Name Robert DEGHETTO Rank Sgt
Number ? Date of Birth/Age ?
Unit 91 Bomb Group, 401 Bomb Squadron, USAAF    
Aircraft B-17 Crew position Tail gunner
Based at ?    
Target Munster, Germany Failed to return 10 Oct 1943
Escape Networks Karst Smit(?)
EVA
Comète Line
Possum Line		 Capture Beaumetz Les Loges (13 km s/w of Arras), France - 8 Apr 1944
Liberated ? References Michael Leblanc's excellent notes
Various EVA files - Hector Leplat (#322), Charles Hoste (#306) & Prosper Spilliaert (#270), Gaston Matthys (#329) & Alphonse Escrinier (#279)
Alain Durier's notes
NARA:RG498/290/55/29/3 Box 22- Awards' file - Robert Beaumont
NARA:RG498/290/55/29/3 Box 109- Awards' file - Lucien Delacroix
NARA:RG498/290/55/27/2 Box 126 - Awards' file - René Dhaille
NARA:RG498/290/55/29/6 Box 30 - Awards' file - Luce Dorlet
NARA:RG498/290/55/29/3 Box 111- Awards' file - Marguerite Delaporte
NARA:RG498/290/55/27/2 Box 406 - Awards' file - Renée Weigel
NARA:RG498/290/55/21/1 - John Watlington (SPG/1925 Appendix C)

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Last updated on 13 September 2013

SYNOPSIS

10 Oct 1943

Baled out & landed near Markelo, Netherlands (near Enschede, ~45 kms from German border).
Hid in a wood & met up with Lepkowski, a crew member.
Spent the night in a farmhouse (without Lepkowski).
11 Oct 1943
 Taken to another home & met up again with Lepkowski.
Stayed a few days ...
~13 Oct 1943
 Deghetto & Lepkowsi taken by Gerrit Cornells Slotboom (policeman) to a room over a garage belonging to Dr. Benny Wanrooy.
Stayed a few days ...
~16 Oct 1943
 Gerardus J Niezink (aka Mouse) arranged for M. Dollekamp to drive them to his house in Wierden (20 kms NNE of Markelo).
Stayed about one week, then Deghetto & Lepkowski travelled separately ...
~23-27 Oct 1943
 Moved south during this time.
Taken across the Dutch/Belgian border by a young man.
27 Oct 1943

Escorted by Prosper Spilliaert (EVA) and/or Charles Hoste (EVA) to the home of Hector & Irma Leplat (EVA) in rue Rubens, Schaerbeek, Bruxelles.
Interrogated by Alphonse Escrinier (EVA).
Lepkowski arrived.
Stayed until ...

29 Oct 1943

Deghetto, alone, taken by Gaston Matthys (EVA) to an unknown destination, until ...

4 Nov 1943
 Deghetto, Lepkowski, T/Sgt Theodore Kellers & T/Sgt Jarvis Allen (USAAF) taken by Michou (Micheline Dumon) to Belgian/French frontier.
Crossed, on foot, at Hertain-Camphin.
Also crossing were 3 Belgians.
Frontier guard was Lt. Maurice Desson.
Arrived in Amiens.
~10 Nov 1943

Taken to Paris.
Sheltered by a man who was a six-day bicycle champion who ran a night club.
Stayed for ~1 month.
~29 Nov 1943

Taken to Reims by Raymonde Beuré.
Sheltered by Renée Weigel.
Met Carlyle Darling (USAAF) and Ian Robb (RAF)
Stayed until ...
~26 Dec 1943
 Deghetto & Darling left Weigel's accompagnied by Raymonde Beuré. With Alden Faudie (USAAF) & John Watlington (RCAF) travelled to Tergnier (~80 kms NW of Reims).
Spent night in railway station ...
~27 Dec 1943
 ... then carried on to Amiens.
Contacted Dr. Beaumont at Warloy-Baillon (~20 kms NE of Amiens), who took them to Toutencourt (~5 kms W of Warloy-Baillon).
Deghetto & Darling were separated from the other two.
Stayed until ...
~28 Jan 1944
 Dr Beaumont drove Deghetto, Darling, Faudie & Watlington to Contay (20 kms NE of Amiens).
Deghetto & Darling sheltered by Michèle Magniez.
Stayed until ....
~12 Feb 1944
 Deghetto & Darling collected by Dr Beaumont. It's not known where they were taken, but maybe to his place in Warloy-Baillon.
~15 Mar 1944
 Sheltered at the home of Luce Dorlet from Beaumetz les Loges (15 km s/w of Arras). Also staying there was James Lires (USAAF) who had sheltered there for 2 1/2 months.
25 Mar 1944
 Deghetto & Darling taken by Marcel Bezu of Beaumetz les Loges (15 km s/w of Arras) to Marguerite Delaporte of Warlus (near Beaumetz) where they stayed until ..
8 Apr 1944
 Deghetto, Darling & Delaporte cycled to the home of M. Bezu, to await their escort.
James Lires (USAAF ) who had been sheltered by Luce Dorlet for 3 months was there, as well as Douglas Matheson (RCAF) who was being sheltered by M. Bezu.
The escort arrived accompanied by German troops. M.Bezu managed to escape; other helpers, incl. Mlle Giselle Dorlet, & airmen were arrested.

 

Members of crew

Pilot
?
 2nd Lt Richard E. VERRILL PoW - Stalag 3A
Co-pilot
?
 2nd Lt Joseph ROSE PoW - Stalag 3A
Arrested 12 Oct 1943
Navigator
?
 2nd Lt Art HORNING Comète Line #241
Spain - 23 Dec 1943
Bombardier
?
 2nd Lt John A LILLEY Killed in action
Radio operator
?
 Sgt Ross REPP PoW
Arrested - Liège 23 Jan 1944
Flight Engineer
?
 S/Sgt Roy JACKSON PoW - Stalag 17
Krems, Austria
Ball turret gunner
?
 S/Sgt Gilbert L TAFF PoW - Stalag 17
Krems, Austria
Waist gunner
32448009
 S/Sgt Stanley E LEPKOWSKI PoW
Arrested - Pyrenees ~24 Apr 1944
Waist gunner
?
 S/Sgt Paul LOORMAN PoW - Stalag 17
Krems, Austria
Tail gunner
? 
 Sgt Robert DEGHETTO Narrator

 

I don't remember what clothes I was wearing that day, except for the fur lined boots. When I heard "Bailout," I wasted no time getting my parachute on and bailing out the rear hatch. A German fighter followed me down, waved his wings at me, and took off. I did not see any other parachutes so I must have been one of the first ones out.
When I hit the ground, I took off my parachute and hid it under some leaves in the forest I landed in. My back was hurt when the parachute opened-because of my position or of not having the harness adjusted correctly. At least that is what I blame now whenever my back aches, but no G.I. benefits for it.
While I was in the woods I met Stan Lepkowski who told me to wait with him for some Dutch people who came with a sack of clothes for us. We found clothes that fit somewhat and then they separated us. I was taken to a farmhouse.
The next day Stan and I were brought together again for a few days at another house, after which we were taken to a doctor's house where we stayed in a room over the garage for a few days.
We were moved by taxi in the evening to the farm of a man named Niezink. A few days later, Stan and I were separated again. All in all, I was in Holland eight or ten days, our moves were southerly each time. (Somewhere along the line we gave up our escape package pictures and had our pictures taken for fake ID cards, but I never saw my escape picture again until 1985 when the Dutchman, name of Niezink, who hooked us up with the underground, sent copies to us via Art Horning our navigator.

Some young fellow, whom I believe was a student, took us over the border to Belgium where someone else escorted us into Brussels. Roughly, about a month after bailout I was in France the Amiens area.

From there (Brussels) I went to Paris, for about a month. In Paris I stayed with a man who was a six-day bicycle champion who owned or managed a night club so he was free during the day. We rode all over Paris on bicycle. The Germans were there but they didn't know us from the citizens. Later, after the war, my wife and I visited with all the people I had known there.

After Paris, I went to Rheims where I spent two or three months, before things got hot for the underground. A French lady I stayed with in Rheims was captured by the Germans right after I left there. She was taken to Ravensbruck concentration camp where she was tortured but she did not reveal anything. She was a heroine to the people in that part of France. From Rheims, I was taken back to the Amiens area, almost to the same place I had stayed before. In Amiens, which is near the Pas de Calais, I was finally caught by the Germans, on or about Easter 1944. I was captured because some Frenchman told the Germans about us. We did not have to worry about the Germans, but we did have to worry about the French.

<There's more to come!>