The 23rd Mission
The 23rd MISSION
by Robert P. Bright
East Anglia, Suffolk, England January 10th 1945
The day began as usual in Horham, the home of the 95 th Bomb Group. Up at 5.30 a.m., we dressed and walked a quarter mile to the combat crew mess hall. Our winter flying suit protected us from the chilling wind that blew across the base from the North Sea and the English Channel. After breakfast we went to briefing which was held in a nearby building. The building was a typical Quonset hut with a stage at one end and to the rear of the stage a covered map of England and the rest of Europe. At the briefing we were told the target for today. The intelligence officer indicated on the map the route to and from the target. We also received information on the weather, flight altitude, flak concentrations and alternate targets. The next stop was the equipment section where we checked out our parachute and escape kit. While in the equipment area I met a friend of mine from my hometown, Lt. M.F. Carter, a bombardier from the 336 th Sq. We were discussing the flight plan and noted that he was flying in the low squadron and I was flying in the lead squadron. Lt. Carter said that being in the low element he would be in a position to watch our aircraft during the mission. After our conversation we checked our equipment and I found a bent pin in the release handle of my parachute. I said to Lt. Carter that I was going back to supply and get another parachute, not knowing I would use it later in the day. Trucks were waiting outside to take us to the hardstand where our aircraft was parked.
We took off about 8.00 a.m. and rendezvoused over England until about 9.30 a.m. and continued over the English Channel where we tested our guns and equipment. Gaining altitude over France the crew went on oxygen and continued to our target, which I thought were the bridges over the Rhine at Cologne. However, the official operational record indicates the target was Himmelgeist. Anyway, it made little difference since we were shot down before we reached the target.
At about 12.20 p.m. the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire on the left side where the wing joins the fuselage near the radio compartment. I was in the ball turret and felt the jolt of the explosion. In a few seconds flames were shooting down the left side of the aircraft. I tried to reach someone on the radio but to no avail. I immediately disconnected my radio plug and oxygen line, came out of the turret, put on a portable walk around bottle of oxygen and snapped my parachute into the harness I was wearing. I looked into the radio room to check on the radio operator [Everett] and saw nothing. The whole side of the radio room was blown away and all the equipment was gone as well. I then continued to exit through the waist door on the right side of the aircraft. On the way I found the waist gunner [Mason] lying on the floor. I leaned over to help but had no response. He probably was hit by flak because of the blood on his face and clothes or passed out from lack of oxygen, maybe both. Arriving at the waist door I immediately pulled the emergency door release handle. The door blew open and fell from the plane. With the rushing wind and the steep dive of the aircraft, moving about was very difficult. About the time the door opened the tail gunner [Bell] came from the rear of the aircraft. He looked fine, spoke, and had his parachute on but no walk around oxygen bottle. At this moment he collapsed in front of me while standing next to open door. The only way to help him was to pull the ripcord on his parachute and push him out of the aircraft. It was difficult because he was tall and heavy. About this time the aircraft blew apart. I did not know until after the war that Lt. Carter saw the aircraft go down and watched, until it went out of sight. He wrote to his parents that he did not see any parachutes come out of the aircraft.
The following is the official Missing AirCrew Report [MACR] recorded by the 8th Air Force for our aircraft and crew.
January 10th 1945 – At 1222. 51degrees 09 minutes North, 06 degree 21 minutes South, and with number 2-engine smoking, aircraft left the formation in a steep dive, under control and with the landing gear extended. MACR 11743.
P–POW, CP–KIA, N–POW. B–KIA, TT–KIA, RO–KIA, BT–POW, WG–KIA, TG–KIA
R.G.Rand W.E.Setterfield I.R.Pliskin C.S.Mullins E.L.Adcock E.V.Everett R.P.Bright G.W.Mason C.R.Bell
After the explosion the first thing I remembered was free falling through the sky. My first thought was to pull the ripcord on my parachute; however, my hands were so cold and numb that I could not pull the ripcord. Evidently, during the explosion my gloves, helmet, flight shoes, oxygen mask and bottle were blown away. A few moments later I worked my hand into the pull ring and opened the parachute. What a beautiful sight to look up and see a white, silk umbrella over your head. While falling, I noticed that the exposed areas on my body were pitted with molten metal from the fire. A large cut above my left ear also resulted from the explosion.
On my way down I could see the other aircraft on their way to the target. The day was bright, clear and cold. The ground was covered with snow and I could see the four engines from the aircraft burning in the snow. I did not see any other parachutes on my way down or see anyone shooting at me from the ground although others reported shots were being fired. I hit the ground very hard in an open snow covered field. My left knee was twisted and sprained. No one was around so I gathered my parachute and sat down, took the escape kit out of my flight suit and tended to my injuries. The kit contained sulfur drugs, bandages, map, money and concentrated chocolate bars. My next move was to find some cover since I was in an open field and anyone could see you.
Moments later as I started to move out of the field I saw in the distance a group coming toward me. In a few minutes, five children belonging to Hitler’s Youth organization appeared, all were heavily armed and very angry. After receiving the butt end of a rifle a few times I decided it was best for me to lie down in the snow until everyone settled down. Fortunately, in a few minutes two soldiers from the Wehrmacht appeared and took charge. The two soldiers walked me to the local Gestapo headquarters in Grevenbroich, Germany where I was questioned. Later in the afternoon I was taken to the basement of a local church. When I arrived at the church the pilot [Rand] and the navigator [Pliskin] were waiting. Only then did I realize that we were the only crew members that survived the explosion. We spent most of the afternoon being interrogated by the Germans. The navigator [Pliskin] was the only one who could speak and understand German so he acted as our interpreter. We spent our first night as POWs in the basement of the church.
The next morning, along with two guards, we began our trip to a POW camp. It was a cloudy morning with heavy military traffic on the road. Anti-aircraft gun batteries were everywhere. The gun crews consisted mostly of women with some older male soldiers.
The navigator and I helped the pilot walk on his twisted ankle he injured while landing in his parachute. We crossed the Rhine at Dusseldorf. The bridge was almost impassable because of the heavy damage caused by air raids. On route to our camp we ate what we could find and what was given to us by our guards. At night we would sleep in barns, jails and out in the open. In about a week we arrived at the Dulag Luft in Wetzlar. This was a transit camp run by the Luftwaffe. Our compound was located near the railroad and marshalling yard. The Leica camera factory could be seen in the distance. Here we were given any needed clothes and checked by the medics. I got a pair of shoes to replace the ones that were blown off in the explosion. They were certainly needed because the shoes I had were made of felt with heating wires impregnated in the soles and were not made for walking. The food and housing were adequate. We slept in wooden barracks, which had triple-decker bunks with wood shavings mattress and pillow. With nothing to do, most of our time was occupied by talking, playing sports and watching the Allied fighters strafe and bomb the rail yards. We stayed in Wetzlar about two weeks.
I left Wetzlar for a short drive to the Luftwaffe Intelligence and Evaluation Center in Frankfurt. The pilot and navigator left for another POW camp. Here at the Evaluation Center you were photographed, interrogated and your personal file brought up to date. I had an interview with a member of the International Red Cross who said they would notify my next of kin as to my status. After the paperwork was completed I was put in solitary confinement for ten days. The cell was about twice the length of the bed and five feet wide. A small painted window located at the end of the room was the only light. No electricity or heat was available. The room was equipped with a wooden bed, no cover, straw mattress, a stool and bucket. What food available was served to you through a small trap door at the bottom of the entry door. Food was served twice a day. For breakfast we had a piece of bread which was ninety- percent sawdust with some sort of sweet mixture and in the evening a bowl of broth and a slice of potato. We got out of the cell once or twice a day to be interrogated. Any other time you wanted out you had to get the attention of the guard by beating on the door. Sometime he would come and then again he might not. The days were long with nothing to do. This was the worst part. My main activity was sleeping but after a while that became boring. Some days I would spend hours writing menus on the cell wall with the pencil the Red Cross official had given me. I am thankful this confinement lasted only ten days.
On February 17th 1945 we left the interrogation camp. The Germans took us by truck to the main rail station in Frankfurt and loaded us into boxcars for our trip to Nurnberg. As the train was about to leave, the air raid sirens began to sound. The POWs hated to hear the sirens because the Frankfurt rail yards were a favorite target for the 8 th Air Force. As soon as the sirens sounded the guards locked the doors to the boxcars and took off for the air raid shelters. In a few minutes bombs were falling everywhere. Fortunately, only a few of the cars were hit with only a few casualties. After the all clear was sounded the guards came back and tended to the wounded. Train crews began working to repair the tracks and later in the afternoon the train pulled out of the station for Nurnberg.
Stalag XIII D was a permanent camp located just outside of the city of Nurnberg. The POWs were separated by country and branch of service and placed in different compounds. The compounds, separated by a single fence, consisted of five main buildings and housed about two hundred men. Our quarters were very meager consisting of wooden bunk beds, wood shavings or straw mattress, straw pillow and one blanket. A small wood stove for heating was located in the center of the building. Each POW was issued a bowl, cup and spoon. Our only meal was served in the middle of the day and consisted of a bowl of clear soup, a slice of bread and sometimes a boiled potato. At intervals we received Red Cross parcels. They contained sweets, canned goods and cigarettes. The only problem was the Germans would open all the cans and everything had to be eaten very soon. This was done to prevent storing the food to use during an escape. Most of the time the Germans would take the cigarettes when opening the parcels. When this happened it took away our only bartering item. We had outside showers and latrines. Activities inside the camp were few so each group had to provide their own entertainment. Being next to the Russian compound always broke the monotony. The Germans were not very fond of the Russians; consequently they gave them very little of anything, especially food. At night the German guards would turn attack dogs loose in the compounds to keep everyone in the buildings. Each morning the guards would come and get the dogs but in the Russian compound the guards would find nothing but the hides nailed to the side of the building. This would upset the Germans and to retaliate for killing the dogs the soldiers would open fire with their automatic weapons killing many Russians. The Germans would stack the bodies on horse drawn carts and haul them away. The same thing happened many times while at Stalag XIII. Each night we would occupy our time by putting together a small crystal radio set. The parts were originally obtained when POWs were on work details outside the camp and by bribing the guards. After assembling the set we would listen to BBC’s nightly news that was broadcast for POWs and other resistant groups in Europe. By listening to the broadcasts we knew the Allies were getting close to our area and the Germans would be moving us soon. Sure enough we left Nurnberg April 4 th 1945.
The march from Nurnberg to Moosburg would last twelve days. Approximately, 70,000 men from the Allied nations, including officers and enlisted men, would make the trip. We passed through the cities of Neumarkt, Pondof, crossing the Danube near Neustadt, Obermuchen and Moosburg. The weather was better than expected. There was a little snow at the higher elevations, partly cloudy skies and some rain. On our first day of the march we were vulnerable to air attacks from our own fighters not knowing we were POWs. In order to identify us to the fighter pilots we gathered all available materials and constructed the letters POW in the open fields. After the fighters saw our message they flew protective cover for us the rest of the way to Moosburg. Unfortunately, there were some casualties from the strafing attacks. At night we slept in barns, haystacks, chicken houses and any other available structure. If nothing were available we would sleep on the side the roadway or in the open fields. The best accommodation for sleeping was to be assigned to a barn. Here you would find some hay and maybe some newspaper. Then three or four of us would get together, put the newspaper over us and then pull the straw on top. This was the only way to keep warm during the long winter nights. Being on the march was better than being in a POW camp. Food was better, especially in the rural areas where you could scrounge for potatoes and any other vegetables. Although the food had to be eaten raw it was better than nothing. Red Cross boxes would arrive intermittently and that was a treat. While marching through the cities you could always break rank and go into someone’s house and ask for some food. Most of the time if they had anything they would share with you. The guards were very lax and most of the time did not know you were gone. They did not seem to care. Most were old, tired of the war and wanted to go home. We all knew the war was coming to an end soon. The march ended in Moosberg on April 16th 1945.
Stalag VII was a permanent camp located about thirty miles from Munich and twenty miles from Dachau. The camp was divided into compounds with wooden barracks and separated by a high fence. When the contingent of POWs arrived from Nurnberg we were put in tents located in the farthest corner of the camp away from the main entrance. The area was a sea of mud caused by the recent snow and rain. Most of our time was spent digging ditches for latrines and draining water away from the sleeping area. Many prisoners slept outside because of the over crowded conditions inside the tents. Very little food was available. The standard meal for the day was a bowl of soup and a slice of bread. After arriving it seemed everything was disorganized, no one was in command and rumors ran wild throughout the camp. Things began to happen on the night of April 28 th 1945. Just before dark we could hear faint noises to the west of the camp. In the early evening we saw a few flashes in the sky. It looked as if it might be lightning but these flashes had a different sound and we knew that the Third Army was close. Also, the guards were acting different and some were seen leaving with their personal belongings. I had one guard approach and ask me to sign an affidavit indicating that he had never mistreated POWs. The next morning the first thing I saw was a P-51 fighter plane flying low over the camp. Then by midmorning the silence was broken as the Germans began firing 88mm guns over the camp into the American lines. Then the Americans began shelling Moosburg with 105mm howitzers. While this was going on we were busy digging foxholes to get in until the fighting was over. Later in the day the artillery stopped and the Third Army began moving through Moosburg. The earth began to tremble as the tanks moved through the main roads. Some of the tanks came through the main gate; others punched holes in the perimeter fence around the camp. This was a great sight to see as we came out of our foxhole. When we saw the American tanks we knew we had finally been liberated. Our first thought after being liberated was food. Our group was fortunate enough to be near one of the tanks that carried cases of ten-in-one field rations. One case was designed to feed ten men for one day but there was enough food to feed our group of fifty. Most of the guards were gone but those still trying to get away were caught and executed by some of the uncontrollable POWs who had been persecuted for so long by the Germans. Later in the afternoon the commander of the Third Army, Gen. Patton entered the main gate of the camp. He spoke a few words and then moved on with the combat units. Things quieted down after the military police moved in and took control of the camp. The next few days were spent trying to get organized and waiting for orders on our next move. With nothing to do most of the POWs went on sight seeing tours of the area. While walking down the streets of the deserted town of Moosburg we noticed a building that looked like a bank. Looking for souvenirs, we entered the building but found nothing but a vault that was locked and no way to open the door. While in the building we heard tanks moving through town on their way to the front lines. One of the tanks stopped and wanted to know if anything was wrong. We indicated we were looking for souvenirs inside the bank but could not get the vault door open. The tank commander said he thought he could help. He then positioned the front of his tank in the front door of the bank and fired a single shot into the combination lock and the door opened. Inside the vault we found stacks of pre-war money but nothing of value. Back at camp we decided to go to the headquarters building and get our personal records the Germans kept on each POW. We found all of our records and now we had our souvenir. We had been liberated about a week when orders came for us to move by truck to an airstrip near Regensburg, Germany. Here C-47’s were waiting to fly us to Reims, France, which was about forty miles north east of Paris. This was a temporary airfield with steel matted runways constructed by the Corps of Engineers. We spent the night and the next day boarded trucks to transport us to Le Havre, France.
The trip to camp Lucky Strike, near Le Havre, covered about seventy-five miles over rough roads. Most of this area was devastated during the Normandy invasion. All vehicles and personnel had to stay on the road because the shoulders and the open areas along the road had not been cleared of mines. Lucky Strike was a city of tents; built especially to process POWs for their return to the States. When we arrived we were told to strip and deposit our clothes in open pits for burning. We were deloused and sent to the shower tents for our first hot shower since leaving England. New uniforms and shoes were issued. The Red Cross gave us a shaving kit, which contained a razor, toothbrush and other accessories. The next day we were assigned to a holding area as determined by your home state. Here we were given additional medical screening and administrative personnel brought our records up to date. After all the processing was completed our time was spent relaxing, eating and enjoying the recreational facilities. Waiting for our shipping orders home was complicated by the large number of POWs in the camp. Both surface and air were used to transport POWs to the States but space was critical. It would be a month before some ex- POWs left Lucky Strike. I left France May 16th 1945 on a hospital ship and arrived in New York on June 2 nd 1945. Busses were waiting to take us to Camp Kilmer, NJ. The next day we boarded a train for Ft. McPherson, Ga. After processing, we were granted a sixty-day leave and then ordered to report to AAF Headquarters in Miami Beach, Fla. on or before August 6th 1945. Arriving in Miami for R&R [Rest and Recuperation] I was assigned to the Rony Plaza hotel that was located on the beach. Here we underwent more evaluation and testing. Our schedule was relaxed with very few official duties. The food was very good and the planned entertainment was great. This lasted for about six weeks, and then I was transferred to Cochran Field, Ga., an Air Force base near my hometown. I was there about a week before being discharged on September 26 th 1945.
Robert Pearson Bright, Ball Turret Gunner
95th Bomb Group (H), 412th Squadron 8th Air Force, 3rd Air Division, 13th Combat Wing
Horham, England – 1944