Operation: Laon-Couvron airfield (Mission #416), France

Date: 16th June 1944 (Friday)

Unit No: 526th Bombardment Squadron (H), 379th Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial No: 42-31648 Ensign Mary

Code: LF:H

Location: 1 km (1100 yds) SE of Saint-Pierre, Pontpoint, France

Base: Kimbolton (Station #117), Huntingdonshire, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. George McHugh SS, DFC, O-686487 AAF Age 21. KiA

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Edward Ingard Peterson O-818216 AAF Age 22. Evader (1)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Robert Dellas Reese O-696144 AAF Age 23. PoW *

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Charles Reed Atkinson O-661578 AAF Age 26. PoW *

Engineer: S/Sgt. Lester Anthony Tullier DFC, 18151084 AAF Age 21. KiA

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Russell Jerry Groat 32234818 AAF Age 26. PoW Unknown Camp

Ball Turret: S/Sgt J. Kelly Shaw 18194306 AAF Age 20. Evader (2)

Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. George Thompson 15130076 AAF Age 26. PoW **

Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. Bruce Scott Little 20367086 AAF Age 22. Id No: 78301 ***, PoW No: 8174 ** (3)

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

** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria).

*** Buchenwald concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany in July 1937.

Caption on reverse of the photograph: ‘Lt. McHugh and crew of the 527th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bomb Group, pose for the photographer at an 8th Air Force base in England 7 April 1944’ (Official USAAF photograph – Courtesy of Fold3)

The only two identified so far are: Front: 1st on left 1st Lt. George McHugh and standing 5th from left: S/Sgt. Lester Anthony Tullier.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 16th June 1944 B-17G 42-31648 Ensign Mary took off from Kimbolton and joined a force of 17 B-17s on a mission to bomb the Laon-Couvron airfield in France. On a second bomb run the Ensign Mary was hit by Flak which set fire to the left wing.

All of the crew except for 1st Lt. McHugh baled out of the aircraft.

2nd Lt. Peterson believed that 1st Lt. McHugh had suffered injuries and also appeared to be stunned after the aircraft had been hit by Flak. He tried to persuade 1st Lt. McHugh to bale out first but without success and when the aircraft was down to 13,000 ft he gave up and baled out himself.

2nd Lt. Peterson believed that S/Sgt. Tullier had suffered an injury from Flak. However, according to Maquis sources S/Sgt. Tullier was machine gunned in his parachute during his descent. The Germans claimed that his body was found in the crashed aircraft.

He received further conflicting information, which firstly claimed that S/Sgt. Tullier had survived for a short time and was cared for at a Château 24 to 32 km (15 or 20 mls) SE of Pont-Sainte-Maxence and secondly, that he was dead on landing. With the current information available the circumstances leading to the death of S/Sgt. Tullier cannot be determined.

The aircraft crashed 1 km (1100 yds) SE of Saint-Pierre, Pontpoint, 14½ km (9 mls) NE of Creil in France.

(1) 2nd Lt. Peterson suffered wounds to his wrist and forehead aboard the aircraft from Flak splinters.

After he baled out he landed in the Forêt (Forest) Domaniale de Compaiègen to the NE of Pont-Sainte-Maxence. His parachute was caught up in a tree which he could not retrieve in order to bury it with his Mae West.

He was immediately given help after he landed and remained with the people who had initially help him and with the people in Villers-Saint-Frambourg, Oise and Paris where he came under the protection of the French Resistance. Around the middle of August he was then was taken to a camp situated in the Forêt (Forest) Fréteval in France.

This camp was part of ‘Operation Marathon’ which was a plan to hide evading Allied airmen in secret camps in France and Belgium. The Forêt Fréteval camp was code named ‘Operation Sherwood’ and eventually held more than 130 Allied airmen. The camp was liberated on the 11th August 1944.

2nd Lt. Peterson was interviewed on the 15th August 1944 and then returned to his unit.

(2) There was little information in S/Sgt. Shaw’s Escape and Evasion report other than he was wounded aboard the aircraft and that he landed near Verberie due east of Pont-Sainte-Maxence, at 19:30 hrs. French friends disposed of all his equipment.

He was interviewed on the 19th August 1944 and returned to his unit.

(3) All that is known about the escape and evasion for S/Sgt. Little was that he was taken to Prevot house in Paris, questioned by someone posing as a British agent who handed him over to the Gestapo.

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 Germans reported that both casualties were buried in the Community Cemetery at Pontpoint, but 2nd Lt. Peterson reported that 1st Lt. McHugh was buried in Pont-Sainte- Maxence according to the doctrines of the Catholic Religion. He was accorded a colourful burial in Grave 414, with 200 flower girls and a long procession. This was in direct violation of the orders of the German Commandant of the town and as a result the priest and town mayor were arrested.

Above: Grave marker for 1st Lt. George McHugh (Courtesy of Rich – FindAGrave)

1st Lt. George McHugh. Silver Star, DFC, Air Medal, Purple Heart. Recovered and interred at the US Military Cemetery Champigneul at Châlons-sur-Marne, Plot C, Row 6, Grave 139. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Born on the 28th March 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. Son of Timothy Thomas and Louise Marie (née Pittelkow) McHugh of Chicago, Illinois, USA.

On the 27th October 1997, a Silver Star medal and a Certificate for Gallantry in Action were presented posthumously to 1st Lt. George McHugh, 379th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He is remembered for his courageous action that saved many lives on the 16th June 1944.

Above: Newspaper article regarding the award of the Silver Star to 1st Lt. George McHugh (Courtesy of the Newsday, dated 27th October 1997)

S/Sgt. Lester Anthony Tullier. DFC, Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters). Recovered and interred at the US Military Cemetery Champigneul at Châlons-sur-Marne, Plot K, Row 6, Grave 126. Repatriated and laid to rest at the St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Plaquemine, Louisiana. Born on the 28th September 1922 in Louisiana. Son of Evenie J. and Emily Mary (née Daigle) Tullier of Plaquemine, Louisiana, USA.

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