Operation: Glennevillies (Mission #431), France

Date: 22nd June 1944 (Thursday)

Unit No: 339th Bombardment Squadron (H), 96th Bombardment Group (H), 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial: 42-102552

Code: QJ:J

Base: Snetterton (Station #138), Norfolk, England

Location: Between 6½ km (4 mls) and 7½ km (4½ mls) SE of the target.

Pilot: 1st Lt. Jay Harold Horn O-809957 AAF Age 22. KiA

Co-Pilot: Flight Officer (FO) John James Murray Jr. T-061942 AAF Age 20. KiA

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Stephen John Manzek O-706947 AAF Age 22. PoW *

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Harry Oscar Ubbins O-751688 AAF Age 19. PoW **

Engineer: T/Sgt. Henry Grady Morris 18079889 AAF Age 26. KiA

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Frank Kirby Cowan 38444832 AAF Age 21. ID No: 78271 ***, PoW No: 8166 **** (1)

Ball Turret Gnr: Sgt. Clifford Ned McCreary 35128361 AAF Age 29. KiA

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Lester Nathaniel Weimer 33498704 AAF Age 22. KiA

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Anthony Louis Monaco 32701655 AAF Age? KiA

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Anthony Francis Vigliante 32871295 AAF Age? KiA

* Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

** Stalag Luft 7a, Moosburg, Southern Bavaria, Germany.

*** 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 42-102552 took off from Snetterton during the evening of the 22nd June 1944 on a mission to bomb the Oil Storage facilities at Glennevillies in Paris.

The aircraft was hit by flak just after bombs away. The entire tail assembly broke away from the aircraft as it spun down to the ground. The wreckage crashed in the streets of Rue Pajol and Rue Ricquet, straddling the Pajol-North railway station in Paris.

The two streets are between 6½ km (4 mls) and 7½ km (4½ mls) SE of the target.

Before 2nd Lt. Ubbins baled out he saw 1st Lt. Horn trying to get of T/Sgt. Morris out of the Top Turret. He also mentioned that S/Sgt. Vigliante was found outside of the tail section with his parachute unopened. He saw FO. Murray under his parachute close to the Seine River and heard that he landed in the river and drowned. S/Sgt. Monaco and S/Sgt. Weimer were last seen in the waist section apparently wounded.

A German document recorded that on the 23rd June 1944 2nd Lt. Ubbins was admitted to the closed prison ward on the 9th floor of the Luftwaffe Lazerett (o) 5./III in Paris. He had suffered a fractured ankle and was treated for 6 weeks. Sgt. McCreary was also admitted to the Lazerett but died shortly afterwards from his injuries.

All the casualties except for T/Sgt. Morris were identified by the Germans.

(1) T/Sgt. Cowan was sheltered, provided food and civilian clothes in a house in northern Paris for 6 days from the 23rd June 1944. He was then moved to 20 Bd de Sébastopol in Paris where he remained for 10 days until the 7th July 1944. He was betrayed and captured on the 8th July 1944 at about 16:30 hrs.

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.

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.

Burial details:

The crew members that perished were transferred to the mortuary of the Luftwaffe Lazerett (o) 5./III in Paris and were initially buried in the Clichy Cemetery.

1st Lt. Jay Harold Horn. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster). In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 6, Grave 110.Repatriated and laid to rest at the North Lawn Cemetery, Canton, Ohio. Born on the 4th November 1921 in Canton, Stark, Ohio. Son of Alta Jacob (deceased February 1936) and Pauline Marie (née McGregor) Horn of Canton, Stark, Ohio, USA.

Above: Grave marker for FO. John J. Murrey Jr. (Courtesy of Andy Anderson - FindAGrave).

FO. John James Murray Jr. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), Purple Heart. In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 2, Grave 29. Relocated to the Epinal American Cemetery Plot B, Row 6, Grave 15. Born on the 31st December 1923 in Ossining, New York. Son of John James and Mabel Vidalia (née Wildey) Murray of Ossining, New York, USA.

T/Sgt. Henry Grady Morris. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster). In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 6, Grave 116. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Restland Memorial park Cemetery to Texas. Born on the 26th January 1919 in Terrell, Texas. Son of Reuben Cook and Dora Margaret Ann (née Clamp) Morris. Husband of Leatrice Ruth (née Carder) Morris of Terrell, Texas, USA.

Sgt. Clifford Ned McCreary. Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 6, Grave 118. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Middleton Cemetery in Kildav, Kentucky. Born on the 16th March 1915 in Coxton, Kentucky. Son of Will (deceased in July 1942) and Mary Burkhart (McCreary) of Evarts, Kentucky, USA.

Above: Grave marker for S/Sgt. Lester N. Weimer (Courtesy of Andy Anderson - FindAGrave).

S/Sgt. Lester Nathaniel Weimer. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), Purple Heart. In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 6, Grave 113. Relocated to the Epinal American Cemetery Plot B, Row 5, Grave 21. Born on the 28th June 1921 in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Son of Howard Oscar and Sara Ellen (née Miller) Weimer. Husband to Twila Gene (née Bowman) Weimer of Trevorton, Pennsylvania, USA.

Above: Grave marker for S/Sgt. Anthony Louis Monaco (Courtesy of Andy Anderson - FindAGrave).

S/Sgt. Anthony Louis Monaco. Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), Purple Heart. In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 6, Grave 117. Relocated to the Epinal American Cemetery Plot B, Row 34, Grave 46. Son of Clementine Monaco of the Bronx, New York, USA.

S/Sgt. Anthony Francis Vigliante. In late June or early July 1945 he was reinterred in the US Military Cemetery at Melun in Plot H, Row 2, Grave 27. Repatriated and laid to rest in New York. His brother John R. Vigliante from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA was his recorded Next-of-Kin. No further details found.

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