Operation: Pölitz (Mission #425), Germany

Date: 20th June 1944 (Tuesday)

Unit No: 565th Bombardment Sqn (H), 389th Bombardment Group (H), 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-24J

Serial: 42-100351

Code: EE:?

Base: Hethel (Station #114), Norfolk, England

Location: 2 km (1¼ mls) SE of Keldsnor on the island of Langeland, Denmark

Pilot: 1st Lt. William Benedict Powers Jr. O-685312 AAF Age 24. PoW * (1)

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Oscar James Boudreaux O-806395 AAF Age 25. PoW * (2)

Nav: 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. O-703098 AAF Age 22. MiA/Recovered

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Robert Thomas McCollum O-695508 AAF Age 22. MiA/Recovered

Engineer: T/Sgt. Joseph Danis Jr. 13132354 AAF Age 20. MiA

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Brenton Warren Baker 33205519 AAF Age 23. MiA

Ball Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. Jessie Charles Vancil 36579752 AAF Age 21. MiA

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. John Henry Danneker 33509557 AAF Age 19. MiA/Recovered

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Richard Pittman Gordon 15109231 AAF Age 27. MiA

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Robert William Holly 35568251 AAF Age 22. MiA

* Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria

Above: left 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. (Courtesy of usafdo-FindAGrave), right T/Sgt. Brenton W. Baker (Courtesy of Carolyn deloach, Retired Graver-FindAGrave).

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the morning of the 20th June 1944 B-24J 42-100351 took-off from Hethel (Station #114), to join a force of three-hundred and fifty-eight (358) bombers to bomb three (3) targets including Pölitz in Germany.

Enroute to the target the concussion from a nearby burst of Flak caused 42-100351 to collide with 42-95144, also with the 389th BG, NW of Kiel in Germany. 42-95144 was the lower aircraft and had its complete tail assembly cut off and went spinning down.

B-24H 42-95144 (565th BS, 389th BG) – (Insert link) Flown by 1st Lt. Herschell R. Chappell who along with three (3) of his crew are posted MiA. Six (6) others were recovered from the sea of whom one (1) was repatriated to the United States. The tenth (10th) crew member was the Ball Turret Gnr, S/Sgt. Jacob G. Heilich who survived and became a PoW at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan.

An after mission account of the collision of 42-95144 and 42-100351 and their loss by S/Sgt. Ray W. Romick 10675263:

“We were going into the target and were a few miles NW of Kiel, Germany when two the planes collided. I was tail gunner on aircraft 42-95240. I saw the planes within a second after they collided. The lower plane, 52-95144, had its tail assembly completely cut off and it immediately went into a spinning dive.

The upper plane, 42-100351, lost a propeller but otherwise seemed intact and was trailing a white vapour might have been gas or oil. This plane seemed for a short time to be in a controlled glide, but then it rolled over and began to spin in.

I followed both planes all the way down. 42-100351 was more or less intact and blew up when it hit the water. The other aircraft did not.

Only five (5) parachutes came out of the aircraft. The planes and chutes landed within a mile off shore.

There were several boats in the vicinity which probably picked up the men who were able to bale out”.

42-100351 hit the water about 2 km (1¼ mls) SE of Keldsnor on the island of Langeland at 09:50 hrs.

1st Lt. Powers reported that of his ten (10) man crew he saw three (3) parachutes and one (1) body without a parachute hit the water. Later an unknown gunner (S/Sgt. Jacob G. Heilich) of the B-24 piloted by 1st Lt. Chappell engaged on the same mission told him that he saw nine (9) bodies on the shore line who believed that their deaths were caused by going down with the aircraft or by exhaustion from the cold water or delayed sea rescue.

2nd Lt. Boudreaux reported that after the collision the aircraft was thrown into a left hand spin. The Pilot said that they should clear out and stayed in his seat trying to right the aircraft but was unsuccessful. 2nd Lt. Boudreaux followed the Radio Operator out of the nose-wheel doors as the bomb-bay doors could not be opened.

As he prepared to leave he saw two men in the nose of the aircraft and thought that they were the Nose Gunner and the Navigator. The crew was not known to him so he did not known their names. 2nd Lt. Boudreaux was flying as the substitute Co-Pilot as the regular Co-Pilot was sick that day. He thought that the Bombardier may have baled out or he was in the rear of the aircraft.

2nd Lt. Boudreaux believed than S/Sgt. Danneker was standing at the nose-wheel doors hooking on his parachute and while he was descending he saw one boy dropping without a parachute.

2nd Lt. Boudreaux and the Pilot were picked up by a fishing boat from the island of Langeland. The fishing boat looked around but could not find any more of the crew before a German patrol boat came alongside and stopped them searching. The Germans boarded the fishing boat and took 2nd Lt. Boudreaux and the Pilot off.

A German report stated that 1st Lt. Powers and 2nd Lt. Boudreaux were recovered from the sea by a Mr. Jacobsen, a Danish fisherman, and that they were taken from Langeland in Denmark to shore where they were both hospitalized.

(1) William Benedict Powers was born on the 3rd May 1920 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts. His parents were William Benedict and Honora ‘Nora’ A. (née Lyons) Powers.

He married Helen Burland during 1945 in Melrose, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

He was discharged from the USAAF as a Captain, serving with the 2621st Army Air Force Base Unit at Barksdale Field, Louisiana on the 1st May 1947. Awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. (AM (3 OLC)).

Above notice of death (Courtesy of The Boston Globe, dated 13th July 1970)

William passed away on the 10th July 1970 in Roxbury, Massachusetts and is buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan, Massachusetts.

(2) Oscar James Boudreaux was born on the 1st October 1918 in Napoleonville, Louisiana. His parents were Charles Walter and Lydia Marie Angeline Boudreaux.

He and his brother, Sgt. Charles Boudreaux, were discharged from US Service in October 1945. Awarded the Air Medal on the 29th June 1944.

Oscar was married to Edith Boudreaux (no further information found)

Above notice of death and burial (Courtesy of The Assumption Pioneer, dated 8th January 2004)

Oscar passed away on th 30th December 2003 in Louisiana and is buried at the St. Anne Church Cemetery, Napoleonville, Louisiana, USA.

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

In early 1948, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theatre, investigated the crash, but were unable to find any of the missing crewmen. Over the next couple of years, the AGRC also assessed unidentified remains that washed ashore in the area where the aircraft crashed but were not able to identify any of the crew and were declared non-recoverable on the 12th May 1950.

In 2019, Danish divers alerted the Royal Danish Navy to a WWII-era aircraft wreck in the general area where the aircraft crashed. A .50 caliber machine gun with a damaged serial number that partially matched one the guns on the aircraft was recovered.

In August 2021, after the Royal Danish Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal cleared the site of unexploded ordnance, Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) partner University of Delaware, along with the Royal Danish Navy, returned to conduct an underwater survey. The survey found possible human remains as well as enough evidence to recommend the site for an archaeological excavation.

From the 21st September to the 11th October 2022, the DPAA primary partner Trident Archäologie, along with Wessex Archaeology and volunteers from Project Recover, and with stakeholders from the Royal Danish Navy and the Langelands Museum, returned to the site to conduct excavation and recovery operations. They found extensive evidence, including remains, material evidence, and the ID tags of two of the crew members, all of which was turned over to the Danish authorities and then accessioned into the DPAA laboratory.

Trident Archäologie, Wessex Archaeology, the Royal Danish Navy, and the Langelands Museum again returned to the site from the 4th to the 23rd September 2023, and again on the 18th May to the 9th June 2024, to conduct further operations, during which they found further material evidence and possible remains. That evidence was also accessioned into the DPAA laboratory.

Burial details:

2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr., 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum and 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum have a rosette placed next to their names on Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery to mark that they now rest in a known gravesite.

Above Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery (Courtesy of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC))

2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (AM (OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Son of Milton L. and Georgia R. (née Hughs) Hymes of Savannah, Georgia, USA.

Above 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. (Courtesy of usafdo-FindAGrave)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that US Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. of Savannah, Georgia, killed during World War II, was accounted for on the 5th June 2025. His remains are scheduled to be returned to his family for burial in Thunderbolt, Georgia with full Military Honors on a date to be determined.

2nd Lt. Robert Thomas McCollum. Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (AM (OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery.

Born on the 15th October 1921 in Lakewood, Ohio. Son of Ernest and Caroline ‘Carrie’ Christina (née Wind) McCollum of Huntingdon, Tennessee. Husband to Ethel I. McCollum of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that US Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum of Cleveland, Ohio, killed during World War II, was accounted for on the 10th December 2024. He was laid to rest at the Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, California on the 3rd May 2025.

T/Sgt. Joseph Danis Jr. Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters (AM (2OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 14th June 1924 in Homestead Park, Pennsylvania. Son of Joseph and Mary Danis of Homestead Park, Pennsylvania, USA.

T/Sgt. Brenton Warren Baker. Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Cluster (AM (2OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 8th December 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Son of Asher W. and Roxie G. (née Wingate) Baker of Salisbury, Maryland, USA.

S/Sgt. Jessie Charles Vancil. Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters (AM (2OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 25th December 1922 in Oak Bluff, Arkansas. Son of Pearl Vancil of Detroit, Michigan. Husband to Winifred F. (née Simpkins) Vancil of Detroit, Michigan, USA.

S/Sgt. John Henry Danneker. Air Medal (AM), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 26th February 1925 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Son of Charles A. and Mary I. Danneker of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that US Army Air Forces S/Sgt. John H. Danneker of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II, was accounted for on the 10th December 2024. He will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery during August 2025.

S/Sgt. Richard Pittman Gordon. Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (AM (OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 1st March 1917 in Anderson, Indiana. Son of Paul G. and Persia Pearl Gordon of Anderson, Indiana, USA.

S/Sgt. Robert William Holly. Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters (AM (OLC)), Purple Heart (PH). Remembered on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Born on the 27th May 1922 in Hammond, Indiana. Son of Byron and Edna Holly of Schnieder Lake, Indiana, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this crew and their families (Jun 2025). Thanks to Wade S. Lnenicka of the American Legion Department of Georgia for the information about the recovery and forthcoming burial of 2nd Lt. Milton L. Hymes Jr. (Jun 2025).

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