Operation: Oissel railroad bridges, France

Date: 8th May 1944 (Monday)

Unit No: 596th Bombardment Squadron (M), 397th Bombardment Group (M), 98th Combat Wing, 9th Air Force

Type: B-26B Hamilton Hay Maker

Serial No: 42-96143

Code: X2:B

Location: Aubervillé about 14½ km (9 mls) ESE of Dieppe, France

Base: Rivenhall (Station #168), Essex, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Elmer Clayton Freeman O-805432 AAF Age 21. Id No. 78359 *, PoW No: 8138 ** (1)

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Harry Elwood Walter O-805539 AAF Age 27. PoW **

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. George Adam Hofmann O-741310 AAF Age 26. PoW **

Engineer/Gnr: Sgt. Oscar Eugene Young 39852035 AAF Age 23. Evader (2)

Radio Operator/Gnr: S/Sgt. Henry Joseph Hodulik 32766661 AAF Age 21. Evader (2)

Gnr: Sgt. Marion Rose 35623274 AAF Age? PoW ***

* 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 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:

On the 8th May 1944 B-26B Hamilton Hay Maker took off from Rivenhall at about 08:30 hrs on a mission to bomb the railroad bridges in Oissel, France.

En route back to base after the mission the Hamilton Hay Maker was hit by flak which knocked out the left engine, caused damage to the right engine and damaged the power system resulting in the bale order being given.

All the crew successfully baled out at about 7,000 ft before the B-26 crashed at the Ferme (farm) Martel near Aubervillé about 14½ km (9 mls) ESE of Dieppe at 10:36 hrs.

2nd Lt. Walter was captured in Agranville at 10:55 hrs, about 4¼ km (2½ mls) SE of Aubervillé;
2nd Lt. Hofmann was captured in Saint Vaast-d’Équiqueville at 11:20 hrs, about 8 km (5 mls) south of Aubervillé;
Sgt. Rose was captured at Bosc Geffroy some 18 km (11¼ mls) ESE of Aubervillé.

(1) 2nd Lt. Freeman was helped by the family at Chateau Boissay near Londinièries, some 11 km (6¾ mls) SE from the crash site, who put him in touch with the local French underground movement.

He was then moved to Maison Celles at Avesnes-en-Val, some 9¾ km (6 mls) north of Londinièries, where he remained for 2½ months.

He was then moved to Eu, some 14 km (9 mls) to the north of Avesnes-en-Val, where he remained for one day where he was picked up by a guide, who turned out to be a Gestapo agent. When they arrived in Paris he was arrested by the Gestapo.

He was transferred to Fresnes prison, located to the south of Paris, on the 2nd August 1944 at 20:30 hrs. 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 they were 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 receiving 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.

(2) S/Sgt. Hodulik baled out and landed near Neuville, 8 km (4¾ mls) NE of Mesnières-en-Bray and hide for several hours but no one approached him.

Above: Courtesy of The Courier News, dated 23rd May 1944

He then walked south all that night and the next day obtained civilian clothes for a farmer. At Mesnières-en-Bray he decided to try and buy a railway ticket to Paris. The ticket-seller was very helpful, took him to his home and then contacted helpers. He remained with him from the 9th May to the 13th May and then moved to a home in Neufchâtel-en-Bray, some 5¾ km (4 mls) to the SE, where he met up with Sgt. Young.

Sgt. Young baled out and landed near at Clais, some 8 km (5 mls) NW of Neufchâtel-en-Bray. Here he was aided by a Belgian farmer who hid him for 3 days. On the 10th May he was moved to a home in Neufchâtel-en-Bray and three days later S/Sgt. Hodulik joined him.

The two of them remained there for about 6 weeks with a 10 day stay at a nearby farm before returning and remained until the 28th June. They were than moved to another home in the town. On the 1st July the town was bombed and they were moved back to the farm and remained there until the 4th September.

On the 1st September they reported to a Allied Polish officer who told them to stay put until the arrival of more Allied troops. However, on the 4th September they decided to make their own way to Allied lines. They hitch-hiked to Dieppe arriving there on the 5th or 6th September and spent several days there before being flown back to the UK by the RAF on the 9th September 1944.

Burial Details:

None. All of the crew survived

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