Operation: Creil airfield (Mission #412), France

Date: 14th June 1944 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 544th Bombardment Squadron (H), 384th Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial No: 42-97188

Code: SU:A

Location: Near Bisseau, France

Base: Grafton Underwood (Station #106), Northamptonshire, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Robert D. Summerville O-756351 AAF Age 21. KiA

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Jean Doville Vogt O-819223 AAF Age 23. KiA

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Abraham Wiseman O-757861 AAF Age 26. Evader (1)

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Ralph Eugene Eisenach O-761417 AAF Age 24. PoW *

Engineer: Sgt. Alfred Irwin Holt 35624236 AAF Age 20. Evader (1)

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. John Howard McClanahan Jr. 15084076 AAF Age 24. Id No: 7834 **, PoW No. 8924 *** (2)

Ball Turret: Sgt. Frank Larocca 31263517 AAF Age? PoW ****

Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. Sylvester Joseph Marshall 20932531 AAF Age? PoW ****

Tail Gunner: Sgt. Thomas James Harris 12049888 AAF Age 19. KiA

* Stalag 7a Moosburg, Bavaria (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse and 3368 Munich).

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

*** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland.

**** Stalag Luft 4 Groß-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland.

REASON FOR LOSS:

Early in the morning of the 14th June 1944 B-17G 42-97188 took off from Grafton Underwood and joined a force of 91 B-17s on a mission to bomb the Creil airfield in France.

Statement by 1st Lt. Robert Encil Kelley O-813906 the Pilot of aircraft #7121 on the 14th June 1944:

“We were flying Deputy Lead (#2 position) in the Low Section. Lt. Summerville was flying #5 position in the Low Section in aircraft #7188. At 07:35 hrs at 48°11°N, 01°31°E, altitude 20,000 feet our formation was attacked by approximately ten (10) enemy aircraft and shortly thereafter aircraft #7188 was seen to explode. Three (3) chutes were seen emerging from the aircraft prior to the explosion”.

Note: Lat/Long 48°11°N, 01°31°E is between Pré-Saint-Évroult and Sancheville and some 140 km (87 mls) SSW short of the target.

The left wing and engine #2 of the aircraft was sent ablaze by the attack and 1st Lt. Summerville gave the order to bale out. He and 2nd Lt. Vogt were last seen by Sgt. Holt reaching for their parachute packs which were located under their seats. 1st Lt. Summerville was killed when the aircraft exploded and tragically 2nd Lt. Vogt’s parachute caught fire because it was thought to have been soaked in gasoline from a fuel leak in the cockpit, and he perished in the fall.

The remainder of the crew managed to bale out just before the aircraft exploded. Sgt. Harris suffered severe injuries to a leg in the fighter attack. He was taken to a French hospital in Chartres by French civilians where he underwent an amputation of his leg. Sadly he died from shock and loss of blood two days later on the 16th June 1944.

The aircraft wreckage fell to earth between Voves and Bisseau in France.

(1) 2nd Lt. Wiseman landed about 3 km (1¾ mls) south of Voves and was met by several Frenchmen as soon as he landed. They hid him in a field and later returned bringing him civilian clothes and brought Sgt. Holt to him.

One of the Frenchmen took them to Yerville, 3 km (1¾ mls) south of Voves where they remained hidden until the 17th June. From here they came under the protection of the French resistance and were taken to a camp situated in the Fréteval forest in France.

Note: This camp was part of ‘Operation Marathon’ which was a plan to hide evading Allied airmen in secret camps in France and Belgium. The Fréteval forest camp was code named ‘Operation Sherwood’ and eventually held more than 150 Allied airmen. The camp was liberated on the 11th August 1944.

Sgt. Holt remained at the camp until it was liberated and arrived back in England on the 16th August 1944.

As the camp was assembling evaders in ever greater numbers 2nd Lt. Wiseman together with a Sgt. George Solomon decided to leave, despite being forbidden to do so by Lucien Boussa. On the 29th July they took two bicycles and headed off for Spain.

T/Sgt. George Solomon 16150721, was the Radio Operator aboard B-17G 42-31380 (548th BG/385th BS) lost on the 8th February 1944. (3 PoW, 7 Evd).

Lucien Boussa was a Belgian national and a Sqn Ldr in the RAF, who along with another Belgian Jean de Blommaert who was the head of Marathon in France, set up the camp.

They made their way to Bordeaux, some 650 km (400 mls) to the south. Their route skirted the demarcation of the "Free Zone" (Vichy France) from the German occupied regions. Along the way in Saint-Amand de Vendôme, 12 km (7½ mls) south of Vendôme and 32 km (20 mls) into their journey, they were provide food and replacement bicycle tyres. At a garage near Potiers, a further 60 km (37 mls) south, they where given food and money. At a bistro in Ruffec, some 74 km (46 mls) further south, the proprietor’s son repaired their bicycles.

After receiving assistance in Jarnac, a further 70 km (44 mls) to the SW, they bypassed Bordeaux and at Le Tourne they were aided to cross the river Garonne by boat. Just north of Magescq, 160 km (100 mls) further south, a neighbour of the couple they were staying with contacted the local resistance movement.

An ex French Navy man took them by lorry to a farm in Halsou, about 12 km (7½ mls) from the Spanish boarder, where they remained for 3 days. On the 13th August 1944 they were guided by two other resistance men across the border, who then directed them onto a trail to Arizkun, some 10 km (6 mls) into Spain.

In Arizkun they were apprehended by Spanish Civil Guards and were taken to Pamplona via Elizondo, where they contacted the American Consul. They remained in Pamplona for three days and then for six days at Alhama de Aragón. An American Warrant Officer (WO) from the Military Attache in Madrid then collected them and took them to Madrid. On the 25th August 1944 they crossed into Gibraltar and left the next day by air arriving in England on the 27th August 1944.

(2) All that is known about the escape and evasion of S/Sgt. McClanahan Jr. was that he was provided with civilian clothing and given shelter for a period of 3 weeks near Eure-et-Loir, some 24 km (15 miles) WNW of Chartres, before being moved to Paris. He was hiding at the hotel Piccadilly for 4 days before being betrayed to the Gestapo on the 4th July 1944.

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 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.

S/Sgt. McClanahan Jr. was suffering from mastoiditis as a result of a severe ear infection and too sick to leave with the other airmen to Stalag Luft 3. His transfer was delayed until the 28th November 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:

1st Lt. Summerville and 2nd Lt. Vogt were initially buried in Villeau, 24 km (15 mls) SSE of Chartres and Sgt. Harris was initially buried in Chartres-Chéron cemetery, Plot 61.

Above: Grave marker for 1st Lt. Robert D. Summerville. (Courtesy of Woose-FindAGrave)

1st Lt. Robert D. Summerville. Purple Heart. Recovered and interred at the US Military Cemetery at St André, Evreux Plot D, Row 8, Grave 148 on the 24th January 1945. Finally laid to rest at the Normandy American Cemetery, Plot A, Row 19, Grave 43. Born on the 6th February 1923 in New Jersey. Son of Allen H. Summerville of Caldwell, New Jersey, USA.

2nd Lt. Jean Doville Vogt. Recovered an interred at the US Military Cemetery at St André at Evreux Plot D, Row 8, Grave 149 on the 24th January 1945. Repatriated and laid to rest at the George Washington Memorial Park Cemetery, New Jersey. Born on the 18th January 1921 in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida. Son of Benjamen Harrison and Emily Jordan (née Kaltenbach) Vogt of Teaneck, Bergan, New Jersey, USA.

Sgt. Thomas James Harris. Recovered an interred at the US Military Cemetery at St André, Evreux Plot F, Row 2, Grave 22 on the 15th March 1945. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Holy Name Cemetery, New Jersey. Born on the 21st December 1921 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Son of Elizabeth Harris of New Jersey, 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:

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© Aircrew Remembered 2012 - 2026 Last Modified: 15 May 2026, 19:14