4 P-51s On of th M 19s was shot down B Flak: Ovr th targt, from a man altitud of 22,1', this group xprincd modrat, havy and inaccurat flak This was both barrag and tracking typ No a/c wr hold 3 x 1 lb bombs hung up on 1 A/C and wr jttisond in watr on way back 2 E/A SEEN M 19s, 5 mils o ff th targt Ths mad a pass at 4 P-5ls and 1 M 19 was shot down RESULTS ESCORT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS: An ffctiv smok scrn covrd th targt ara but som darkr smok w as obsrvd comi ng from our particul ar sction of th targt Escort was as brifd MISSION : 3 Apri l 1944 - VARESE A/C FCTY, ITALY I ENEMY RESISTANCE A Fightrs: Starting at 111 hours and continuing until 122, just bfor th t argt, th 99th Bomb Group was attackd by som 3 M 19s, FW 19s, and Ma 22s, at altituds ranging from 2, to 23, 1 21 Th a/c appa rd to com from th Bologna-Frrara-Padua ara and wr first sn by vapor trails ahad of th formation Attacks wr f rom all a round th clock, high, low, and lvl Som attacks wr coordinatd with 3 to 4 /a com1ng in at a tim, schllond right or lft Thy would thn 8tftlr a ff( i!c w rwa3j d?t l [f 1 f q &'JJ; d A nvl1 thn f 9rni R8 d u t :r n c r8ps g a n nd coming in singly,lvl at 6 o'clock Som roc kt firing plans wr also obsrvd Th nmy fightrs wr dark with bl ack crosss, som had silvr bl lis, whil othrs had yl low strips on thi r wings A fw of th nmy fightrs wr sn to pl off and land at Ossalngo A/D, 45 8 1 N, 1 2'E B Flak: Thr was no fl ak at th targt II SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS Air: 113 hrs - A/C #14 wnt down from fightr attack - 8 chuts, 44 35 1 N, ll 2 'E 1116 hrs - 5 s/ a/c just laving Frrara A/D 113 hrs - 7 /a cam up from Vrona A/D and attackd from 1 to 11 o'clock III CONCLUSION A Total Losss: B Damag : From Flak From Fightrs Othr Rasons From Flak From Fightrs Othr Rasons 1 (a/c #14 of 347th Squadron) 12 (minor damag) 3 (mi nor damag) C Victoris: Dstroyd 7 M 19s 1 FW 19 Probably Dstroyd 1 M 19 Damag d 1 M 19 VERNON E FAIRBANKS Major, Air Corps, S-2, 99th Bomb Gp (H) 3-3 E/A ENCOUNTERED, TACTICS, ETC Attackd principal ly from 4 to 8 o'clock in 3 and 4 abrast Som had-on attacks and som from all angls Som rockts fird 1 CLAIMS 8 dstroyd (7 M 19s and 1 FW 19) 1 probabl, 3 damagd (19s) 1 LOST, REASONS: Shot down by fightrs - 8 chuts sn 1 MISSION: Rportd crash-landd nar Trmol i AT FRIENDLY FIELDS RESULTS ESCO RT GIVE TIME AND PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS AND DEPARTURE FROM BOMBERS: Targt was havily hit and all buildi ngs blivd dstroyd or badly damagd xcpt possibly small portion at xtrm NW cornr Escort joind at 139 at 43 62 1 N, 13 36'E and was lost sight of shortly aftrward Rj oind at 1222 at 45 1 N, 8 27'E and rturnd clos to bas n o th following pag s w rprint by prmission of th 8th AFHS 8 F mh Grman govrnmnt, in th pran account of a miss ion by an A crw 1 son of Richsmarschall Himmlr, had ncourag d th ldlling of Allid soldirs by Grman civilians This is not surprising whn on considrs that many of th lctd g1 1'icials of Grmany had criminal r cords This tndncy toward slcting flons for offic prhaps accounts for th prsnt suc ss of His Excllncy, th formr Gnral Scrtary of th Unitd Nati ;, 1 Honorabl Kurt Waldhim 1V ddicat this pi c to him g g

22 VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4 - Srving as th BAFHS Official Journal sinc Jun 1975 - OCTOBER 1984 THE TENTH PUBLICATION YEAR OF THE 8th AF NEWS THE RUSSELSHEIM ORDEAL MISSION TO HANNOVER On 24 August 1944, fiv minuts aftr hitting th assignd targt, an airdrom north of Hannovr, on B- 24 from th 491st BG was crippld by flak Th nin-man crw was forcd to bail out of thir plan, nicknamd, "Wham-Barn, Thank You Mam" Th nos gunnr, William M Adams, landd in th backyard of a farmhous A farmr fd Adams and bandagd his right arm, which was woundd by flak A short tim latr, an oldr man (about svnty yars old) cam into th hous and objctd to th prsnc of Adams Soon aftrward th gun-toting farmr, on a bicycl, guidd his captiv to th town hall of a narby villag Thr Adams joind Haigus Tufnkjian, Elmr Austin and Sidny Brown (navigator, waist gunnr and tail gunnr) Thy wr intrrogatd by a Grman in uniform who could spak only a fw words in English Whn Adams would only giv his nam, rank and srial numbr, th Grman bcam vry angry and calld ovr a man in civilian cloths who struck him across th fac fiv or six tims During th bating, th man in uniform said, "That is what you gt for bombing our womn and childrn" Ths wr th only English words h smd to know Latr in th morning, about 11 hours, thy wr lockd in a small room At about 13 hours, th last mmbrs of th crw wr brought to th cll Th nw additions includd pilot 4918G Rogrs Crw at Langly Fild in Jun 1944: I to r standing - Rogrs, Skul, Cassidy and Robinson; knling - Adams, Austin, Williams, Dumont, Brown and Brininstool Cassidy and Robinson wr attnding school and missd th fatful mission Norman J Rogrs, Jr, co-pilot John N Skul, nginr Forrst W Brininstool, radio oprator Thomas D Willams, Jr and ball turrt gunnr William A Dumont Though Dumont had brokn his ankl in th jump, h was complld to walk on it Brininstool had bn hit in th stomach by flak,but appard not to b suffring much pain At 14 hours thy wr takn to a railroad station, placd in a 3rd Class coach and takn to an air bas, a thr hour train rid away Thy wr qustiond individually by two Luftwaff officrs, who tratd thm dcntly That vning Brininstool and Adams wr takn to a small hospital Brininstool was opratd on by a doctor waring swimming trunks, whil Adams was complld to look on Aftr th flak was rmovd from Brininstool's stomach, thy movd him to anothr airfild and Adams was rturnd to his cll with th rst of th crw Thy wr givn hard brad and cold coff for th vning mal Th nxt morning, at about 9 hours, th crw was givn a fairly good mal, consisting of potatos and svral othr itms, including soup Aftr this mal, th mn wr takn (continud on nxt pag) (continud from 1st pag) to a small villag, in th back of a wagon, and placd aboard a train thr about noon At about 3 on th 26th of August, th train was stoppd on a siding Th prisonrs wr movd from th train during an air raid Aftr th raid th trip was rsumd Thy arrivd in th outskirts of Russlshim ( 15 mi ls SW of Frankfurt) at about 8 hours Th RAF had bombd th city during th night An Opl Works plant is locatd in Russlshim Accompanid by thr Luftwaff guards, th crw lft th train at this point bcaus th tracks wr bombd out ahad Th ight mn wr marchd through th town to rach good tracks on th othr sid As thy ntrd th town, bombd-out popl wr laving Both sids of th strt wr lind with ths unhappy popl Th crw stimatd that thr wr about four or fiv thousand of thm Th following account of vnts was givn by th mayor of Russlshim as rportd latr by US Army Major Luk P Rogrs "As th prisonrs approachd th Par Hotl, thr womn who ran a tobacco shop nxt door, Kath Rinhardt, hr sistr, Margart Witzlr, and th lattr's daughtr, Lilo, bgan to shout at thm, crying, 'Ths ar th trror flyrs, bat thm to dath' A crowd startd to gathr Th crowd was in an ugly mood as a rsult of th raid th night bfor Th thr womn thn bgan to throw stons at th flyrs Th crowd bgan to incras in siz "At this point, Philip Gutlich, a tavrn kpr, struck ont of' th flyrs with a club Th two Grman soldirs guarding thm did nothing to protct thir prisonrs "Th flyrs now startd to run On of th prisonrs had an injurd lg and two of th othrs wr carrying him on thir backs "Hr th local Nazi Party ladr, Josph Hurtgn, cam on th scn In tru Nazi fashion, h soon mad his prsnc flt li shoutd to th crowd to bat th flyrs to dath and fird a pistol in th air svral tims to furthr incit thm "As th hard-prssd flyrs ran along th main strt, thy cam to a sid strt Thy turnd into this in an attmpt to gt away f r om thir attackrs Th crowd, now lik 2) basts, followd thm A short way down this strt, a farmr, Johanns Sipl, bat th prisonrs with a club A factory workr, Gorg Daum, bat thm with a shovl All th whil thy wr bing pltd by bricks and stons A littl futhr along, a railroad workr, Johann Oppr, bat thm so hard with a broom that it brok in his hands ((A crowd startd to gathr in an ugly mood as a rsult of th raid th night bfor Th thr womn bgan to throw stons at th flyrs" "At th nd of th strt was a railroad, along which ran a ston wall about six ft high Th unfortunat prisonrs, tird and badly batn, turnd to th right at this point and crowdd against this wall to protct thmslvs from th mob Th rally brutal phas of th murdr took plac hr Thr factory workrs, August Wolf, Karl Fugmann and Fridrich Wust, cam across from th othr sid of th railroad tracks As th flyrs crouchd togthr against th wall for protction, Wust land ovr th wall and struck thm on th had with a hammr Wolf and Fugmann thrw larg stons and railroad tis on th prisonrs Hartgr, th local Party ladr now took an activ part in th bating and struck svral of th prisonrs on th had with th hammr as thy lay on th ground Thr wr also thr or four mn in Grman Army uniform who participatd in th brutal bating hr Finally whn thr wr no mor signs of lif from th victims, Hartgn shot svral of thm in th had "Th bodis wr thn pild onto a farm wagon and th wagon pushd to th town cmtry Th bodis wr lft thr on th wagon" Adams and Brown rportd that th guards mad no attmpt to protct th Amricans, thy just disappard Dumont, th on with th brokn ankl, was th first to fall Adams was th nxt man to b batn to th ground Shortly aftr- wards, Brown fll to th ground and playd possum H was covrd with blood from th blows to his had Whn th mob dcidd that all wr dad, thy thrw th mn into a small hay wagon Dumont was thrown in first, thn Adams and thn Brown As th wagon movd down th strt thy pickd up and thrw th othrs on top Brown knw that Skul was still aliv as h askd him to mov ovr a littl to giv him som brathing room H did Thy pulld th wagon for 15 or 2 minuts bfor stopping Things wr much quitr now Only two or thr voics could b hard Brown attmptd to pp out, bing carful not to mov H saw a prson, with a club in his hand, com ovr to th wagon - apparntly to finish thm off Skul's hand was on Brown's shouldr Brown could fl him winc as this prson bat him ovr th had Brown flt Skul's hand slid from his shouldr as h did Williams was hard to mak a sound as h was finishd off An air raid sirn soundd and th attackrs ran for covr Aftr waiting 1 or 15 minuts aftr vryon had lft, whn it was compltly quit, Brown and Adams got out of th wagon It appard that most of th crw had bn killd by this tim Thy could s that Tufnkjian had his had split opn Rogrs' had was cavd in on on sid by what must hav bn a 2 x 4 Thy saw that thr was a chapl in th middl of th gravyard Th two survivors, Adams and Brown, ran for this chapl, staying thr for a fw minuts whil Brown rmovd his hatd flying suit Thn thy procdd in a wstrly dirction, living on appls, hiding in th woods in th daytim and travling at night Th mayor of Russlshim rportd, "In th vning, Hartgn wnt to th cmtry and som mor shots wr hard Th nxt morning, th murdrd flyrs wr burid in a common grav" Adams and Brown wr capturd four days latr, 1 Sptmbr 1944, by a policman H said that thy had rachd th Rhin Rivr Thy wr thn snt to narby Obrusl, th Luftwaff intrrogation cntr nar Frankfurt Thy rmaind thr for two days Th intrrogators nvr qustiond th

bandags on Brown's had Nor did thy mntion th mob action Adams and Brown wr snt to Stalag Luft IV (NE of Brlin, nar th Baltic) by train On 6 Fbruary 1945, th Grmans startd marching th prisonrs, crossing th Elb Rivr svral tims Sidny Brown bcam sick in March and was movd to Stalag 357 (h thinks) William M Adams and th othr prisonrs wr libratd by th British on 2 May 1945 Brown and Adams wr runitd at LHavr latr in May Th two of thm locatd Brininstool and informd him, for th first tim, of th fat of th rst of th crw This story of th atrocitis at Russlshim has bn picd togthr by combining th dposition statmnts mad by William M Adams (4 Octobr 1945 and 7 July 1945) and Sidny E Brown (26 July 1947) along with a rport of th Burgrmistr's account of that trribl 26 August 1944 day Our thanks go to Sidny Brown (now a rsidnt of Gainsvill, Florida) for snding a complt st offils on this tragic cas Adams did in 198, Brininstool is a rtird machinist, and Brown is a mmbr of th 8AFHS Th story of th war crims trial in 1945 follows THE RUSSELSHEIM CASE by Luk P Rogrs, Major, MP (Editor's not: Most of th dtails of th assault hav bn dltd from this account as thy hav bn rportd in th story abov) Th shocking murdrs first bcam known to th Amrican authoritis whn th Third Army took Russlshim at th nd of March 1945 Th story was thn told by th Frnch and Polish slav laborrs thr Nothing was don at that tim to invstigat this crim, bcaus th combat troops had to kp pushing on and, as yt, th US Army War Crims Branch was not fully organizd A rport of th murdrs was snt to Third Army Hadquartrs, which in turn forwardd it to Twlfth Army Group Hadquartrs So th mattr rstd until th arly part of Jun In th mantim, th Army War Crims Branch, whos principal function was to invstigat crims against prisonrs of war, was bing organizd I was assignd as a war crims invstigator to th 491 BG 8-24 Librator lik th on th Norman J Rogrs crw was flying on 24 August 1944 Twlfth Army Group at Wisbadn at th nd of May In looking through th fils, I pickd out th Russlshim cas for arly action Th fil consistd of a rport by a Third Army Officr suggsting that th cas b invstigatd and a story snt by a rportr to th London Daily Exprss at th tim th Amrican Army took Russlshim Nithr rport containd any nams of prptrators or dtails of th crim Early in Jun, (accompanid by an assistant and an intrprtr) I st out for Russlshim Our first stop was th Grman polic station Th chif had not livd in Russlshim at th tim that th flyrs wr murdrd, but h knw about th cas and had prpard a list of twnty-on prptrators, gathrd from town gossip (To our surpris, most of thm still livd in town) W qustiond (th mayor, Burgrmistr Dorflr, a rluctant witnss) for svral hours and for th first tim got th full story And a brutal and shocking story it was Th burgrmistr claimd that h was not an ywitnss to th murdr but had hard all about it on th day it happnd Early th nxt morning [ 14 of th prsons namd] wr placd in th Darmstadt jail I 18 mils south of Frankfurt and 13 mils SE of Russlshim) W could now go to work to gathr vidnc for th trial [W] wnt looking for ywitnsss Many of ths popl wr not vry willing to talk As w qustiond ths popl, mor and mor of th tragic dtails of this cas wr rvald Whn th mob first formd around th flyrs and th cry was takn up - "Bat thm to dath!" - on of th prisonrs, who could spak Grman, crid out, "W didn't bomb Russlshim" Furthr along, this sam prisonr had crid out, "Don't kill m - I hav a wif and two childrn" It bcam incrasingly clar that th two sistrs, Kath Rinhardt and Margart Witzlr, wr th first ons to shout at th prisonrs and to incit th crowd Thy wr also th first ons to us violnc by throwing stons and in th cas of Kath Rinhardt, by striking on of th flyrs on th had with a larg pic of slat and knocking him down On witnss told us that ths womn had boastd for days aftr th murdr that if it hadn't bn for thm, th flyrs would hav procdd unharmd It also bcam clar that Hartgn took command aftr h cam on th scn H immdiatly bcam th mob ladr On witnss told us that in th brutal finish at th railroad wall, Hartgn wnt along xamining th bodis and would tll th othrs, "Bat this on - h's still aliv" I Wust was arrstd in Oppnhim] W now had all of th prptrators xcpt Hartgn and th thr Grman soldirs W bgan our intrrogation of th prptrators in th Darmstadt jail What a poor collction thy wr - all typical small-town louts A fw of thm admittd playing a small part in th murdr Th nxt job was th unplasant on of disintrring th bodis for vidnc Whn th grav was opnd, w found for th first tim that th flyrs wr Amricans Th popl of Russlshim had thought thy wr Canadians W wr surprisd to find only six bodis whras almost vrybody had tstifid that thr wr ight flyrs in th group W dug in vry dirction around th grav but could find no mor bodis Whil thy wr badly dcomposd, thr was still vidnc of horribl skull and body injuris In addition, most of thm had bn shot in th had on or mor tims!aftr xamination l th bodis wr burid in th Amrican cmtry I at Bnshim] It was now th nd of Jun and th cas was rounding into shap for trial Colonl Lon Jaworski of Houston, Txas, on of th ac trial lawyrs of th Army I in 1984 w know him from th Watrgat trials l, was assignd to proscut th (Continl!d on pag 17) THE RUSSELSHEIM CASE (Continud from pag 3) cas W wr notifid on day that Hartgn had bn locatd in on of th Svnth Army nclosurs W rqustd that h b transfrrd immdiatly to th Wisbadn jail Colonl Jaworski intrrogatd Hartgn aftr h arrivd Hartgn rfusd to admit anything H was th toughst on of th accusd Colonl Jaworski qustiond him all morning and told him som of th vidnc w had against him Th Colonl lft som papr and a pncil with him and told him to writ th truth about his part in th murdr W thn wnt to lunch Whn w cam back to th jail about an hour latr, w found that Hartgn had slashd his wrists on th sid of th bd H had writtn on in papr, 1 will not o a traitor Hil Grmany!" H signd this with his thumb print in blood I H rcovrd in about a wk I Th trial was hld on July 25th in th old Grman Courthous in Darmstadt bfor a six-man military commission hadd by Brigadir Gnral Garrison Davison Th dfndants wr rprsntd by Lt Col Rogr Titus of Boston and by Grman lawyrs of thir own choosing Th courtroom was opn to vryon bcaus th Army wantd to show th Grmans that th dfndants wr rciving a fair trial Th courtroom was packd vry day of th trial, many of th spctators bing rsidnts of Russlshim Th trial lastd six days Colonl Jaworski prsntd about forty ywitnsss for th proscution Th dfns consistd of claiming xtnuating circumstancs for th accusd inasmuch as th murdr took plac a fw hours aftr th town was s badly bombd In som cass th accusd also producd charactr witnsss Hartgn had th gall to ask th local prist to tstify as to his good charactr, but th prist rfusd saying that Hartgn was th biggst Nazi in Russlshim In thir summations, th Grman lawyrs rsortd to th dfns that is now th usual thing at Grman war crims trials, that of blaming th crim on somon highr up Thy put th blam variously on Hitlr, Gobbls, Himmlr and svral othrs Aftr th proscution and th dfn rstd, th commission, having dlibratd for about ight hours announcd its vrdict Josph Hart gn, Fridrich Wust, Kath Rinhardt, Margart Witzlr ' Philip Gut ' I ich, Johann Oppr and Johanns Sipl wr sntncd to dath by hanging Gorg Daum was sntncd for twnty-fiv yars at hard labor and Hinrich Barthl and August Wulf to fiftn yars at hard labor Karl Fugmann was acquittd About thr wks aftr th trial a startling fact cam to light W discovrd that thr wr two survivors of th murdr Gnral Davidson rcivd a lttr from two soldirs stating that thy had rad about th trial in th nwspapr Thy rvald that thy had bn mmbrs of th crw and had scapd during th night from th farm wagon in th Russlshim cmtry Nithr of th two could giv any nams or blivd that thy could idntify anybody Aftr all, it was thn a yar and a half aftr th crim I couldn't hlp thinking what an advantag it would hav bn if w had had ths two survivors with us whn w bgan our invstigation of th cas Th rcord of th trial was rviwd by th Svnth Army authoritis, and Gnral Kys, commanding gnral, commutd th dath sntnc of th two womn to thirty yars in prison W couldn't s th basis for this dcision inasmuch as th two womn wr ky instigators of th murdr and wr mor guilty than som of th mn condmnd to dath On Novmbr 1th, th fiv mn wr hangd in th Army prison at Bruchsal, nar Hidlbrg!Latr th missing soldirs who had participatd in th atrocity wr namd, Franz Umstattr was trid at Dachau and sntncd to dath Th articl was writtn bfor th othr soldirs wr found] This story, found in th July 1947 issu of Tru Dtctiv Magazin, was snt to us by Sidny E Brown - 491BG H also snt a xrox copy of pags 96 through 15 of "Crossroads," by Lon Jaworski, with Dick Schnidr Jaworski givs his account of that trial H says that it was th first war crims trial of World War Two Brown rmmbrs that th story of th trial was first rportd by a Nw York Tims rportr in July 1945 To our knowldg, this vnt has not bn rcntly rportd Our intrst in this cas was first raisd whn qurid, by a TV rsarchr, Irna Von Zahn, on th location of survivors of"th Russlshim Massacr" It appars that Sudwst Funk ARD (a Grman TV company), Erich Bottlingr - Producr, will b broadcasting a part of this story in Grmany arly in 1985, on or nar th 4th annivrsary of th nd of th War Your ditor was stationd in Darmstadt, South of Frankfurt and SE of Russlshim for two yars, 195-1952, and nvr hard on word about this tragic cas It is tim it is brought to light onc mor, forty yars latr And Nazi propaganda was not mrly a war of words It was a stratgy of trr9r Th blood purgs, th pogroms, th Black Mass in worship of forc at Nurmburg, th concntration camps, th fifth columns oprating onnly bhind th front irs of Grmaay 1 s nxt victims wr dmonstrations of Naz( boasts and thrats lading to action Civilians wr drivn to hystrical floght in on country aftr anothr; but thr was caus for thir panic, and forc backd up th propaganda Stukas div-bombd th woffin and childrn who chokd th roads Nazi propaganda was As good as its word 'l'h Grma ns rally wr su_p rmn and it was folly to rsist p152 +,-o- A Mo"1 Cc:,, lld l"'tvp,"d