An ETO Adventure--95th Bomb Group [B-17s]--by Robert A. Titus, 2d Lt.
Titus was a music graduate of the University of Iowa when drafted in August 1941. After serving
in an Army Band until December 7th, he became an air cadet and was commissioned as a
navigator in October 1942. In April 1943 his B-17 Group was stationed at Alconbury, England.
On his third mission his plane was hit and the crew bailed out in the Rennes area of France. Titus
describes his travels over France to the Swiss border and his entry into Switzerland. There is a
detailed description of the week he spent traveling over France including the reaction of his
companions. He describes his interrogation in Switzerland and even though military personnel
entering a neutral country without having been caught were supposed to be interned, he avoided
that condition.
My Nine Months in Wartime Switzerland--95th Bomb Group (H)--by Robert Titus, 2d Lt.
Titus describes in detail his activities while he was in Switzerland from June 1943 until March
1944. He also describes his contacts with military and civilian persons in Switzerland. From
October 1943 until March 1944, Titus worked for Allen Dulles in Bern, Switzerland. His job was
coding and decoding messages sent to and from the OSS offices in Washington, London and
Africa. He also describes participating in military funerals for U.S. airmen who were killed in
crashes in Switzerland. Titus also describes his dating while he was in Switzerland. In February
1944, Titus was selected to be returned to the United States in exchange for German aviators who
were also interned in Switzerland. He traveled by train through France to the Spanish border.
Mission to Emden, Germany--358th Squadron, 390th Bomb Group--by Lawrence R. Pote, 2d
Lieutenant.
Lt. Pote describes the routine for embarking on a combat mission from the base in East Anglia,
including the combat breakfast and the briefing for the mission. He also describes the lack of
compete cover by P-47 fighters all the way to the target. As a result of enemy fighters, Pote's
plane lost its No. 2 engine, and their plane used extra power on the other engines which resulted in
a shortage of fuel. Their plane reached the U.K., but landed prior to reaching their home
field.
Mission to Berlin--358th Squadron, 390th Bomb Group (H), 8th Air Force--by Lawrence R. Pote,
2d Lieutenant.
Lt. Pote describes in detail his role as a co-pilot on a B-17 as his group participated in the first
attack on Berlin by U.S. Army Air Force planes in March 1944. He describes his plane being hit
by fighters and the struggle to put out the fires. He also describes the flak over the target, the
dropping of the bombs and the loss of one engine and the landing flaps. Lt. Pote completed 28
missions and was rotated to the U.S. prior to June 6, 1944.
A Tenth of a Second to Eternity--466th Bomb Group, 2d Division, 8th Air Force, B-24
Bomber--by John B. Mitchell, Sgt.
Mitchell was a gunner on a new B-24 named "My Devotion" in February 1945 when the assigned
target was Osnabruck. This crew had completed seven missions and would have P-51 Mustang
fighter cover for the entire mission. The primary target was cloud covered, so a secondary target
was designated. Unfortunately, the new B-24 used more fuel that the older ship and the pilot felt
he could not get back to England. He was forced to drop out of formation and try to land in
Belgium. Mitchell describes in a very detailed way the concerns of the crew, the lack of fighter
protection and the concentration of flak received before the plane landed in Brussels, where the
crew spent the night listening to buzz bombs.
Mission to Hamburg--545th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force--Warren
Dillon, Lt.
Lt. Dillon was a bombardier stationed in Northamptonshire, England and describes his seventh
bombing mission on 25 July 1943. They were scheduled to bomb Hamburg at 26,000 feet, but
their plane was hit over the island of Helgoland and lost an engine and they were forced to bail out
near Hamburg. He describes his experience as a prisoner of war in Moosburg, Germany. The
were liberated by Gen. Patton's forces 29 April 1945.
Reflections on 1942--326th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group--by Harold B.
Schellkopf, 2d Lt.
Lt. Schellkopf graduated from high school and enrolled at Ohio University in the fall of 1942 at
the age of seventeen. While at Ohio University he tried to enter the Navy V-6 flying program, but
was told there was no vacancies. He was drafted into the Army on April 13, 1943 and in June
transferred to the Army Air Forces, became a bombardier and after lengthy training flew two
missions with the 8th Air Force prior to the end of the war in Europe.
Mission to Mayen--556th Bomb Squadron, 387th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force--by Paul R.
Priday, 2d Lt.
Lt. Priday describes a mission of his squadron, 556th Bomb Squadron, in December 1944 which
was to attack a railroad bridge at Mayen, Germany, about 25 miles west of Coblenz. The unit
used Martin B-26 bombers flying from a base near St. Quentin, France. Priday flew as a co-pilot
on this mission and he describes the nature of the combat actions on this mission specifically and
provides general information about other missions.
Experience in the U.S. Air Force--612th Squadron, 401st Bomb Group--by Gilbert S. Guiler, 2nd
Lt.
Lt. Guiler graduated from Ohio State University in 1940 and taught school before he entered the
Army Air Forces in 1942. He served as a crew chief engineer on a B-24. He subsequently
graduated from aviation cadet training and was assigned as first pilot of a B-17 in June 1944. He
flew a new B-17G to England, but his crew received an older plane at Deenethorpe Field about 70
miles from London. He describes in detail his first mission when the plane was very short of fuel
on the return. The greatest number of missions flown by the 612th Squadron was in March
1945.
Ninth Air Force--30th Mobile Repair and Reclamation Squadron--by Willis Bauer, S/Sgt.
Bauer was an industrial arts teacher before he entered the Army Air Forces. He received special
training in the sheet metal area, and remained at the school as an instructor prior to moving
overseas to England. After the 30th Mobil Repair Squadron moved to the Continent, this unit
followed Gen. Patton's Third U.S. Army and repaired fighter planes. Bauer describes in detail the
movements of the unit and the repair of planes.
Parachute Infantry Training--82d Airborne--by George R. Gist, T/Sgt.
T/Sgt. Gist had served with the 82d Airborne Division in North Africa, Sicily and Italy before the
unit was dispatch to the U.K. to prepare for the Normandy Invasion. While the unit was stationed
in the Midlands, Prior to the assignment to the U.K., Sgt. Gist had been a part of the division
artillery and was transported in a glider. Gist volunteered to go to "jump school," which he did in
England and became jump qualified prior to the Normandy invasion.
June 6, 1944--144th Armored Signal Company, 4th Armored Division--by Furman Allen, 2d
Lt.
Lt. Allen describes the training of the 4th Armored Division and his role in the communications
company. He specifically outlines his role in delivering a classified message to all units of the 4th
Armored Division on the evening of 5 June 1944. The message was classified as "Top Secret"
and informed all the units there would be radio silence at sunrise. The role of the 4th Armored
Division was to keep quiet so that the invading troops could do their job.
Mine Laying in Northern Ireland--202nd Engineer Combat Battalion--by Paul E. Kohli, Cpl.
Kohli describes a training session in mine-laying near Camp Ballyscullion. British mines were
used and were laid in peat. After a few hours the troops were ordered to locate and pick up these
mines. Three members of the 202d were killed trying to re-insert the pin in a mine.
Letter Written on V-E Day 1945--U.S. General Hospital in Sherborne, England--by Christen
Jonassen.
Jonassen was recuperating from wounds received in combat when V-E Day arrived. This was the
second time he had been hospitalized from wounds. His letter written on May 9th describes in
detail how he celebrated V-E Day by going into Sherborne. His concluding sentence in this letter
states, "If at last the dawn of the long night is breaking, and if we could only march together and
feel together as we did last night, the people of all nations should have no fear of the future.
V-E Day Plus 1--My Memories of It--by Lester Weber
Weber had been released from a prisoner of war camp on April 16, 1945. He was sent to the 7th
General Hospital in England where his quarantine ended on V-E Day. He describes his
experiences at Buckingham Palace on the day after V-E Day.
Send e-mail for the World War II Round Table to
Desmond Cook at: Cook.12@osu.edu
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