Veterans Day
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Veterans Day
A heartfelt Thank You to all our veterans today and every day. We are grateful for your service to our country.
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Re: Veterans Day
Yes, my paternal grandfather. I think this is the only photo of him "over there". He returned from France and after several years of bachelor life he married on Black Friday but being a farmer, the family was unaffected for the most part.
Re: Veterans Day
Photo of B-24 Liberator bomber crew taken in Omaha Nebraska May 1944. Combat ship named "Return Engagement" based in East Anglia in Britain July 1944. Crew photo kneeling L to R front row: Pilot/Aircraft Commander, Co-Pilot, Navigator, Bombardier. Standing, L to R, nose turrent gunner, upper ball turrent gunner, lover ball turrent gunner, right waist gunner, left waist gunner (my uncle, Charles J. Summers of Phila. PA.).
Shot down over Magdeburg, Germany September 19, 1944 on her 8th mission bombing railroad yards staging ammunition trains. She took an 88mm antiaircraft round burst into her left inboard engine, igniting the fuel lines and collapsing the wing. Pilot gave the order to bail out and everyone hit the silk. Navigator Joe Veyna of Napa, CA. was the last crew member to bail out and saw her disintegrate in midair seconds after he got out.
They were all taken prisoner within hours by local farmers and townspeople except Joe Veyna, who hid in a tree overnight and tried to shoot it out with locals the next morning. He ran out of ammo (6 rounds in his S&W .38 aircrew special) and the locals got him and beat the hell out of him. They all survived except the pilot, who died of injuries incurred while exiting the aircraft and landing by parachute. He was 21 years old!
They were first taken to a general marshalling area for POWs and segregated according to service discipline (Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.). Then they were taken by train to a prison camp in what was then Pomerania (actually eastern Poland) near the village of Gross Tychow, where they were held until liberated by advancing Russian armored columns coming from the east headed for Berlin in April 1945. They were subjected to the "Death March" earlier that winter, but that is a longer story than I care to go into now. Everyone but the deceases pilot returned home in the late summer of 1945 after the war.
When I think of what a really bad day I'm having, I look at this picture on the wall next to my desk. Kevin
Shot down over Magdeburg, Germany September 19, 1944 on her 8th mission bombing railroad yards staging ammunition trains. She took an 88mm antiaircraft round burst into her left inboard engine, igniting the fuel lines and collapsing the wing. Pilot gave the order to bail out and everyone hit the silk. Navigator Joe Veyna of Napa, CA. was the last crew member to bail out and saw her disintegrate in midair seconds after he got out.
They were all taken prisoner within hours by local farmers and townspeople except Joe Veyna, who hid in a tree overnight and tried to shoot it out with locals the next morning. He ran out of ammo (6 rounds in his S&W .38 aircrew special) and the locals got him and beat the hell out of him. They all survived except the pilot, who died of injuries incurred while exiting the aircraft and landing by parachute. He was 21 years old!
They were first taken to a general marshalling area for POWs and segregated according to service discipline (Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.). Then they were taken by train to a prison camp in what was then Pomerania (actually eastern Poland) near the village of Gross Tychow, where they were held until liberated by advancing Russian armored columns coming from the east headed for Berlin in April 1945. They were subjected to the "Death March" earlier that winter, but that is a longer story than I care to go into now. Everyone but the deceases pilot returned home in the late summer of 1945 after the war.
When I think of what a really bad day I'm having, I look at this picture on the wall next to my desk. Kevin
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Re: Veterans Day
Thanks for great picture Setter.
What a wonderful story Kevin. Was this told to you first hand ? I bet the crewman used a Colt Commando in his shootout. They were issued to aircrews, security guards in defense plants, MP's, etc. It's interesting to me that the locals would take the airmen prisoner as opposed to helping them, although they were shot down over Germany. Not everyone supported the Nazi party.
What a wonderful story Kevin. Was this told to you first hand ? I bet the crewman used a Colt Commando in his shootout. They were issued to aircrews, security guards in defense plants, MP's, etc. It's interesting to me that the locals would take the airmen prisoner as opposed to helping them, although they were shot down over Germany. Not everyone supported the Nazi party.
Owning a Fox is not a spectator sport.
Re: Veterans Day
Daryl, my uncle shared the details of this saga with myself and other family members firsthand over the years. After a peaceful life, he died after complications from a stroke in 1979. Joe Veyna the navigator (tallest guy in the first row, kneeling), was the only crew member not captured right away. The locals lived in deadly fear of the Gestapo; anyone found hiding,aiding or abetting the escape of Allied forces were summarily shot, so they generally turned them in promptly. The barest remains of their prison camp, Stalag Luft 4, are still recognizable today.
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Re: Veterans Day
Amazing tale, Kev!! Watched William Wyler's "Memphis Belle" propaganda doc on TCM last night. The bravery displayed by those air crews (so many stories went untold) was commonplace. How they ever crawled back into those planes after a harrowing mission defies human nature. The brass called it "Maximum Effort"; more like young and fearless with balls of steel!! Branding them as "The Greatest Generation" was clearly an understatement!
PS---I had no idea a B-24 held a crew of ten. Talk about cramped quarters!!
PS---I had no idea a B-24 held a crew of ten. Talk about cramped quarters!!
On the whole....I'd rather be in Philadelphia....
- Jeff S
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Re: Veterans Day
Kevin, thanks for sharing that story. I can't imagine the bravery of those young men. Here's a picture of my dad, Jack Stegmeier. He became very good friends with a German family (after the end of the war) and occasionally shot rabbits (hare) for them to eat.
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Re: Veterans Day
No wonder he needed an M1 carbine to stop them.
Great photo Jeff. I see where you got your good looks from.
Great photo Jeff. I see where you got your good looks from.
Owning a Fox is not a spectator sport.