A Little Flag
Lowell L. Getz
There is another obituary in today’s morning newspaper with a small U.S. flag by
the name of the deceased, indicating military service (Note: I will use the name “Ed”, not
his real name, to protect his privacy.). When I read the obituary there is only one
sentence about Ed’s service. “He served in the 8th Air Force during World War II.”
Nothing about what his service consisted of, what he went through or what sacrifices he
made for us at the time. Either he did not tell his family any of the details of his service
or the family did not think enough people would be sufficiently interested in the details to
warrant the expense of posting the obituary. Yes, the newspaper charges for obituaries,
based on the length of the obituary, even for those who endured so much to ensure we
had a “Free Press.”
Following are some of the details left out of the brief statement, “He served in the
th
8 Air Force during World War II.” These have been obtained from research of World
War II records in the National Archives, including mission accounts, missing in action
reports, debriefing reports following the war, and a history of his Bomb Group.
He was a copilot on the crew of a B-17 bomber in the 384th Bomb Group (Heavy),
located at Station 106, Grafton Underwood Air Base, at the very small English village of
the same name in East Anglia. The statement does not mention the nearly two years of
intensive and nerve-wracking training he endured and successfully completed. Only 60%
of those who entered air cadet flight program survived to fly combat missions. It was
also a dangerous training program. Of the 40% who did no complete the program, 35%
washed out and 5% were killed in flight training accidents.
His flight training as an air cadet began with two months of Preflight Ground
School. He then spent three months of Primary Flight School, learning to fly a single
engine trainer. This involved mastering takeoffs, landings, routine flying, and learning to
cope with emergencies in the air, all under the eye of an exacting flight instructor. Any
minor lapse of concentration would mean a washout, ending his flight training. Next
followed three months of Basic Flight School. Again, even a small mistake would mean
dismissal from flight training. Ed progressed to three months of Advanced Flight School,
where he learned to fly multi-engine aircraft. Finally, he was assigned as a copilot to a
crew and engaged in several weeks of transition training—learning to fly in formation,
cross-country flights, simulated bomb runs, and for the crewmen to learn to work
together as an entity. His crew represented most regions of the country: Illinois (2),
California, South Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, and
New Jersey.
The crew was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group (Heavy), which was in the
process of being formed at Wendover Field, Utah. The Group began deploying overseas
in May 1943. Once the 384th was settled in at Grafton Underwood, flight crews began
hours of flight time over England to learn British communication systems and other
specifics of operating in English air space.
All this strenuous and extensive training came to fruition on 22 June 1943 when
Ed flew his first combat mission. This was also the first mission for the 384th Bomb
Group. On the 22nd, the Group was assigned an alternate, comparatively “easy” target
(there was no easy target; every bombing mission was wrought with danger), the General
Motors plant at Antwerp, Belgium. The target of the main strike force on the 22nd was a
chemical plant at Hulls, deep in the Ruhr Valley of Germany. The 384th mission was a
diversionary attack, with the hope of drawing German fighters from the Hulls strike
force. Ed flew in B-17 No. 42-30076.
The 384th departed Grafton Underwood at 0619 hours, British Double Summer
Time, meeting up with the 381st Bomb Group from Station 167, Ridgewell, (also flying
its first combat mission) and flew across the English Channel onto the continent.
Approximately 10-15 miles from the target, the Bomb Groups were attacked by 60
German Focke Wulf 190 fighters. The fighters came at the 384th Group 12 at a time, one
fighter after the other. All B-17 bombers from both Groups made it over the target at
0830 hours, at an altitude of 23,000 feet. Visibility over the target was unlimited and
there was no cloud cover; 80% of the bombs fell within 500 yards of the aiming point.
Flak over the target was moderate, the 80 mm shells exploding at the correct
altitude, but behind the two Groups, causing no damage to the bombers. As soon as the
bombers cleared the flak over the target, German fighters came at them again. About half
way to the coast eight FW 190s attacked No. 076, setting three engines on fire. The
bomber continued on for a few minutes before starting to spiral downward. The pilot
rang the bailout bell. The centrifugal force was so great, however, it was difficult for the
crewmen to exit the aircraft. In the nose compartment, the bombardier assisted the
navigator in bailing out, but was unable to exit the nose door himself. The top turret
gunner was the only other crewman to bail out. The tail gunner could not open the tail
escape hatch and when he went to the waist hatch, could not get that door open, either.
He was trapped in the falling aircraft. Approximately 4 km from Goes, Holland, No. 076
exploded in the air. Five of the crewmen (Ed, pilot, radio operator, ball turret gunner,
right waist gunner) still in the plane were blown free and survived, as did the navigator,
who had bailed out. The top turret gunner was found near the wreckage, his chute full of
bullet holes and a wound to his head that had blown away his face. The remaining three
crewmen (bombardier, left waist gunner, tail gunner) were dead in the wreckage.
Ed sustained leg injuries when he was blown free and was captured by the
Germans soon after landing. He was given medical treatment and sent to the Luftwaffe
interrogation center, Dulag Luft Lager, at Oberusel, near Frankfurt. After interrogation at
Oberusel, Ed was sent by boxcar, along with other officers to Stalag Luft III Sagan, in
Silesia. There he remained until late January 1945.
Upon approach of the Russian army, the Germans rousted out all the prisoners in
Stalag Luft III late the night of 27 January 1945 to depart the camp. The prisoners were
allowed to take no more than what they could carry and the clothes on their back,
including only one coat. The prisoners were marched for five days in bitter cold and
snow, sleeping nights in unheated churches, barns and other out buildings. They finally
were loaded onto railroad cars at Spremberg, 55 miles west of Sagan. Conditions in the
cars were little better. The prisoners were packed into the cars with no room to lie down.
The rail cars were exceptionally cold, with almost no food and very poor sanitation
facilities.
After several days, the train reached Stalag Luft VII A at Moosburg, near Vienna.
Conditions there were almost intolerable. Far too many prisoners were packed into the
camp. Stalag Lftt VII A, originally built to house 10,000 prisoners, eventually crammed
in 80,000 men. For most, the only cover was provided by tents. Food was essentially
nonexistent. What rations the prisoners did get were basically slop—soup made of rotten
vegetables. There, Ed remained until General Patton’s Third Army liberated Moosburg
on 29 April 1945. He was placed on a C-47 “Gooney Bird” and flown to Rheims,
France. After delousing, processing and getting shots, he was moved to Camp Lucky
Strike near Le Havre. From there he returned by ship to the United States, eventually
returning to civilian life.
This is just one example of what can be encompassed with a short sentence in an
obituary. The “story” of what this veteran endured, as arduous as it was, may not have
been as extensive or as mentally and physically demanding as that of many others. All
details of a veteran’s service obviously cannot be place in an obituary. However, when
one reads the obituary of a service man or woman, from whatever war or “police action,”
remember there is much not said in a simple statement such as, “He served in the 8th Air
Force in World War II.”