Operation: Ludwigshafen (Mission #373), Germany

Date: 27th May 1944 (Friday)

Unit No: 751st Bombardment Squadron (H), 457th Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G Sweat’er Out

Serial No: 42-31594

Code: :G

Location: Thannenkirch, 5 km (3 mls) NW of Bergheim, France

Base: Glatton (Station #130), Huntingdonshire, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Artie Junior Whitlow O-728488 AAF Age 23. KiA

Co Pilot: 2nd Lt. Robert Howard Cunningham O-815091 AAF Age 23. PoW *

Navigator/ Bombardier: 1st Lt. Daniel George McLaughlin O-754972 AAF Age 22. Id No. 78338 **, PoW No 8146 *** (1)

Engineer: S/Sgt. Paul Richard Isker 17153929 AAF Age 20. KiA

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. Paul Raymond Clark 37656579 AAF Age 21. PoW ****

Ball Turret Gnr: Sgt. Roe Stanley Woodis 14041959 AAF Age? Evader (2)

Left Wing Gnr: Sgt. Lovell O’Masters 39412000 AAF Age 35. Id No. 78290 **, PoW No. 8179 *** (1)

Right Wing Gnr: S/Sgt. Robert Vernon Towle 19139402 AAF Age 31. PoW ****

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. James Vincent Ambrose 11069828 AAF Age 26. PoW ****

* Dulag Luft 12 Groß-Tychow Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland

** 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:

The following is an eye witness statement given by 1st Lt. Louis O. Auld from the 751st Bombardment Squadron:

“Lt. Whitlow was flying ship #42-31594 in [the] fifth position, high squadron of the lead box, on the Ludwigshafen mission of 27 May 1944. The undersigned was flying ship #42-102464 in this position directly in front of Lt. Whitlow.

The formation had just about reached the French-German border when about forty Bf109s and Fw190s attacked us from 12 o’clock. Our Tail Gunner (a/c #42-102464), S/Sgt. Mellott, observed 20mm bursts all round Lt. Whitlow’s ship, especially the right wing. About a third of the right wing came off. He salvoed his bombs and fell off into a tight spiral to the right, gradually developing into a tight spin. This was all S/Sgt. Mellott could see.

Our Ball Turret gunner, S/Sgt. Stringer, caught sight of the ship when it was at about 15,000 ft, still in a tight spin. Three parachutes were seen open at this point. As the ship neared the ground, it appear to come out of the tight spin and go into a gradual spiral. The ship hit in the middle of a wooded area and exploded.

There could have been more that three chutes open as as at the time ship 42-31594 was hit several other ships were in the same trouble and crews were bailing out in the same area”.

The aircraft crashed at 12:30 hrs in a wooded area at Thannenkirch, 5 km (3 mls) NW of Bergheim and some 14½ km (9 mls) north of Colmar, France.

Aboard the aircraft S/Sgt. Isker was killed in the fighter attack. All other crew members successfully bailed out. 2nd Lt. Whitlow was the last to bale out but was killed when his parachute failed to open.

S/Sgt. Towle was captured on the 28th May at 19:00 hrs in Rappoltsweiler (French= Ribeauvillé), some 4 km (2½ mls) SSE of the crash site. S/Sgt. Ambrose and S/Sgt. Clark were were also captured on the 28th May at 06:00 hrs in Diedolshausen (French= le Bonhomme), some 16 km (10 mls) SW of the crash site. A German record documented that 2nd Lt. Cunningham was presumed to have been captured on the 1st June 1944 near Colmar, some 14½ km (9 mls) south of the crash site.

(1) The circumstances of the evasion and subsequent capture of 1st Lt. McLaughlin and Sgt. O’Masters are unknown except that the resistance cell which was helping them was infiltrated in May of 1944 and that they and T/Sgt. Suddock were captured on the 19th July 1944.

T/Sgt. Dwight E. Suddock from B-17G 42-31975 ( 510BS, 351BG) also shot down on the 27th May 1944 (8 KiA, 2 evaded, one of whom was captured)

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.

1st Lt. McLaughlin and Sgt. O’Masters were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 on the 2nd 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.

(2) Sgt. Woodis bailed out from the burning aircraft at 20,000 ft and landed on the side of a mountain NE of a city which may have been Strasbourg rather than some German town. He was a little disorientated and confused about places and dates.

After landing he got out of his harness and headed westerly direction and hid. Within five mins of landing the Germans has found his parachute but moved on to where the others from the crew had landed. He had no knowledge of what happened to the others from the crew.

That night he walked west all night without food as he had lost his escape kit as well as his purse in parachuting from the aircraft. He had also lost his flying boots when he jumped and his heated insert boots were not designed for walking. At daybreak he hid and slept until noon and then continuing walking west for the rest of the day and all night. Dressed in Olive Drab (OD) pants and shirt, having discarded his flying clothing, he found it pretty cold.

After five days walking with no food except for a few raw potatoes and other vegetables, and water from streams he reached Épinal. Here a friendly Frenchman sheltered him for the night and provided him with civilian clothing.

The next day he was directed towards Switzerland and he had the expectation that he would be flown back to the UK from there. He followed the main road to Belfort and having found a bicycle took two days to reach the Swiss frontier. About 25 km (15½ mls) from Épinal an unnamed Frenchman accompanied him. The details of this part of his story were unclear.

On about the 5th June he reached the Swiss border, some 86 km (53 mls) as the crow flies from Épinal, and crossed near Boncourt, apparently guided by the Frenchman. Here he was apprehended by border guards and jailed. He was then taken to Porrentruy, some 10 km (6¼ mls) to the SSE, where the police interrogated him but answered none of their questions except to declare that he was an escaped PoW.

He was then moved to Olten, some 62½ km (39 mls) to the east of Porrentruy where he remained for 3 days. Then to Bad Lostorf, some 5½ km (3¼ mls) north of Olten for 21 days.

He was then taken to the American Legation in Bern to write up his experiences after which he was moved on to Glion located on the northern shore of Lake Constance and some 10 km (6½ mls) to the French border as the crow flies.

He was required to sign an order not to leave Switzerland without the Military Authority’s permission. However, after the invasion of France and the liberation of the south of the country he made up his mind to escape into France and ultimately reached American forces. He was interviewed on the 7th September 1944.

Burial details:

Both were initially buried in the Bergheim Cemetery but only 1st Lt. Whitlow was identified.

1st Lt. Whitlow: left courtesy of Carolyne Deloach - FindAGrave and right Courtesy of Karyn Taylor Couch - FindAGrave

1st Lt. Artie Junior Whitlow. Air Medal. Recovered and reinterred at the Lorraine American Cemetery. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Macedonia Baptist Church cemetery, Arkansas. Born on the 25th July 1920 in Magnolia, Arkansas. Son of Junius Artie R. and Maymie (née Griffin) Whitlow of Minden, Louisiana, USA.

S/Sgt. Isker: left courtesy of Carolyne Deloach - FindAGrave and right courtesy of and in memory of a "Fallen Graver" S.R. Allen - FindAGrave

S/Sgt. Paul Richard Isker. Recovered and reinterred at the Lorraine American Cemetery. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Woodville Cemetery, Waseca, Minnesota. Born on the 24th October 1923 in Waseca County, Minnesota. Son of Herman Emanuel and Lillie Adella (née Peters) Isker of Waseca County, Minnesota, USA.

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