SYNOPSIS

E&E/207

Members of crew

At 0700 hours on 5 [sic] October 1943 we left BURY ST. EDMUNDS to bomb FRANKFURT. Shortly after 'bombs away', enemy fighters attacked the high group behind us. Our ship suddenly left formation. If we were hit; it was by a nose attack that I could not see, or by another aircraft in our own formation, I looked out of the left radio room window and saw smoke coming from number two engine.

The pilot called over the inter-phone that we would be out of formation a while. He could not feather the prop of the smoking engine. The fighters left the high group and came down in pairs, attacking viciously from 3 and 6 o'clock. As each pair came in it broke to right and left, circling just beyond our range, re-queueing in formation to continue the attack.

Number two engine burst into flame. We were flying at 19000 feet and the pilot said we would have to hit the deck. We went down to 5000 feet in a steep dive. The fighters followed. The fire went out but the smoke was still thick. We dove up and down in evasive action, as the attack was renewed. A third fighter tried to come in with an attacking pair, but levelled off when the pilot saw that he could not make it. The fighter pilot baled out, after I had given a four second burst on my guns. I took his picture with a 9K20.

The ball turret gunner called that he had been, hit in the leg by a 30 caliber, but would stay in his position. The plane was vibrating badly and the prop was still unfeathered. The co-pilot told us to get on our chutes. The oxygen system was shot out and I could hear 20 mm bursting in the nose. The fighters left us. The ball turret gunner asked for permission to leave his position. The tail gunner called to find out whether we were baling out or not. An unidentified voice said, "Let's not', and there was a. short silence. The bale-out order came over the inter-phone distinctly twice. I'm sure it was the pilot who spoke, but he did not say, "Pilot to crew."

The waist gunners pulled the waist emergency hatch and baled out one after the other. I started to go, but noticed that the ball turret gunner was sitting radio room doorway. I went back and .asked him if .his leg was too badly injured to jump. He said it was broken. I put on my head set and throat mike, but received no reply when I called the pilot. I took him back to the waist door and pushed him out. I jumped behind him.

I waited fifteen seconds before pulling the ripcord. I could see the air­craft flying level on a 220° heading; it was still smoking. I counted two chutes beside my own. One was the ball turret gunner. I tried to keep my eye on him, but lost sight of him at 200 feet because of the trees. I pulled on my shroud lines and landed just clear of this wood. I rolled up my chute and buried it with my cap, gloves and throat mike in a hole that I dug in the mud with my hands.

I ran about 400 yards. The wood was thick and there was a lot of under­ growth. I found a washed out gully and hid in it, pulling the brush around me. After twenty minutes here I heard a voice calling, "Hello boy - Hello boy - Parachutist - -Will hide thee." I did not move, as it sounded suspicious to me, and I did not know in what country I had landed. When it was quiet again, I got into a more comfortable position and opened my aids box and purse. With the maps and one of the compasses I made a rough estimate of the route south to Spain. I filled a water bottle in a nearby stream and put in a halazone tablet. I waited another four hours. It was so quiet that I decided I could safely look for the ball turret gunner. I circled the wood but I never found him.
At dusk I set out, heading south through a small deserted village. I was wearing G.I coveralls over my heated suit and heated winter flying boots. When I reached the center of the village a man in a grey uniform and black boots rounded the corner suddenly. He was trying all the door handles. He was curious and looked hard at me. I was across the street and kept plodding on my way in the fading light. On clearing the village, I started south on my planned compass course. I walked until early morning.

The morning of the sixth, I slept in a haystack. I set off again, but had to rest quite often as the heavy boots were tiring me. I was always cautious and kept off the roads. Whenever possible, I travelled through woods, even when these areas were slightly off my course. That night I slept in the open ground, when I was too exhausted to go further. Horlicks tablets were all I had had to eat since parachuting.

On the morning of the 7th I felt that I must have some help. I waited until I could see a solitary farmer on the outskirts of a wood. I stepped out of cover saying, "Hello, I am an American." Surprise and pleasure immediately showed on his excited face. He told me, in sign language, to rest while he went for a friend and food. When he left, I followed him from the inside of the wood, for 600 yards. I wanted to have a chance to look the friend over before he could see me. The friend seemed reliable and I followed him. Looking stealthily over his shoulder the whole time, he led me to his house in the village, and slammed the door shut when he pulled me inside.

The house was filthy and I couldn't swallow most of the food. I spent the day In the loft and the night in the house. A young man brought me his tobacco ration and the friend outfitted me in peasants clothes and shoes.

I walked on at 3 o'clock on the 8th of October. I now knew I was in France and therefore felt much braver. The farmer had also given me some idea of my location. About mid-morning I came to a good-sized village [Dormans, 30 kms SW of Reims]. There was a solitary man on the outskirts and I asked him for directions. I went the way he pointed. A few minutes later I heard a motorbike coming up behind me. I could, see there was only one man so I did not try to hide. He stopped beside me and tried to make me understand that he could help me. I went with him, but soon discovered that I was suspected of being German. In trying to give a French flavor to my words, I was making the American "Yeah" sound life; the German "Ja." We went to the home of a man who could speak some English. We were still having trouble making ourselves understood, but he vouched for my being an American. From here my journey was arranged.

We then went to a small bar in a long village. The bar keeper’s sister was a member of the Organisation. I spent two nights with Martin. He gave me a sweater and a lunch to carry with me when I left.

On 10 October I was taken to Fismes in the car of M. Pradel, who had been born in the U.S.A.. In Fismes I spent four days with M & Mme Jaunet [Jeunet]. They had a small hotel bar. I met Raymond Gallet, the weak link in the organisation - he talks his head off. He is an artist and has a lovely wife. It is he who arranges where the boys are to stay and takes food to the house in the woods. I was expected to leave on 16th October. On the 15th October, I was taken to Mme. & M. René Litelly. He is a coffin maker, but also makes tables etc. I was told I would have to wait a month.. Mme Gallet & Mme. Litelly spoke a bit of English. I had very few visitors, but did visit Sgt Klein & Sgt DesRochers one night. I tried to find out how to get over the Pyrenees if the airplane idea failed.

On 15 November the organisations Radio Operator [Conrad Lafleur] gave me an I card, and I was put into a taxi with Val Johnson, RAF, & Fred Murray, USAAF. Our guide was a girl [Raymonde Beuré?]. We went to Rheims and caught a train to Paris, where we were met by Capt. Martin [Dominique Edgard Potier]. We spent the night in a small hotel room.

The morning of the 16th November we took the train to Chauny. After waiting 30 mins in a little restaurant, a truck picked us up and took us to a small house in the country. There I met Georges Romeo (a Belgian Count) [Georges d'Oultrement], & Brewer [Breuer] & Chichester. That night we received a message that we would probably leave. We walked to a factory & picked up a truck in which we were driven to a field.

As we were early, we had coffee and drinks in a nearby farm house. Got two or three men who had done so before, to take care of lighting the field. We then walked to the field and waited. Two planes came in. Two men [MI9 agents, Lucian Dumais and Ray Labrosse] with six suitcases left the first one and three of us got aboard. We circled the field until the others were ready to take off. We landed in England on 17 November and were met by Major Langley.