USAAF WORLD WAR II
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Squadron: 66th Sq. 44th Bomb Group
Service# 36822565
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James V. Derrick
Target:Marshalling Yards, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Mission Date: 25-Feb-45
Serial Number:#42-51258
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: J+
Aircraft Name: BEVERLY JEAN
Location: Charleroi, Belgium,
Cause: Low on fuel, parachuted
Crew of 9 7RTD 2WIA Evacuated
Thirty-five of the 44th BG aircraft attacked this target with excellent results. The weather was clear, no flak in the target area, and our fighters offered excellent cover. Yet one aircraft did not return – and it was not recorded in the official records of the Group.
Sgt. Donald E. Stroh wrote that, "I always was under the impression that we ran out of gas while looking for an airfield at Charleroi in the fog, to set down in. But Lt. Meyers and navigator Lt. Thomas told me that we had been hit, (probably by flak) and we had lost fuel out of one engine. They had been transferring gas to the other three supply tanks in order not to lose all of it."
Co-pilot Joseph Meyers added, "We were very close to an auxiliary landing field in Charleroi, Belgium, but did not have time to locate the field. So Lt. Derrick and I took the plane back up to 3,000 feet and we all jumped.
"I landed in an open field after believing that I was going to hit a wire fence, pulled the shrouds to miss the fence and landed hard. I was rescued from the very beautiful local girls by some GIs from an AA Station. On the way to town, we picked up other crewmembers and we all met at a local hospital where we were attended by American Physicians.
"I carried Harry Brown's parachute as he was limping – his leg was broken. Upon the insistence of the physicians, I had to be X-rayed – walked into the X-ray room – and left on a stretcher and spent the next three months flat on my back and six more recuperating. Ended up in Plattsburg,
New York, along with Clarence Brown and his badly broken leg.
"Most of the crew returned to duty but did not fly again as a crew until 19 March. I was finished on this, my eighth one. Lt. Derrick continued flying till end of hostilities."
BEVERLY JEAN Crew
1st/Lt. George J. Thom Pilot RTD
Flt/Of. Joseph G. Meyers Co Pilot WIA
Flt/Of. Roger J. Thomas Navigator WIA RTD
T/Sgt. Clarence J. Brown Engineer WIA
T/Sgt. Harry R. Brown Radio Op. WIA
S/Sgt. Robert I. Anthony Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Starr W. Horton Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Robert J. Andres Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Squadron: 66th Sq. 44th Bomb Group
Service# 36822565
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James V. Derrick
Target:Marshalling Yards, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Mission Date: 25-Feb-45
Serial Number:#42-51258
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: J+
Aircraft Name: BEVERLY JEAN
Location: Charleroi, Belgium,
Cause: Low on fuel, parachuted
Crew of 9 7RTD 2WIA Evacuated
Thirty-five of the 44th BG aircraft attacked this target with excellent results. The weather was clear, no flak in the target area, and our fighters offered excellent cover. Yet one aircraft did not return – and it was not recorded in the official records of the Group.
Sgt. Donald E. Stroh wrote that, "I always was under the impression that we ran out of gas while looking for an airfield at Charleroi in the fog, to set down in. But Lt. Meyers and navigator Lt. Thomas told me that we had been hit, (probably by flak) and we had lost fuel out of one engine. They had been transferring gas to the other three supply tanks in order not to lose all of it."
Co-pilot Joseph Meyers added, "We were very close to an auxiliary landing field in Charleroi, Belgium, but did not have time to locate the field. So Lt. Derrick and I took the plane back up to 3,000 feet and we all jumped.
"I landed in an open field after believing that I was going to hit a wire fence, pulled the shrouds to miss the fence and landed hard. I was rescued from the very beautiful local girls by some GIs from an AA Station. On the way to town, we picked up other crewmembers and we all met at a local hospital where we were attended by American Physicians.
"I carried Harry Brown's parachute as he was limping – his leg was broken. Upon the insistence of the physicians, I had to be X-rayed – walked into the X-ray room – and left on a stretcher and spent the next three months flat on my back and six more recuperating. Ended up in Plattsburg,
New York, along with Clarence Brown and his badly broken leg.
"Most of the crew returned to duty but did not fly again as a crew until 19 March. I was finished on this, my eighth one. Lt. Derrick continued flying till end of hostilities."
BEVERLY JEAN Crew
1st/Lt. George J. Thom Pilot RTD
Flt/Of. Joseph G. Meyers Co Pilot WIA
Flt/Of. Roger J. Thomas Navigator WIA RTD
T/Sgt. Clarence J. Brown Engineer WIA
T/Sgt. Harry R. Brown Radio Op. WIA
S/Sgt. Robert I. Anthony Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Starr W. Horton Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Robert J. Andres Gunner RTD
USAAF WORLD WAR II
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Squadron: 66th Sq. 44th Bomb Group
Service# 36822565
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James V. Derrick
Target:Marshalling Yards, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Mission Date: 25-Feb-45
Serial Number:#42-51258
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: J+
Aircraft Name: BEVERLY JEAN
Location: Charleroi, Belgium,
Cause: Low on fuel, parachuted
Crew of 9 7RTD 2WIA Evacuated
Thirty-five of the 44th BG aircraft attacked this target with excellent results. The weather was clear, no flak in the target area, and our fighters offered excellent cover. Yet one aircraft did not return – and it was not recorded in the official records of the Group.
Sgt. Donald E. Stroh wrote that, "I always was under the impression that we ran out of gas while looking for an airfield at Charleroi in the fog, to set down in. But Lt. Meyers and navigator Lt. Thomas told me that we had been hit, (probably by flak) and we had lost fuel out of one engine. They had been transferring gas to the other three supply tanks in order not to lose all of it."
Co-pilot Joseph Meyers added, "We were very close to an auxiliary landing field in Charleroi, Belgium, but did not have time to locate the field. So Lt. Derrick and I took the plane back up to 3,000 feet and we all jumped.
"I landed in an open field after believing that I was going to hit a wire fence, pulled the shrouds to miss the fence and landed hard. I was rescued from the very beautiful local girls by some GIs from an AA Station. On the way to town, we picked up other crewmembers and we all met at a local hospital where we were attended by American Physicians.
"I carried Harry Brown's parachute as he was limping – his leg was broken. Upon the insistence of the physicians, I had to be X-rayed – walked into the X-ray room – and left on a stretcher and spent the next three months flat on my back and six more recuperating. Ended up in Plattsburg,
New York, along with Clarence Brown and his badly broken leg.
"Most of the crew returned to duty but did not fly again as a crew until 19 March. I was finished on this, my eighth one. Lt. Derrick continued flying till end of hostilities."
BEVERLY JEAN Crew
1st/Lt. George J. Thom Pilot RTD
Flt/Of. Joseph G. Meyers Co Pilot WIA
Flt/Of. Roger J. Thomas Navigator WIA RTD
T/Sgt. Clarence J. Brown Engineer WIA
T/Sgt. Harry R. Brown Radio Op. WIA
S/Sgt. Robert I. Anthony Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Starr W. Horton Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Robert J. Andres Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Squadron: 66th Sq. 44th Bomb Group
Service# 36822565
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James V. Derrick
Target:Marshalling Yards, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Mission Date: 25-Feb-45
Serial Number:#42-51258
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: J+
Aircraft Name: BEVERLY JEAN
Location: Charleroi, Belgium,
Cause: Low on fuel, parachuted
Crew of 9 7RTD 2WIA Evacuated
Thirty-five of the 44th BG aircraft attacked this target with excellent results. The weather was clear, no flak in the target area, and our fighters offered excellent cover. Yet one aircraft did not return – and it was not recorded in the official records of the Group.
Sgt. Donald E. Stroh wrote that, "I always was under the impression that we ran out of gas while looking for an airfield at Charleroi in the fog, to set down in. But Lt. Meyers and navigator Lt. Thomas told me that we had been hit, (probably by flak) and we had lost fuel out of one engine. They had been transferring gas to the other three supply tanks in order not to lose all of it."
Co-pilot Joseph Meyers added, "We were very close to an auxiliary landing field in Charleroi, Belgium, but did not have time to locate the field. So Lt. Derrick and I took the plane back up to 3,000 feet and we all jumped.
"I landed in an open field after believing that I was going to hit a wire fence, pulled the shrouds to miss the fence and landed hard. I was rescued from the very beautiful local girls by some GIs from an AA Station. On the way to town, we picked up other crewmembers and we all met at a local hospital where we were attended by American Physicians.
"I carried Harry Brown's parachute as he was limping – his leg was broken. Upon the insistence of the physicians, I had to be X-rayed – walked into the X-ray room – and left on a stretcher and spent the next three months flat on my back and six more recuperating. Ended up in Plattsburg,
New York, along with Clarence Brown and his badly broken leg.
"Most of the crew returned to duty but did not fly again as a crew until 19 March. I was finished on this, my eighth one. Lt. Derrick continued flying till end of hostilities."
BEVERLY JEAN Crew
1st/Lt. George J. Thom Pilot RTD
Flt/Of. Joseph G. Meyers Co Pilot WIA
Flt/Of. Roger J. Thomas Navigator WIA RTD
T/Sgt. Clarence J. Brown Engineer WIA
T/Sgt. Harry R. Brown Radio Op. WIA
S/Sgt. Robert I. Anthony Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Starr W. Horton Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Donald E. Stroh Gunner RTD
S/Sgt. Robert J. Andres Gunner RTD
Inscription
S SGT, US ARMY AIR CORPS
World War II
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