Missing In Action
by
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Fire was enveloping him and blood was streaming down his face. I last saw him in the co-pilots seat. The Germans said he was dead in the plane when it crashed. Sgt. Main said, "Taylor was in the top turret and the shell blew up within three feet of the turret knocking the dome off. He was killed at the time the shell blew and if not then, he was burned to death as fire is said to have sucked out of the top turret hole, where the dome had been blown off. Wilson the co-pilot was flying the ship. He was said to have been hit and slumped over the controls. The pilot, Lt. Bates took over the controls of the ship after Wilson was hit and was still with it when it blew. The ship was burning across the bomb bay and right wing. He held the ship level so we could get out, otherwise no one would have gotten out. Wilson died from flak wounds, which came from the shell that hit in number 3 engine setting the gas on fire. When the ship blew up, he couldn’t have gotten out. I believe that Lt. Bates was with the ship when it blew, the last to leave the ship was the nose gunner Baronoski, (as close as we can figure). He was on his way out as the ship blew and he said Bates was still at the controls. German soldiers said he was killed when the plane crashed. Sgt. Yatkauskas bailed out uninjured. He was last seen in Stalag Luft III hospital. I ran into a Captain who claimed to have seen him immediately after he had been shot in the leg, above the knee by German civilians. His left leg had to be amputated, as a result of being shot by the civilians. I believe Bates would not bail out, because he could not get the severely wounded co-pilot out. My last conversation with Bates was when he rung the emergency warning bell, then said over the intercom "let’s get out" or something similar, but he stayed at the wheel. The plane exploded too soon, and he didn’t have time to get out. Upon reaching the ground, Weber had broken ribs, Wilby had burns across his eyes and hands and a flak wound in his arm. Baranoski injured his back and had burns and Lt. Conlin had an injured leg." The seven crewmembers who survived the downing of their aircraft, Lts. Conlin, and Browning, and Sgts. Baronoski, Wilby, Main, Weber and Yatkauskas were captured and made Prisoners of War and were liberated on 29 April 1945. Lts. Bates and Wilson and Sgt. Taylor were Killed In Action. Lt. Bates was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for Gallantry and Dedication to duty.
7 August 1944: Capt. William K. Zewadski, Pilot, 780th Squadron, flew a B-24, to bomb the Oil Refineries at Blechhammer, Germany with crewmembers, 1st Lt. Harry F. Lengvenis, Pilot; 1st Lt. Ralph F. Kissel, Co-Pilot; Lt. Raymond G. Bentrud, Navigator; Lt. Arthur F. Hulesberg Jr., Bombardier; T/Sgt. C. E. Johnson, Flight Engineer-Gunner; S/Sgt. William B. Bowyer, Radio Operator-Gunner; S/Sgt. Tulio P. Jacovinich, Gunner; S/Sgt. Robert T. Maher, Gunner; S/Sgt. Edward L. Yarbrough, Gunner and S/Sgt. Charles B. Sokira, Gunner. This was an eleven-man crew. Capt. Zewadski and his crew were unable to return to the base but managed to land in Lwow, Poland and returned to Pantanella, Italy Air Base nine days later.
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About the Book
Missing In Action
There is no more poignant reading than the last statements passed between many of these crewmembers in the act of escaping from a shot down bomber, jumping through a fiery bomb bay to probable capture by mad citizens below, and enduring a German prison camp.
These stories were compiled from debriefing records, which were gathered after return to Group, or return to the U.S. following the war, and from the memories of some surviving veterans. Stories include ground experience after being shot down, but are much abridged in this area in order to avoid redundancy. This book will acquaint the reader with the tremendous sacrifices made by the crews, and the level of honor attained by some men in the choices they made in their final hour.
About the Author
My wife Mary had an
uncle named Frank Hutchcraft who was a S/Sgt. in the 780th Squadron of the
465thBomb Group (H). He was an Armorer-Top Turret Gunner on a B-24 Heavy Bomber
named "Old Dutch Cleanser." He flew fifty combat missions with the 780th
Squadron. "Old Dutch Cleanser" was shot down on 6 June 1944, while
being flown by a crew of the 782nd Squadron. I began researching the 465th Bomb
Group, fifteen years ago, to gain knowledge of Frank's tour of duty. I became
engrossed in this research over the years and decided to compile a
Chronological History of this Group and I completed the first two volumes
titled, The 465th Remembered, book I
and II. Before continuing with the compilation of the Chronology of the 465th,
I have been asked by Major John F. Charlton, Pilot and Operations Officer of
the 782nd Squadron, to record the events of the ninety-five B-24 aircraft that
were shot down from the 465th Bomb Group in the last year of World War Two.
Each B-24 normally carried a crew of ten men and each crew has a story to tell
about their being shot down. I think this is an important part of military
history that people of all ages might read and learn about the sacrifices made
by the nine hundred and fifty six crewmembers of those ninety-five shot down
aircraft and how some of them managed to survive.