Operation: Munich (Mission #476), Germany

Date: 13th July 1944 (Thursday)

Unit No: 709th Bombardment Squadron (H), 447th Bombardment Group (H), 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial No: 43-37788

Code: IE:?

Location: Boullarre, France

Base: Rattlesden (Station #126), Suffolk, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Russell Duane Hilding O-757199 AAF Age 23. Id No: 78326 *, PoW No: 8141 ** (1 & 2)

Co-Pilot: 1st Lt. George Clinton Mong O-818190 AAF Age 21. Evader (3)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Claude Alford Kelly O-708477 AAF Age 21. Evader (4 & 5)

Bombardier: 1st Lt. Raymond Eugene Wojnicz O-761487 Age 25. Id No: 78367 *, PoW No: 8159 ** (1)

Engineer: T/Sgt. Fred Douglas Gleason 35553245 AAF Age 22. Evader (4)

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Horace Robert Di Martino 13070451 AAF Age 26. Evader (6)

Ball Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. Harry Earl White 34669697 AAF Age 22. Evader (6)

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Erwin Reed Williams 16148892 AAF Age 23. Evader (7)

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Emory Joseph Markham 32478254 AAF Age 21. Evader (4)

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Joe William Stewart 14182585 AAF Age 23. Evader (6)

* 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).

REASON FOR LOSS:

B-17G 43-37788 took off from Rattlesden at 05:00 hrs to join a mission to bomb the Munich Aero Engineering Works.

The aircraft was hit by flak over the target causing damage to #4 engine and resulting in the feathering of the propeller. Later five Bf109s attacked the aircraft but were driven off by friendly fighters. The aircraft was last seen straggling behind the formation but under control.

The aircraft ran out of gas when two engines cut out and the last began to lose power.At about 13:00 hrs all of the crew bailed out and the aircraft crashed at Boullarre, about 30½ km (19 mls) WNW of Château-Thierry, France.

(1) 2nd Lt. Hilding and 1st Lt. Wojnicz were betrayed and arrested in Paris early in August 1944.

They were 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 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 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.

They were 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) Russell Duane Hilding passed away on the 7th November 2021 aged 100. Russell was the last surviving member of the USAAF Buchenwald airman (4th June 1921 - 7th November 2021).

(3) 1st Lt. Mong baled out and landed at 13:05 hrs about 8 km (5 ml) south of Betz and about 15 km (9 ml) north of Meaux.

Not much was recorded about his evasion other than he was hidden by the French in Acy, Crépy-en-Volois and Gondreville, that he was interviewed on the 4th September 1944 after which he returned to his unit.

He last saw 2nd Lt. Hilding and 1st Lt. Wojnicz in Crépy-en-Volois, 2nd Lt. Kelly on the 14th July in Collinance some 15 km (9½ ml) SE of Crépy-en-Volois and Sgt. Williams in Paris on the 3rd September.

(4) T/Sgt. Gleason landed near Boullare, some 32 km (20 ml) ESE of Senlis. He found S/Sgt. Markham, his Left Waist Gunner, lying nearby with a broken arm. T/Sgt. Gleason approached a farmer who gave them food and wine and brought them some burlap bags for bedding, and told them to remain in the woods for the night.

The next morning they decided that the farmer was not going to get them help so T/Sgt. Gleason fashioned a splint for S/Sgt. Markham’s arm, and they walked to the village of Boullare. Arriving there some people watching from a house beckoned them to come in, fed them, and took them to another house in the village where they found 2nd Lt. Kelly, their Navigator.

Here civilian clothes were provided and a doctor was called in to tend S/Sgt. Markham’s arm. He remained there for treatment while T/Sgt. Gleason and 2nd Lt. Kelly moved on to another village for the night. The next morning two men from the village took them by bicycle to Béthisy-Saint-Martin, 19 km (12½ ml) NE of Senlis, where they lived for two weeks.

Another two men then called for them and took them to an unnamed village north of Senlis where they stayed one day. The next day they were led into the woods where they met with a Gendarme who gave them Identity Cards and then led them back into Senlis to another safe house. Here they met two South Africans who had been captured at Tobruk and had escaped from a German prison camp.

The South African soldiers are believed to have been:

Pte. Ebrihem Adams was attached to the 1st Field Company, SAEC, South African (SA) Indian Malay Corps captured in the desert on the 23rd November 1941;

Pte. Rudolph Hoover of the 101st SA Reserve Motor Transport, SA Indian Malay Corps captured in the desert on the 28th June 1942.

Two days later T/Sgt. Gleason and 2nd Lt. Kelly were given new clothes and shoes, and taken to meet with another Gendarme who took them to Chatilly, some 8½ km (5¼ ml) to the east of Senlis.

At the railway station he turned them over to another escort who was accompanied by an Australian evader. The three evaders were taken to the escort’s apartment in Paris, some 38 km (24 ml) to the south, where they met up with another evader from Scotland.

The Australian and Scotsman have not been identified.

After two nights in this apartment the escort led T/Sgt. Gleason and the Scotsman to a railway station where they were handed over to another escort and a young boy. Shortly thereafter another escort arrived with another RCAF evader who joined the group.

The two escorts, the young boy and the three evaders took the train to Étampes, some 50 km (31 ml) to the south, and from there walked south about 14 km (8¾ ml) to Méréville where they stayed the night in a Café.

The RCAF airman has not been identified.

The next morning the three evaders were escorted to Voves, some 35 km (22 mls) to the west, where they spent a night on a farm.

The next morning they were escorted to Bonneval, some 21 km (13 ml) to the SW, where they picked up two more Americans, Sgt. Lane and Sgt. [sic] Spinks and went to a farm 4 km (2½ ml) north of Bonneval.

Lane was T/Sgt. Joshua D. Lane, Engineer from B-17G 42-31568 (457 BG/748 BS) shot down on the 14th June 1944;

Spinks was 2nd Lt. Heyward C. Spinks, Pilot of P-51B 43-6985 (357 FG/364 FS) shot down on the 20th June 1944.

The next day three Frenchmen who carried a German passes arrived in an vehicle and transported the five evaders to the camp in the forest near Cloyes, some 24 km (15 ml) to the SSW.

This camp was code named ‘Sherwood’ and was part of operation ‘Marathon’. It was located in the Forêt de Fréteval and was in operation from May to August 1944.

The camp commanded by a British officer, named Lucien, and a tall, blonde Belgian, Jean initially held 31 evaders. When the camp had grown to hold 60 men, a second camp was started on the 25th June about 10 km (6¼ ml) away at a place called Richeray.

Lucien is believed to Wg Cdr. Lucien Adolphe Boussa DFC, MC (Code name ‘Belgrave’) a Belgian National and Battle of Britain fighter pilot. Jean is believed to the Belgian Baron Jean de Blommaert (German nickname ‘The Fox’).

On 10th August two British officers arrived in a jeep at a neighbouring farm and Lucien ordered the men to break camp, and went off to get transportation. While he was away some American tank destroyers came into the forest and most of the men went with them back to their Battalion HQ. From here the evaders were given transportation to Le Mans. They were then sent to 9th Air Force HQ where they were given orders and arranged their transportation to UK. On the 18th August they flew to RAF Northolt.

(5) 2nd Lt. Kelly was tragically drowned on the 9th July 1945 whilst he and two friends were swimming in the Ohio river off a home-made sailboat which was blown away by the wind.

Above: Courtesy of The Courier Journal, dated July 10th, 1945

(6) After S/Sgt. Di Martino baled out he landed near a small wood in the in the vicinity of Neufchelles. About 10 mins later, by sheer coincidence he met up with Sgts. White and Stewart.

The three of them kept to the woods and tried to make their way quickly away from the vicinity. After about 2¼ km (1½ ml) from where they had landed they were followed by a woman and girl. They decided to stop and ask for help and told them as best they could that they were American airmen.

The young girl immediately told them to hide in the woods, and that she would bring someone who could speak English. This man came after dark and took them to a hotel in Lizy-sur-Ourcq some 10 km (6 ml) south of Neufchelles. Here they were hidden in a room on the 2nd floor where an RAF airman, named James Nealy, was already hidden.

Believed to be Sgt. J.A. Nealey 1590700, the Flight Engineer from 619 Sqn, Lancaster III LM378 shot down on the 18th July 1944. He was the only survivor.

Three days later on the 24th July two Gendarmes arrived with Gendarme uniforms for us. Dressed in the uniforms they were then taken to a home in Vert Galent, some 19 km (12 mls) NE of the centre of Paris, where they stayed in a garage for the next two weeks.

On the 6th August they were split up and put into different homes. S/Sgt. Di Martino and Sgt. Stewart were moved to Tremblay-lès-Gonesse where they stayed until American troops arrived in the town.

The name Tremblay-lès-Gonesse was changed to Tremblay-en-France in 1968 and is some 16 km (10 ml) NNE of the centre of Paris.

Sgt. White was then moved to Livry-Gargen, a commune some 15 km (9 ml) NE from the centre of Paris, where he stayed until the American troops liberated the area.

(7) Nothing is known about S/Sgt. Williams’ escape and evasion except that he was wounded in the left arm and that he was last seen by 1st Lt. Mong in Paris on the 3rd September 1944.

Burial details:

None - all the crew survived.

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