Operation: Mission Detroit, France

Date: 6th June 1944 (Tuesday)

Unit No: 85th Troop Carrier Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group, 52nd Troop Carrier Wing, 9th Air Force

Type: Waco CG-4A

Serial: 42-79200

Code: 90

Base: Ramsbury (Station #469), Wiltshire, England

Location: In the vicinity of Sainte-Mère-Église, France

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Stratton Mayfield Appleman O-673709 AAF Age 24. Id No. 78341 *, PoW No. 8125 **

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Walter L. Cobb O-673710 AAF Age? Returned

Cpl. William E. Nutter 35137262 80th AA Bn. Age? Returned

Pfc. Lee E. Parson 35137149 80th AA Bn. Age? Returned

Pvt. Frank F. Skufca 35389523 80th AAA Bn. Age? Returned

* 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).

A U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A-WO glider (s/n 42-79211) in 1943 (By USAAF - National Museum of the U.S. Air Force photo 060505-F-1234P-004, Public Domain)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Operation Detroit commenced at 01:19 hrs with 52 planes of the 437th Troop Carrier Group, each towing a Waco glider, on the 6th June 1944 in support of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Map courtesy of the Derbyshire Times

Waco CG-4A #42-79200 towed by C-47 #42-100660, Chalk #19, took off from Ramsbury, carrying a 57mm (6-pounder) anti-tank gun and three members of the 80th AA Bn, for the Sainte-Mère-Église area to the west of 'Utah' Beach.

80th AA Bn = 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft (AA) Battalion (Bn), 82nd Airborne Division, US Army.

The following was a statement by 2nd Lt. Cobb who was the last person to see 2nd Lt. Appleman:

“On the morning of June 6, 1944, 2nd Lt. Stratton M. Appleman, O-673709, 85th TC Sq, 437th TC Gp, and myself set our glider down at 4:15 AM in France in the following geographical position: Grid T-30.8-89.2.

Our 57mm gun and three man gun crew were brought down in good shape. 2nd Lt. Stratton M. Appleman, O-673709, 85th TC Sq, 437th TC Gp, believing we were northeast of our LZ, set out on a reconnaissance patrol in a south-westerly direction. We waited until 11:00 AM at which time the enemy arrived. After a short fight in which three of the enemy were killed, we were forced to retreat. I haven’t seen Appleman since”.

The circumstances leading to his initial capture on the 6th June, his escape and recapture on the 19th July 1994 are not known. What is know is that he was taken to Saint-Quentin civilian prison where he remained for 8 days before he was then taken to the Fresnes prison located to the south of Paris.

It could be surmised given the location of Saint-Quentin that he was being transported to Dulag Luft at Wetzlar to the north of Frankfurt when he escaped and was then recaptured.

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 he 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.

He was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 over the period 15th to 20th October 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

He remained in the Air Force and retired from active duty as a Colonel in 1964. He was a member of the 437th Troop Carrier Group Association from 1976 until his death.

Burial details:

None. The crew and troops survived the war.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jun 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