Operation: Melun Airfield (Mission #412), Germany

Date: 14th June 1944 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 749th Bombardment Squadron (H), 457th Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G Local Mission

Serial No: 42-97579

Code: :U

Location: Near Crisenoy, 9¾ km (6 mls) NE of Melun, France

Base: Glatton (Station #130), Huntingdonshire, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Roy Walter Allen O-753841 AAF Age 26. Id No: 78357 *, PoW No 8931 ** (1)

Co Pilot: 2nd Lt. Verne Herbert Lewis O-753800 AAF Age 28. PoW ***

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Joseph Cleveland Brusse O-702893 AAF Age 23. PoW **

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Lawrence ‘Red’ Anderson O-684104 AAF Age 23. KiA (2)

Engineer: S/Sgt. Roy Edward Plum 19141311 AAF Age 22. PoW ****

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. Ernest Leo Smith 38326562 AAF Age 26. Evader (3 & 4)

Ball Turret Gnr: Sgt. William Charles Goldsborough 33564473 AAF Age 19. Evader (3, 5 & 6)

Left Wing Gnr: Sgt. Leonard Sanford Henson 16166761 AAF Age 21. Evader (3 & 4)

Right Wing Gnr: Sgt. Gordon B. Long 15097529 AAF Age 24. Evader (3 & 5)

Tail Gnr: Sgt. John Maxwell Miller 16074005 AAF Age 24. Evader (3 & 5)

* Buchenwald concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany in July 1937.

** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria).

*** Stalag 7a Moosburg, Bavaria (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse and 3368 Munich).

**** Stalag Luft 4 Groß-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland (Moved from Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug on 28th May 1944. Moved to Wöbbelin near Ludwigslust and then to Usedom near Swinemünde).

REASON FOR LOSS:

The Local Mission took off from Glatton at 05:30 hrs on the 14th June 1944 to join a force of bombers to attack the Melun airfield in France.

On this day the airfield was bombed in mid-morning by 50 B-17 Fortresses. 2 x Ju88 from III./KG 6 were damaged. There was 160 hits on the runways, the taxiways were hit, buildings damaged and the airfield was rendered unserviceable. (Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 France - By Henry L. deZeng IV)

An eyewitness account by 1st Lt. Ennis E. Brown, a pilot on the 749th Bombardment Sqn, described the following:

‘When on the bomb run, the lead group, of which Lt. Allen was #3 man of the lead squadron, was attacked by fighters. His #2 engine was on fire from the fighter attack and a few seconds later a close flak burst knocked out #3 engine. I watched his ship for a few seconds while it was losing altitude and making a slight turn to the left. The ship seemed under control; I paid no further attention to it’.

Aboard the Local Mission the fighter attack set #2 engine ablaze and on the second pass knocked out #3 engine and shot away the control cables. The aircraft lost altitude and peeled off to the left. The order to bale out was given and all the crew successfully baled out.

The aircraft crashed and exploded near Crisenoy, 9¾ km (6 mls) NE of Melun.

2nd Lt. Brusse and S/Sgt. Plum where captured near Châtres, some 14 km (8½ mls) NNe of the crash site. The circumstance leading to the capture of 2nd Lt. Lewis are unknown.

(1) The circumstances of 1st Lt. Allen’s evasion are unknown, however, it is believed that he was the third evader mentioned by Sgt. McManus from B-17G 43-31346 Shack Rabbit in hiding with him whilst at La Chapelle-Lasson and Estissac.

It is believed that he was betrayed and arrested on the 11th August 1944 in Paris along with 2nd Lt. Brown and S/Sgt. Robson from B-17G 43-31346 Shack Rabbit.

He was then taken to the Fresnes prison located to the south of Paris. This was where French political prisoners were held and ordinarily Allied airmen, after questioning, were moved to a PoW Camp. In the summer of 1944, with the Allies having liberated Paris and closing in, the Gestapo guards started reducing the prison population by execution, and then relocating surviving prisoners to various concentration camps east of France. On the 15th August 1944 the was amongst 169 Allied PoWs and hundreds of French men and women who were packed into a freight train and transported to Buchenwald concentration camp on a journey lasting five days. Buchenwald was located 8 km (5 mls) north of Weimar, in the German province of Thüringen. It was established and administered by the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Fg Off. Joel Mathews ‘Tex’ Stevenson C27788 RCAF, the pilot of 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF Lancaster X KB727 VR:H escaped from the train and successfully evaded.

Sqn Ldr. Lamason and Fg Off. Chapman succeeded in getting all but two of the Allied PoWs transferred to Stalag Luft 3. Two airmen, 1st Lt. Levitt Clinton Beck Jr. O-736945, US AAF and Fg Off. Philip Derek Hemmens, 152583, RAFVR died in the sick Barrack

Recognition:

For decades the International Red Cross (IRC) had stated that there were no military personnel in Buchenwald despite the overwhelming documentary and anecdotal evidence. It was not until 1988 that the IRC eventually confirmed the airmen were illegally held at Buchenwald.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments also consistently denied that any of their service personnel were ever held in concentration camps and refused to investigate the claims made by a 'mere’ handful of men.

Reparations were made to the British airmen who had been illegally held at Buchenwald in 1965. Eventually in 1988 the Australian, New Zealand and it is believed the Canadian governments acknowledged that their airmen had been illegally held in concentration camps.

American airmen were among those who received compensation and the US Air force have acknowledged the Buchenwald airmen with an exhibit at the Air Force Museum, albeit the airmen are shown in uniform rather than in civilian attire. Furthermore, there is no mention of decades-long denial of their experiences by other branches of the government.

1st Lt. Allen was too sick to leave Buchenwald with the other airmen but followed them to Stalag Luft 3 on the the 28th November 1944.

On the night of the 27th January 1945, with Soviet troops only 26 km (16 mls) away, orders were received to evacuate the PoWs to Spremberg which is to the West in Germany. The PoW’s were informed of the evacuation, which was on foot, at about 22:00 hrs the same night and were given 30 mins to pack and prepare everything for the March. The weather conditions were very difficult, with freezing temperatures, and it was snowing accompanied by strong winds. There was 15 cm (6 in) of snow and 2000 PoWs were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main groups.

The first groups of American PoW’s set out from the South Compound with the last PoW leaving at 23:00 hrs. The next group of American PoWs set out from the West Compound. At 03:45 hrs the North Compound left, followed by the Centre Compound. At 06:00 hrs the East Compound left. All the groups were accompanied by guards.

After a 55 km (34 mls) march, the PoWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours. The PoWs were then marched the remaining 26 km (16 mls) to Spremberg where they were housed in empty garages, storerooms and in military barracks. There they were provided with warm soup and bread.

During next days, PoWs were divided up according to Compounds, and they were led to railway sidings and loaded into tightly packed carriages.

On the 31st January, the South Compound prisoners plus 200 men from the West Compound were sent to Stalag 7A at Moosburg followed by the Centre Compound prisoners on the 7th February.

The camp was liberated on the 29th April 1945 by units of the 14th Armoured Division from Patton’s 3rd Army.

(2) The circumstances leading to the death of 2nd Lt. Anderson are unclear. Sgt. Henson received information from 2nd Lt. Brusse that 2nd Lt. Anderson had been found with his parachute unopened. It was speculated that he may have been killed by flak before he could open his parachute.

However, Sgt. Long believed that he saw 2nd Lt. Anderson in his parachute as he descending next to him and thought that he was either dead or unconscious as he was unable to attract his attention. He never saw him again.

About two days later S/Sgt. Goldsborough was informed that a Frenchman has seen an airman floating down in a parachute with his head hanging back as if his neck had been broken. S/Sgt. Goldsborough’s supposition was that 2nd Lt. Anderson, having baled out of the forward lower escape hatch, he may have struck an open bomb bay door as the aircraft was on its bomb run when the order to abandon the aircraft was given.

His cause of death may be determined from 2nd Lt. Anderson’s Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) of which we currently do not have a copy.

(3) S/Sgt. Smith’s Escape and Evasion report describes the timeline of his and Sgt. Henson’s escape and evasion, and the initial evasion for the other three SNCOs from the crew:

“The pilot gave orders to bale out somewhere in the vicinity of Provins. Sgt. Henson, Sgt. Long, Sgt. Goldsborough, Sgt. Miller and myself all landed in the same area, near a little village called Bannost-Villegagnon. Some Frenchmen were waiting for us when we hit the ground, and were all in their hands within about 10 mins.

Sgt. Henson and myself were taken by the French to a little Alfalfa field where we hid our equipment, were given civilian clothes, and stayed until that night. After dark a wagon filled with hay came by and food was tossed to us by the driver. The same night we were taken to a cafe in Bannost-Villegagnon where we found Sgt. Long, Sgt. Goldsborough and Sgt. Miller safe in the hands of the French. We stayed in a room above this cafe for three days.

Note: The name Alfalfa is used in the USA. The name Lucerne is the more commonly used name in the UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It is a crop cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop.

On 17th June a Mme Reist came to see us and made arrangements to have us taken to a deserted farmhouse This turned out to be a storage for arms and ammunition that the French were stockpiling. We were left there to guard the place, each of us having been given a sub-machine gun and a .45 pistol.

Mme Reist had taught school for 10 years in Detroit, Michigan, and could speak good English.

We were then taken to Nangis where we stayed for five days in a room above a sugar factory”.

(4) “Sgt. Henson and myself left Nangis on about 21st June and taken to Montigny-le-Guedier, whilst Sgt. Miller, Sgt. Long and Sgt. Goldsborough remained behind.

Whilst staying at the home of a priest in Montigny-le-Guedier he told us that seven RAF men shot down in the vicinity had been buried in the Communal Cemetery by the French.

These airmen have been identified as the crew from Lancaster III EE148 from 626 Sqn which was shot down on the 3rd/4th May 1944.

The priest was also sheltering two German deserters and a Belgian national.

The next day on the 22nd June we rode some 140 km (87 mls) by bicycle to Lagny-sur-Marne. We stayed there for two days and were then moved again, this time to Dampmart, where we stayed with a baker by the name of Michel Place, at 7 rue du Chateau in Dampmart where we remained until the American troops arrived”.

Note: Michel Place had sheltered 17 other Allied airmen and was part of the ‘Bourgogne (Burgundy) Escape Line’.

(5) After Sgt. Henson and Sgt. Smith had departed Sgt. Miller, Sgt. Long and Sgt. Goldsborough remained in hiding at Nangis for the next two weeks.

When the Gestapo arrived in the village and arrested two Frenchmen who where in possession of a radio transmitter it was decided to move the three airmen. On the 12th July the three were moved to Lagny-sur Marne where they were sheltered overnight. The next day they went to Paris by train and were take to the home of Mme Develay at 91 Rue d’Alésia in the south of Paris. Sgt. Goldsborough was taken to another location.

They remained here for three weeks and received new clothes. They were then taken by truck to Leuville-sur-Orge, south of Paris, where they stayed with a Georges Dubois at his shop.

Whilst there they met with a resistance chief at his home who was hiding a number of other Officers and NCO airmen from their own BG. The NCOs have not been identified but three of the officers where aboard B-17G 42-97062 from the 749th BS/457th BG which was the lead aircraft on the same mission:

Pilot: Capt. Malcolm E. Johnson O-802120. He was wounded and so that he could get medical attention the French handed him over to the Germans;

Co-Pilot: Lt Col. Raymond L. Cobb O-22445. He was the command pilot and had suffered a broken leg. So that he could get medical attention the French handed him over to the Germans;

Nav: 1st Lt. Roy A. Hoegh Jr. O-694371. He was the lead navigator who was wounded but was treated in a French hospital then hidden in Paris and liberated by American forces.

On or about the 23rd August 1944 Sgt. Miller and Sgt. Long were liberated by American forces.

(6) Sgt. Goldsborough’s Escape and Evasion report does not record where he was being hidden after he, Sgt. Henson and Sgt. Smith arrived in Paris on the 13th July. On or about the 23rd August he was liberated by American forces and he returned to England on the 28th August 1944.

Burial details:

Above: Courtesy of The Knoxville News Sentinel, dated February 23rd, 1945

2nd Lt. Lawrence Anderson. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), Purple Heart. Recovered and reinterred in the US Military Cemetery Solers at Melun, Plot G, Row 4, Grave 72 during June 1945. Repatriated and buried at the Knoxville National Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee, Plot X-63A on the 10th November 1948. Born on the 3rd April 1921 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Husband to Frances J. (née Carlton or Taylor) Anderson of North Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Mar 2023). Update to include forced-march information (Jun 2024).

Other sources listed below:

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt