28 January 1945

Mission #231

Target: Dortmund

Another lengthy stand down period was necessitated for poor weather, both locally and over the target areas. Thus, a number of welcomed "Alamogordos" were heard by the crews and ground maintenance/ordnance personnel. A near tragic accident on the station occurred earlier on the 23rd but, fortunately, no personnel were injured. This mishap was occasioned when (8) B-17s had to divert into Wendling because of poor weather at their home base. One of the Forts had lost two engines and was forced to attempt a crash landing on the base which subsequently went from bad to worse. The bomber crash landed near the Administration Site of the 392nd, rolled across the frozen ground and finally came to rest on top of a Mobile Training Unit truck after tearing out the east end of the old S-2 Briefing Room. Most fortunately, neither aircrew nor 392nd personnel were injured but the B-17 and truck were considerably the worse off as a result of this unscheduled landing.

On the 28th, weather finally permitted a mission - the date of which was the Eighth Air Force’s third anniversary of combat operations in the ETO. This raid was against the coke oven facilities, three and one-half miles northeast of Dortmund. A secondary target of the Munster marshalling yards was assigned also. General briefings for (30) crews were held at 0445 and 0600 hours but the relatively good weather for take-off did not hold as forecast. At 0805 hours, Group bombers began take-off but a heavy snow squall hit suddenly which caused (8) Liberators to abort on the ground. After a few bombers returned early due to malfunctions, the remaining (17) went over the target, bombing the primary with excellent results. The crews released a total of (228) 500# GPs on target with (93) percent impacting within a 2000 foot radius of the aiming point. Fighters were not encountered but AA fire was heavy and accurate around bomb release time of 1203 hours. As a direct result, (2) bombers and aircrews were lost on this mission and (3) other crewmembers from the 576th’s aircraft were wounded. From the 577th, Lieutenant Dodd’s crew in #164 (P for Peter) was hit by AA fire in the wing and swerved into #868 (X for X-ray) flown by Lieutenant Schuster’s crew. The latter bomber lost a wing in this collision and both ships went down in a dive - exploding as they plummeted downward with (4) chutes being seen. It was not certain from which ship the chutes had egressed. While (7) bombers returned with battle damage, all remaining did manage to recover safely at Wendling around 1435 hours.

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MISSING AIR CREW REPORT SECTION

28 JANUARY 1945
TARGET: DORTMUND

MISSING AIRCREW REPORT: #11995  AIRCRAFT: #42-95164 "LADY EVE" "P-Plus" 26th Mission

AIRCREW: DODD     *     SQUADRON: 577th

CREW POSITIONS AND STATUS:

P   2/LT  Dodd, James R.         KIA
CP  2/LT  Sholander, Carl T.     KIA 
N   2/LT  Fleming, Kenneth V.    KIA
NG  SGT   Page, Robert E.        KIA
R/O SGT   Epstein, Morris (NMI)  KIA
EnG SGT   Hartong, Robert R.     KIA
WG  CPL   Olivas, Maclovio       POW
WG  SGT   Muka, John J.          POW
TG  SGT   Hulbert, Leonard D.    KIA
R/O S/SGT Bartnowski, Matthew A. KIA*

* Radar Observer

MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: Lt. Pope, Pilot 577th, gave an after-mission account that this aircraft had rolled over into another plane in formation, the ship of Lt. Schuster’s, # 42-50868. The direct cause of this tragedy was never stated in any MACR reporting. German Report #KU3666 reported the crash of this ship near the town of Gerbeck around 1230 hours. Eight (8) members were found dead near the scene, and (2) crew men had successfully bailed out and were taken prisoner. Sgt. Muka, one of two including Sgt. Olivas, was wounded and taken to a German hospital. It was note that Sgt. Olivas was transferred to the interrogation center at Dulag-Luft West upon capture. All deceased members were positively identified in this report.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: No such record exists in this aircrew MACR file.

In an article in the February 1992 issue of the 392nd BGMA News, John Muka provided these details: "When the plane went out of control, I remember getting the rear hatch open and then I was blown clear and was free-falling. I pulled the ripcord and the chute opened. The air was very cold and my gauntlets were blown off, and my hands were frostbitten. I landed in deep snow, but was unable to move because of my broken legs. Soon I was surrounded by German civilians, and they dragged me into a nearby town on a pair of skis. I was transported to a hospital, where a German doctor operated on my legs and I woke up in traction. I found out later the hospital was in the Ludensheid area. While in hospital, I sweated out Allied air raids. Although I could hear bombs exploding and machine-gun fire from strafing fighters, the hospital was never hit. On April 14, 1945, I could hear shelling and small arms fire and on the next day an American medic from the 8th Division walked into my room."

In the same article, Mac Olivas said this was his third mission. He was unconscious for about 48 hours after the crash, and then was transported to a prison camp and liberated by American forces on April 29, 1945.

BURIAL RECORDS: Another German Report, Hqs Air Base Command Werl in loss report #19, dated 6 February 1945, indicated that the deceased crewmen were buried in a common grave in the village cemetery at Garbeck on 2 February. U.S. National Overseas Cemetery reports later reflect the re-interment of the following members in the ARDENNES Cemetery, near Liege, Belgium: Fleming (Grave C-2-8); and Hulbert (Grave A-28-11). Both members were awarded the Purple Heart, posthumously. No other re-burial information exists on the remaining members in this file.

NEXT OF KIN IN WWII: Dodd (Wife, Zeta K., 2232 NW 16th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma); Sholander (Mother, Maria J.. 219 Locust Street, Turlock, California): Fleming (Father, Virgil L., Route Number One, Sharpsburg, Kentucky); Page (Father Ray, l19 Sears Point Road, Vallejo, California); Epstein (Wife, Sylvia W., 926 47ft Street, Brooklyn, New York); Hartong (Father, William A., 108 North Osage Street Girard, Kansas); Muka (Mother, Anna, 3402 N. Gullom Avenue, Chicago, Illinois); Olivas (Father, Fidencio, Box 92, Cuba, New Mexico); Bartnowski (Wife, Annette M., 123 Brove Street, Clifton, New Jersey); and Hulbert (Father, Nathan I., 1014 Herrick Avenue, Racine, Wisconsin).

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MISSING AIRCREW REPORT: #11996    AIRCRAFT: #42-50868 (NO NICKNAME) "X-PIus" 6th Mission

AIRCREW: SCHUSTER     *     SQUADRON: 577th

CREW POSITIONS AND STATUS:

P   2/LT  Schuster, William H.     KIA
CP  2/LT  Dougherty, Thomas V. Jr  KIA
N   F/O   Harron, Robert J.        KIA
NG  PVT   Maccarrone, Angelo A.     KIA
R/O Sgt   Kohn, Frank A.           KIA
EnG Sgt   Pellecchia, Raymond W.   KIA
WG  S/Sgt Marinelli, Nicholas R.   KIA
WG  Sgt   Englebrecht, Louis C.    KIA
S27*S/Sgt Bleickhardt, Frank G.    KIA
TG  Sgt   Sablitz, Paul  (NMI)     KIA

*German radio voice interpreter.

MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: 577th Sqdn pilot 2/Lt Leon S. Pope gave an after-mission report that the Dodd plane swerved into the Schuster aircraft, severing the latter's wing. Both ships went down with only four chutes seen. German Report #KU 3667 reported that Schuster's ship crashed at 1230 hours near the village of Garbeck near Belve/Westfalen at 1230 hours.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: None as all members perished.

BURIAL RECORDS: A supplementary German Report from Hqs Air Base Werl, #AV 2086/45, dated 6 February 1945, reported that the crewmen were buried in a common grave in the village cemetery at Garbeck on 2 February. Only 2/Lt Schuster, Sgt Englebrecht, S/Sgt Bleickhardt, Sgt Sablitz, and S/Sgt Marinelli were positively identified by the Germans at burial time, the remaining deceased having excessive burn wounds which precluded their identification.

U.S. National Overseas Cemetery records indicate the following interments in the ARDENNES Cemetery near Liege, Belgium: Schuster (Grave A- 22-7), awarded an Air Medal and the Purple Heart; Marinelli (Grave D-39-2), awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart; Sablitz (Grave C-7-56), awarded an Air Medal and Purple Heart; Kohn (Grave D-14-2), awarded an Air Medal and Purple Heart; Pellecchia (Grave C-13-57), awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart. Sgt. Englebrecht is interred at Baltimore National Cemetery, Section E, Site 4337, and S/Sgt. Bleickhardt is interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 12, Site 6088. Sgt Maccarrone is buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Forest Hills, MA, in Section 91, Grave 110-111. Burial locations for the remaining crew members are not known.

NEXT OF KIN DATA IN WWll: Schuster (Mother, Susan Thomas, 2040 Lathers Avenue, Garden City, Michigan); Dougherty (Father, Thomas V. Sr, 420 West Oak Street, Hazleton, Pennsylvania); Harron (Mother, Kathleen E., Burlington, Massachusetts); Maccarrone (Mother, Massima, 17 Motte Street, Boston, Massachusetts); Kohn (Wife, Dorothea M., Monclova, Ohio); Pellecchia (Father, Carmine, 32-16 107th Street, Corona, New York); Englebrecht (Father, Addison L., 1515 Homestead Street, Baltimore, Maryland); Marinelli (Mother, Agnes T., 5517 Angora Terrace, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Bleickhardt (Daughter, Miss Florence M., 47 Grant Street, Rutland, Vermont); and Sablitz (Mother, Katherine, RFD #1, Colchester, Connecticut).