Operation: Frankfurt Marshalling yards (Mission #208), Germany

Date: 4th February 1944 (Friday)

Unit No: 548th Bombardment Squadron (H), 385th Bombardment Group (H), 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial No: 42-31295

Code: Squadron codes issued but not displayed during hostilities.

Location: 13 km (8 mls) SE of Hasselt, Belgium

Base: Great Ashfield (Station #155), Suffolk, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Billy N. Horstman O-746349 AAF Age 27. PoW *

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. William Kosseff O-751152 AAF Age 22. Evader (1)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Vernon Edward Kisinger O-674681 AAF Age 21. PoW * (2)

Togglier: S/Sgt. John Patrick Hanson 32518092 AAF Age 30. Id No: 78280 **, PoW No. 8170 *** (3)

Engineer: T/Sgt. Alexander Stanley Swider 33087688 AAF Age 25. Evader (4)

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. Albert Lee Seely 11115008 AAF Age 24. PoW No. 1209 ****

Ball Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. Otto Vernon Roskey 18114921 AAF Age 22. Evader (5)

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Paul Webb Millner 38288809 AAF Age 23. PoW No.1343 ****

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Earl Flaherty 17090552 AAF Age 22. PoW No. 1319 ****

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. James Vernon Gilliam, Bronze Star, 35477362 AAF Age 24. PoW No. 2537 **** (6)

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

**** 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 morning of the 4th February 1944 B-17G 42-31295 took of from Great Ashfield to join a force of bombers to attack the Frankfurt Marshalling yards in Germany.

Homebound the aircraft was hit by flak causing it to fall out of formation and was then attacked by three Fw190s, some 48 km (30 mls) west of Aachen, knocking out three engines and setting fire to both wings.

A consolidated after mission report described that at about 13:27 hrs, in the vicinity of Aachen, Germany aircraft #42-31295 was attacked by three (3) Fw190s. The lower half of the rudder was shot away. The aircraft peeled off to the left and after about 4 mins, went into a series of dives, eventually going into a spin. The aircraft broke up before hitting the ground. Although only seven chutes were seen, returning crews thought that everyone could have baled out.

Aboard the aircraft the crew baled out, the last two believed to be S/Sgt. Roskey and S/Sgt. Seely, were literally blown out when the aircraft disintegrated forward of the Ball Turret at 24,000 ft.

The aircraft wreckage crashed about 13 km (8 mls) SE of Hasselt and 28 km (17 mls) north of Liége, Belgium.

(1) 2nd Lt. Kosseff was slightly injured by a small piece of flak in left thigh. He baled out from about 26,000 ft with a solid undercast down to the ground and very low visibility on the ground.

As soon as he landed, some 10 km (6 mls) NE of Hasselt, local people approached him and took his parachute and Mae West and indicated that he should to leave the area. After walking for 3 or 4 hours he came to a farmhouse on a paved road with a tramway. When he explained who he was, they took him in, fed him, and gave him civilian clothes.

The following day he left for Brussels with a Belgian guide and a Dutch boy who was escaping from work in Germany. They took a tram to Hasslet and then a train to Tirlemont (Tienen) where they stayed at Kabbeekvest 24. The next day they went to Brussels and stopped at the Hotel Amsterdam (no longer exists) for one day.

They then moved to a house on Rue de Erasme, in the district of Anderlecht in Brussels. On the 8th February 1944 they were moved to Chaussée de Mons 434 (Bergensesteenweg) in Anderlecht. After about two weeks the Dutch boy left and 2nd Lt. Kosseff was joined by a Lt. G.P. Dechambre.

Lt. G.P. Dechambre was 2nd Lt. Gerald P. Dechambre O-682013 who was the Bombardier from B-17G 42-37756 'Roaring Bill' (335 BS, 95BG) shot down on a mission to Frankfurt on the 24th January 1944. (1 KiA, 6 PoW, 3 Evd).

In the first week of July they had to move because a local girl tried to extort them for a large amount of money in return for not turning them over to the Germans. They returned to Chaussée de Mons 434 a week later and remained in hiding until Brussels was liberated by British forces on the 4th September 1944. They were interviewed on the 9th September and then returned to England the next day.

(2) 2nd Lt. Kisinger’s escape and evasion story is the same as that of S/Sgt. Roske. It was after he and S/Sgt. Roskey went their separate ways that he was captured and became a PoW see No. (4).

(3) S/Sgt. Hanson’s baled out and but his escape and evasion story is unknown until he reached Vise where he met up with 2nd Lt. Kisinger, S/Sgt. Roskey and a FO. Chalot see No. (4).

After he and FO. Chalot went their own way in early April their escape and evasion story is unknown except that they were attempting to reach Allied forces in Normandy when they were captured on or about the 7th July 1944 see No. (4).

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 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.

(4) T/Sgt. Swider baled out and landed between Vlijtingen and Hees west of Maastricht. He hurt his foot on landing and could not move for about 45 mins. About an hour later he stopped a Belgian man who then took him to a place where 2nd Lt. Kisinger was hiding in a haystack. That evening they were moved to a house where they met S/Sgt. Roskey. At about 23:00 hrs they walked to Kanne some about 8 km (5 mls) to the east, and stayed there for about seven days with a Dutchman.

A member of the "Armee Blanche" (actually the Witte Brigade) took them to Ében Émael, some 2¼ km (1¼ mls) to the south, where they stayed for about 3 days with a French family who were also hiding some men who had escaped from Germany.

Note: Witte Brigade or "White Brigade" was the name of the Belgian underground organisation during WW2.

The Witte Brigade member then took them to Vise where they joined with a P-51 pilot named John Chalot, from New York and S/Sgt. Hanson. They remained in hiding here for about 40 days and then moved across the river Meuse to a large farm.

John Chalot was Flight Officer (FO) John Andre Chalot T-223068, Pilot of P-51B 43-6554 shot down on the 11th March 1944.

After this there were a number of moves over the next 7 days cumulating at Tilff, some 21 km (13 mls) to the south of Vise. One day they had to make a run for it when the German moved into Tilff. They then walked together for a further 3 km (1¾ mls) to Esneux where they split up. FO. Chalot, S/Sgt. Hanson and T/Sgt. Swider headed towards Jumel some 250 km (155 mls) to the SW. 2nd Lt. Kisinger and S/Sgt. Roskey headed for Switzerland.

The three took a train to Florenville, which is some 95 km (59 mls) to the south and close to the French frontier. They then continued on foot, crossed the frontier and reached a town not far from Sedan some 24 km (15 mls) to the west of the frontier. They continued walking in a south-easterly direction for Switzerland. In early April they reached a location south of Étian and Fresnes-en-Woëvre, some 76 km (47 mls) SE of Sedan where T/Sgt. Swider could walk no further so FO. Chalot and S/Sgt. Hanson see No. (2), continued on without him.

T/Sgt. Swider slept for two days in trenches during which was very cold. He was suffering from dysentery from drinking contaminated water but continued on foot in a southerly direction through Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes, Thillot, Billy-sous-les-Côtes, Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel, Heudicourt-sous-les-Côtes, Buxierulles, Wionville, Apremont-la-Forêt getting food where he could and travelling on main roads.

He carried on through Boucq, Trondes, Laneuveville-derrière-Foug, Foug, Chaloy-Ménillot, Blénod-lès-Toul, Bagneux, Allain, Crepy and Golviller, an overall distance of some 92 km (57 mls). It was in the vicinity of Golviller, where he was given help from a farmer who took his to Praye, about 10 km (6 mls) to the SE, and sheltered him for 28 days while he recovered. On about the 27th May the farmer provided him a bicycle and escorted him to the Swiss border, a journey of two days. They travelled off main roads which avoided towns on a general route through Miracourt and Dompaire, and then on main roads through Saint-Loup-sur-Semouse, Luxeuil-les-Bains, Lure, Héricourt, Montbéliard and Fêche-l’Enlise, an overall distance of some 169 km (105 mls) and just 3¼ km (2 mls) from the Swiss border.

Here he was handed over into the care of Contrabanders who smuggled tobacco over the border and waited for 4 days for a guide. On the 3rd June 1944 he crossed into Switzerland in the region of Saint-Dizier-l’Évéque in France and Boncourt in Switzerland.

He turned himself into the police and claimed that he was an escapee from German captivity and because had been helped by Germans he declined to give the name of the camp.

According the Hague Convention ‘evadees’ or ‘escapees’ should be unconfined and free to leave the county anytime they wished:

Internees were considered combat soldiers who had sought refuge;
Evadees were supposedly unarmed and separated from their units;
Escapees (Evadés) were considered to be helpless former PoWs.

He was taken to Porrentruy, some 13 km (8 mls) to the south of Boncourt, where for he was held for 3 days. Whilst here he was questioned by a Swiss Intelligence Officer who asked him where and when he had been shot down, what plane he flew, what Squadron and Group he came from. He was given 2 hours to talk or he would returned back across the frontier. T/Sgt. Swider decided that was not going to be threatened in this manner and not only refused to answer any questions but insisted on seeing the Military Authority (MA) at the American Military Legation in Berne.

With 4 or 5 other Americans he was sent to Lostorf, some 65 km (41 mls) to the east of Porrentruy, where they were detained for about 24 days. During this time he provided what military information he had to a British Officer. He met a USAAF officer named Hickman whom he thought was the Senior American Officer (SAO).

Hickman was 1st Lt. John T. Hickman O-439695 US AAF, was the pilot of P-51A 43-6170 from the107th Tactical Recce Squadron, 67th Tactical Recce Group lost on the 3rd May 1944 on a reconnaissance mission in the Le Touguet-Ameins area of France. He was captured but escaped from a train on the 7th May 1944.

From here he was to taken to Berne where he was turned over to the American Military Legation where he wrote down his experiences without any real interrogation. He was then taken to Glion where he was in a hotel with some 26 others. In total there were some 128 others American and Commonwealth airmen in the town.

Glion is a village, some 700 m (2300 ft) above sea level, overlooking the NE shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and some 130 km (81 mls) to the SW of Bad Lostorf. It appears that he was not treated as an internee.

They were only permitted to visit the town of Montreux located nearby on the shore of Lake Geneva and were subjected to bed checks at night to which they objected but the Legation were of no help in this matter.

He was required to sign an order not to leave Switzerland without the MAs permission. It is appears that he told a Capt. Lehman that he was leaving and did not get any disapproval from him.

Lehman was Capt. Theodore Lehman O-666050 US AAF was the Bombardier from B-26B 41-31644 of the 555th Bombardment Sqn (M), 386th Bombardment Group (M), lost on a mission to Gilze-Rijen, Holland on the 22nd February 1944 (1 KiA, 4 PoW, 3 Evd).

On the 25th August, accompanied by Woodis, Westerlund, Garbish and an Englishman named Mitchell, they started to row in a boat across the lake but a storm forced him back.

Woodis was Sgt. Roe Stanley Woodis was the Ball Turret Gunner from B-17G 42-31595 'Sweat’er Out' lost on a mission to Ludwigshafen on the 27th May 1944. (2 KiA, 6 PoW, 1 Evd);

Westerlund was S/Sgt. Charles H. Westerlund 31275855 US AAF, was the Radio Operator on B-24J 42-110060 from the 702nd Bombardment Sqn (H), 445th Bombardment Group (H), lost on a mission to Gablingen, Germany on the 24th April 1944 (2 PoW, 8 Evd);

Garbish was S/Sgt. Joseph Garbish 35583145 US AAF, was the Ball Turret Gunner from B-17G 42-102572 from the 728th Bombardment Sqn (H), 452nd Bombardment Group (H), lost on a mission to Strasbourg on the 27th May 1944 (6 PoW, 4 Evd);

Mitchell was Sgt. Richard John Mitchell 943315 RAFVR, was the Mid Upper Gunner from Lancaster JB679 EA:D of 49 Sqn lost on a mission to Schweinfurt on the 26th April 1944. (5 KiA, 1 PoW, 1 Evd).

After this failed attempt T/Sgt. Swider went to Vevey, some 10½ km (6½ mls) NW along the shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), where he met 1st Lt. John T. Hickman, who had already arranged for someone to take him out of Switzerland.

He went to the restaurant Temperence (no longer exists) which was a Délégation générale de la Résistance en Suisse (DGRS) (General Delegation of the Swiss Resistance) location in Switzerland

On the 28th August he went with 8 Frenchmen to Troistorrents, some 36 km (22 mls) south of Vervey, and shortly thereafter was driven by truck across the border to Thonon-les-Bains, some 54 km (33½ mls) west of Troistorrents, on the French side of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva).

From there he went to Annecy, the northern shore of Lac d’Annecy and then onto Grenoble, some 106 km (66 mls) to the south, where he met up with American forces. He returned to England via Corsica, Naples, Algiers and Casablanca arriving back in England on the 9th June 1944.

(4) S/Sgt. Rosksy landed SW of Hees about 10 km (6 mls) west of Maastricht. He had been blown out of the aircraft at about 24,000 feet and fell free for some 15,000 feet. He almost lost his back pack parachute when it opened but he stayed in his harness partly because his hands were frozen together. After he landed he spent about ten minutes thanking his lucky stars and disposing of his equipment.

For a time he hid in a haystack and then with the aid of his phrase card asked a Belgian girl for assistance who took him to the last house on the SW corner of the village where about four families lived were together.

That night he was taken to Kanne where he stayed for 4 days. Whilst there he was joined by T/Sgt. Swider and 2nd Lt. Kisinger. From this point forward his story is the same as T/Sgt. Swider, see No. (4), until they reached Esneux, where the group split up with him and 2nd Lt. Kisinger heading for Switzerland.

After about 3 days they reached the Forêt d’Herbeumont (Forest) some 3½ km (2 mls) east of the town of Herbeumont. Before arriving there they were stopped by Germans but managed to bluff their way out of difficulty. They found that their route to Florenville had many Germans in their way.

Reaching the Forêt d’Herbeumont they joined a Witte Brigade group. This group where involved in sabotage activities using dynamite stolen from the Germans. S/Sgt. Rosksy and 2nd Lt. Kisinger assisting in blowing up railway lines and water tanks.

However, they became bored because of the lack of action and set off on their own again. They crossed into France between Bouillon and Florenville. After a couple of days later they decided that it was too dangerous to continue together and he and 2nd Lt. Kisinger went their separate ways.

It was after this that 2nd Lt. Kisinger was captured and became a PoW.

For the next two days he received food from farmhouses but slept under the stars. When he neared Verdun, some 60 km (38 mls) SSE of the frontier, a forester advised him to seek an Identification Pass from the Chief of Police in Verdun. However, he thought that this was too risky and ignored the advice.

Later he was taken in by Frenchman and sheltered for 3 or 4 nights. Whilst there he was provided with Identity Papers but was informed that it would be a month or so before the local escape organisation could arrange for his move onwards. He was not happy with the delay and decided to head off by himself again. After walking for some 47 km (29 mls) to the SSW he caught a bus in the vicinity of Commercy which he rode to Nancy some 43 km (26 mls) to the east.

He arrived at Nancy a day after the Americans had bombed the town so continued by bus, after given a welcome reception by the bus company, to Épinal, a further 60 km (37 mls) south, and again he arrived just after the Americans had bombed the town. During this leg of the journey a number of Luftwaffe pilots joined the bus after their airbase had been attacked.

After arriving at Épinal he decided to continue on foot but it began to rain hard so he stopped at a house and was given shelter when he explain that he was an American.

The head of the local resistance offered to drive him to Switzerland by truck. During the following week Épinal was bombed again by the Americans. During the raid a PoW camp, (the nationalities of the occupants were unknown) was hit with some 700 being killed and 1100 wounded. There were also a number of PoWs who escaped so he decided it would be prudent to move on before the search for the escapees intensified.

He followed the power lines as a guide and covered some 90 km (56 mls) over 4 or 5 days reaching Champgney. During this journey he received food but no shelter. When nearing Présentvillers, a further 32 km (20 mls) to the south, he was helped by a group of Contrabanders (smugglers) who arranged for him to cross into Switzerland. On the 12th May 1944 he crossed the frontier and made his way to Porrentruy where he surrendered to the Swiss authorities.

From here he was taken to Alten where he was held for 7 days, then onto Lostorf, some 42 km (26 mls) to the NE of Porrentruy, where they were detained for about 21 days. He was then moved onto Glion for the remainder of his stay in Switzerland.

Glion is a village, some 700 m (2300 ft) above sea level, overlooking the NE shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and is some 130 km (81 mls) to the SW of Bad Lostorf. It appears that he was not treated as an internee.

During his stay in Switzerland he was questioned about the assistance he had received in crossing the frontier and who assisted him in German occupied territory but he refused to answer their questions.

After he was released he arrived back in England on the 4th October 1944.

(6) S/Sgt. Gilliam evaded the Germans until the 5th March 1944 when he was captured and became a PoW.

Burial details:

None. All 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