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William Douglas Barnes, Jr, Update

February 22, 2023 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

William Douglas Barnes, Jr.

New information from a new search on Ancestry.com, and new information from military records have provided me with some new and updated information regarding William Douglas Barnes, Jr., original bombardier of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII.

To view my original post and other information about William Barnes, please see the links at the end of this post.

Barnes Family

William Douglas Barnes, Jr. was the son of William Douglas Barnes, Sr. (1884 – 1965) and Carrie M. Vandegrift Barnes (1887 – 1970). William Jr. was born on 20 May 1919 in Charleston Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

In 1920, the Barnes family lived on a farm on Elk Run Road in Charleston Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. William Sr. was a farmer. William Sr. was 35, Carrie was 33, and William Jr. was only 7 months old at the time of the census on January 2 or 3, 1920. Both William Sr. and Carrie were born in Pennsylvania. William Sr’s parents were born in New York and Carrie’s parents were born in Pennsylvania.

By 1930, the family had moved to Eastmanville Street in Polkton Township, Ottawa County, Michigan. The Barnes’s second son, Charles Franklin, had been born 29 October 1920 and was now nine years old. In 1930, William Sr. was a machinist in a condensery and Carrie was a clerk in a dry goods store. William Jr. may have been called by his middle name “Douglas” as he is listed on the census as “W. Douglas” and was 10 years old.

In 1940, the family lived in Hastings, Barry County, Michigan at 135 S. Jeff Street. They moved to Hastings some time after 1935. William Sr. was a pattern storage foreman for a press and tool manufacturer. Carrie was no longer working outside the home. William Jr., at 20, was a commercial teller for a city bank. Younger brother Charles was a clock repairman and salesman for a jewelry store.

Charles was the first of the Barnes boys to enlist in the Army Air Corps on January 10, 1942. William Jr. enlisted in the Air Corps a few months later, on May 21, 1942. Born only about a year apart, the brothers must have been very close.

Education and Civilian Employment prior to Military Service

William Barnes attended Michigan State College for two years with a major in Civil Engineering, leaving in 1943 for military service in WWII.

Entry into WWII Military Service

Draft Registration

On 16 October 1940, William Barnes registered for the WWII draft at Local Board No. 1 at the Post Office Building in Hastings, Barry County, Michigan. He listed his place of residence as 135 W. Walnut in Hastings, Barry County, Michigan. William’s Employer’s Name was Hastings City Bank and place of employment was 102 E. State St., Hastings, Barry Co., Michigan. He was 21 years old and born on 20 May 1919 in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

William Douglas Barnes (William Jr’s father) of 135 Walnut of Hastings, Michigan was the person who would always know his address.

Barnes described himself as 6′ 1/2″ tall, 160 pounds, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. He noted no “other obvious physical characteristic that will aid in identification.”

Enlistment

On 21 May 1942, William enlisted in the Reserve Corps at East Lansing, Michigan for Air Force (Enl. for Aviation Cadet Trng. – Air Crew). He was deferred to 18 June 1945. William’s enlistment record notes his residence as Barry County, Michigan, and that he was born in Pennsylvania in 1919. His Army Serial Number at the time of enlistment was 16082587. Note: Officers were reassigned with a new serial number when they were commissioned and William’s later become O-768921.

Note: William’s enlistment record is found in the Reserve Corps Records, rather than in the Enlistment Records file, link below.

On 16 March 1943, William Barnes was called to Active Duty in Decatur, Illinois for AAFCC, SAACC, San Antonio, Texas, D & 6 Mos. (Duration of war plus six months) for service in the Army Air Forces.

On his enlistment record form, Barnes indicated he was born in Wellsboro (the county seat of Tioga County), Pennsylvania and was 23 years 11 months old. At the time of his enlistment, Barnes had completed 1 year of college and was single, having no one dependent on him for support.

Military Training

William Barnes attended and passed AAF Preflight School (Pilot) at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center in San Antonio, Texas, reporting on 10 May 1943 for Class 44-A. His disposition was SAACCSO 149 23 June 1943, 9th AAFFTD, Fort Stockton, Texas.

After failing to meet the prescribed standards of flying, Aviation Cadet William D. Barnes, Jr., ASN 16082587 of Class No. 44-A was released from Pilot training at AAF Contract Flying School (Primary) in Fort Stockton, Texas, and was reclassified for Bombardier or Navigator training on 26 July 1943.

He was transferred on 29 July 1943 per par 1, SO #139, this Hqs., to San Antonio Cadet Center in San Antonio, Texas for further air crew training in Navigator.

Even though Barnes was transferred to Navigator training, on 26 February 1944, his records indicate he graduated from Bombardier School at Deming Army Air Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Class #44-03, 26 February 1944 and appointed a 2nd Lieutenant on this date.

The “Report of Entry on Active Duty” noted,

Authority: Par. 1, S.O. 48, Hq. AAF Bomb. Sch., DAAF, Deming, N.M.

Reported for active duty 26 February 1944

In a Personnel Placement Questionnaire, William Barnes noted his chronological service as,

9/15/41 to 3/10/43 – Student, ROTC (CAC)
3/16/43 to 4/19/43 – Classification
4/19/43 to 6/28/43 – Pre-flight
6/28/43 to 7/28/43 – Primary
7/28/43 to 8/26/43 – Re-classification
8/26/43 to 10/23/43 – Gunnery
10/23/43 to 2/26/44 – Bomb. (Bombardier training)

Combat Duty with the 384th Bomb Group

William Barnes’ 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record indicates that his duty was Bombardier, one month’s pay was $247.50, and his home address was Mr. William Douglas Barnes, 135 W. Walnut St., Hastings, Mich.

William was credited with thirty-five missions with the 384th Bomb Group, for which he earned an Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters. His first mission was on 7 August 1944 and his last was on 28 December 1944.

William Douglas Barnes, Jr. served as a Bombardier on his first fifteen missions and as a Navigator on his last twenty missions with the 384th Bomb Group.

Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group and other military documents indicate the following for William Douglas Barnes, Jr.

On 26 JULY 1944, 2nd Lt. William D. Barnes, Jr. was assigned to the 545th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #148 dated 26 July 1944 as a Bombardier with the MOS (military operational specialty) of 1035, of the James Joseph Brodie crew.
The 13 SEPTEMBER 1944 mission was William Barnes’ last with the Brodie crew. Between 13 September 1944 and 17 October 1944, Barnes retrained as a Navigator. After the 13 SEPTEMBER 1944 mission, the Brodie crew was assigned a Togglier instead of a Bombardier.
On 7 OCTOBER 1944, William Barnes went from duty to sick quarters (LD). [Note: In a “Physical Examination for Flying” dated 19 February 1945, as a “Returnee from Overseas,” Barnes’ Medical History notes that the cause was – Oct. 1944, frostbite, all toes, hospitalized 7 days, England; no sequelae (no previous disease or injury).”]
On 11 OCTOBER 1944, William Barnes went from sick quarters (LD) to duty.
On 26 NOVEMBER 1944, per SO 323 of the HQ 8th AAF, William Barnes was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
On 29 NOVEMBER 1944, William Barnes was ordered on seven days Temporary Duty to Stanbridge Earls, AAF Station 503 (a Flak house) to carry out the instructions of the Commanding General per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #234 dated 28 NOVEMBER 1944.
In DECEMBER 1944, William Barnes was hospitalized from food poisoning for 3 days. [Note: On the same “Physical Examination for Flying” dated 19 February 1945 (as the above 7 OCTOBER 1944 entry), as a “Returnee from Overseas,” Barnes’ Medical History notes that in Dec. 1944, he suffered from food poisoning, hospitalized 3 days, England; no sequelae (no previous disease or injury).”]
On 4 JANUARY 1945, William Barnes was relieved from assignment and transferred to the Casual Pool 70th Replacement Depot Station 594 30 DECEMBER 1944 per 5 SO 365 HQ 1st BD departed 0800 hours 4 JANUARY 1945 (Completed tour).

Return to the States

William’s Return from Overseas/Completion of Operational Tour of Duty was 13 January 1945.

Upon William Barnes’ return to the States following his combat duty, he attended a Bombardier refresher course and the Army Air Forces Instructors School (Bombardier) at Midland Army Air Field in Midland, Texas from 12 March 1945 to 12 May 1945. He successfully completed the course of instruction with Class 445 Instructor.

Release from WWII Military Service

William Douglas Barnes, Jr. was honorably discharged from the military service of the United States of America on 4 November 1945 at Hq. 4268-AAFBU Separation Ctr., San Bernardino Army Air Field, San Bernardino, California.

Honorable Discharge and Military Record and Report of Separation

His separation record listed his Military History,

His Grade was 1st Lt.
His Date of Entry into Active Service was 26 Feb 1944
His Date of Separation was 4 Nov 1945
Military Occupational Specialty and No. – Bombardier 1035
Battles and Campaigns – Northern France, Germany
Decorations and Citations – Air Medal w/5 OLC, ETO Ribbon w/2 Bronze Stars
Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return – listed below…
Wounds Received in Action – None
Total Length of Continental Service – 1 year, 1 month, and 23 days
Total Length of Foreign Service – 0 years, 6 months, and 15 days
Reason and Authority for Separation – RR 1-5 Demob. & Par 1, SO 229, Hq Midland AAFld, Midland, Tex. dtd 26 Sep 45
Service Schools Attended – AAFAFS, Deming, N.M. 4 1/2 mo. Adv. Bmbr. Tng; Combat Crew School 8th AF England, 2 wks Combat Procedures & Equip; MAAF, Midland, Texas, 1 1/2 mo Bmbdr Refresher Course; MAAF Midland, Texas, 3 wks Bmbdr Instr. Course.
Remarks – Rated Aircraft Observer (Bombardier) P1, PO9, AAFWFTC, Santa Ana, California, 26 February 44 Eff 26 Feb 44. Fly. Stat. P2, PO 9, Hq AAFWFTC, Santa Ana, Calif. 26 Feb 44.

Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return

Departure from U.S.
- Date of Departure 28 Jun 44
- Destination ETO
- Date of Arrival 5 Jul 44
Departure from ETO
- Date of Departure 11 Jan 45
- Destination USA
- Date of Arrival 13 Jan 45

William Barnes’ Separation Record noted his Military Occupational Assignments,

21 months, Grade 1st Lt., Military Occupational Specialty – Bombardier 1035

The Summary of his Military Occupations noted,

BOMBARDIER: Operated bombsight and mechanical equipment in heavy bombardment aircraft – B-17. Proficiency in navigating over long distances. Proficiency in mathematics requisites in bombing and navigating.

William Barnes’ Military Education (combined with more detail from other documentation) noted,

AAFPFS, San Antonio, Texas. Mos. 2-1/4, Successfully completed June 1943, Preflight Pilot Training.
AFFTD, Ft. Stockton, Texas. Mos. 2-1/4, Not Successfully completed July 1943, Primary Pilot Training. (Insufficient Progress).
AAFGS, Kingman, Arizona. Mos 1-1/2, Successfully completed October 1943, Flexible Gunnery Training.
AAFAFS, Deming, New Mexico. Mos. 4-1/2, Successfully completed February 1944, Advanced Bombr Training.
Combat Crew School 8 AF, England. Mos. 1/3. Successfully completed July 1944, Combat Procedures and Equipment.
MAAF, Midland, Texas. Mos. 1 1/2, Successfully completed 21 April 1945. Bmbdr Refresher Course.
MAAF, Midland, Texas. Mos. 3/4, Successfully completed 12 May 1945, Bmbdr Instructor Course.

Civilian Education noted,

Highest grade completed – 2 Yrs College
Degrees or diploma – None
Year left school – 1943
Name and address of last school attended – Michigan State College, East Lansing, Michigan
Major courses of study – Civil Engineering

Civilian Occupations noted,

STUDENT: Prior to service entrance in Mar 1943, pursued studies leading to BS degree.
BANK TELLER: Was a Bank Savings Teller, 4 years and 3 months, prior to attending college. (Noted in his Personnel Placement Questionnaire, chronological service as from June 1937 to September 1941, Savings Teller with the Hastings City Bank of Hastings, Michigan.)

Additional Information noted,

Flew 15 mission as a bombardier overseas in 8 AF in Europe and 20 missions as navigator. Letters of commendation as a Radar Orientation Officer by B.K. Yount, Lt. Gen., AAF Tng Command and from R.G. Breene, Maj. Gen., CO AAF Central Flying Tng Command.

Post-World War II

I have been able to find very little information about William Douglas Barnes, Jr. after he was released from military service in late 1945. I do not know if he married and had children or remained single.

Of the two items I have found, I know that,

According to the 1947 Hastings, Michigan City Directory, Douglas Barnes was a student living with his parents, William and Carrie Barnes, at the home address of 135 W. Walnut. I assume, but may not be correct, that he returned to Michigan State College in East Lansing, Michigan to complete his degree in Civil Engineering.
William Douglas Barnes, Jr. died on 6 December 6 1990 at the age of 71. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Hastings, Barry County, Michigan. His parents are also buried in the same cemetery.

I did not find William Douglas Barnes, Jr. in the 1950 Federal census. I also did not find him in any subsequent Hastings, Michigan city directories, although I found his parents still living in Hastings in 1959 at the new address of 619 E. Colfax.

I did find a marriage record for William’s younger brother, Charles Franklin Barnes. Charles married Dorothea E. Kolch on October 22, 1950 in Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan. Charles died in Winter Park, Florida in 2005. Charles and Dorothea had at least one child, a daughter named Sharon Katherine Barnes Coe (1955 – 2015).

I would love to learn more about the post-WWII life of 384th Bomb Group bombardier William Douglas Barnes, Jr. and request that any family members who run across this post, please contact me if you have information to share.

Notes

Previous post, William D. Barnes, Jr.

Previous post, More Information About William D. Barnes, Jr.

William Barnes’ Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

William Barnes’ Enlistment Record in the online National Archives (in the Reserve Corps records)

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Operational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron

William Barnes’ Find a Grave memorial

Charles Barnes’ Find a Grave memorial

Byron Leverne “Bud” Atkins, Update

January 25, 2023 7:00 AM / 2 Comments on Byron Leverne “Bud” Atkins, Update

New information from family, a new search on Ancestry.com, and new information from military records have provided me with some new and updated/corrected information regarding Byron Leverne (or Laverne) “Bud” Atkins, togglier on the 28 September 1944 mission of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII.

To view my original post and other information about Byron Atkins, please see the links at the end of this post.

Byron “Bud” Atkins on far right with his father Verne Atkins, sister Dorothy Atkins Swinford, and nieces Charlotte and Phyllis
Photo courtesy of Betsy Hawkins, great-niece of Byron Atkins

Since I last wrote about Byron Atkins, I heard from his great-niece, Betsy Hawkins. Betsy sent me a family photo that includes Byron Leverne “Bud” Atkins (standing on the right) along with, left to right, his father Verne Atkins, sister Dorothy Atkins Swinford, and nieces (Dorothy’s daughters) Charlotte Ann Swinford (now Richardson), and Phyllis Louise Swinford (now Perkins).

Betsy, who is the daughter of Phyllis Louise Swinford, had been working with her Aunt Charlotte Swinford to locate any pictures and letters of Bud’s. She also noted that Charlotte was born before Bud shipped out, and provided Byron’s nickname of “Bud.”

Note on the spelling of Byron Atkins middle name

The spelling of Byron Atkins middle name was LaVerne on his birth certificate, with an “a” rather than an “e,” and the “V” captialized. However, by the time Byron filled out his draft registration card, he noted the spelling of his middle name as LeVerne with an “e,” typed into the Name section of the card, and signed as Le Verne.

His 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record uses the spelling Leverne. And his Find a Grave memorial uses LeVerne, although the stone inscription only includes his middle initial “L” rather than his full middle name.

Without intentionally spelling it one way or another, I have used both Laverne and Leverne spellings throughout articles in which I refer to him. His personnel record with the 384th uses the Leverne spelling. I consider all the different spellings “correct” as in those days, people spelled their names differently at different times without thinking much about it, as did my grandfather, Lewis or Louis Chase, spelling it either way as if he assigned no importance to which was “correct” or preferred.

Family

Byron was the son of Verne Atkins (1894 – 1945) and Goldie Myrtle Jones (1902 – 1994). His older sister was Dorothy Evelyn Atkins Swinford (1920 – 2004).

Verne Atkins served in WWI with Company “L,” 51st Infantry, 6th Division as noted in the US Transport passenger list for the ship “Ceramic” out of the Port of New York.

Verne departed New York on 6 July 1918 and following his WWI service with the 51st Infantry, departed Brest France on 5 June 1919, arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey on 12 June 1919 on the WWI troop transport ship “Leviathan.” The arrival passenger list noted his rank as Private.

Much more family information is available in my original article, Byron L. Atkins.

Entry in to WWII Service

Draft Registration

On 29 December 1942, Byron Atkins registered for the WWII draft at Local Board No. 1 at the Boone County Armory Building in Lebanon, Indiana. He listed his place of residence as Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana. Byron’s Employer’s Name was Vern Atkins (his father) and place of employment was R. R. 2 (probably an abbreviation for Rural Route 2, the family farm) in Lebanon. He was 18 years old and born on 10 November 1924 in Gadsden, Indiana.

Vern Atkins (Byron’s father) of R. R. 2 of Lebanon, Indiana was the person who would always know his address.

Byron described himself as 5′ 10″ tall, 168 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. He noted no “other obvious physical characteristic that will aid in identification.”

Enlistment

On 17 June 1943, Byron enlisted in WWII at Indianapolis, Indiana and was inducted into military service as of this date. Byron’s enlistment record notes his residence as Boone County, Indiana, and that he was born in Indiana in 1924. According to his enlistment record, his civilian occupation was “sales clerk.”

WWII Combat Duty at Grafton Underwood, England

Byron Atkin’s 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record indicates that his duty was Ball Turret, one month’s pay was $140.40, and his home address was Mr. Verne Atkins, RR #2, Lebanon, Indiana.

Byron was credited with six combat missions, for which he earned an Air Medal, with the 384th Bomb Group, from his first on 9 September 1944 to his last on 28 September 1944.

Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group indicate the following for Byron Atkins:

On 5 AUGUST 1944, Corporal Byron Leverne “Bud” Atkins was assigned to the 545th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #157 dated 5 August 1944 as Flexible/Waist Gunner of the James Woodrow Chadwick crew.
I am not certain of his initial classification, but by the end of his service his MOS, military operational specialty, was 612 – Airplane Armorer/Gunner.
On 17 AUGUST 1944, Byron Atkins was promoted to Sergeant per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #165.
On 20 September 1944, Byron Atkins was promoted to Staff Sergeant per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #186 dated 20 September 1944.
On 28 SEPTEMBER 1944, on Mission 201 to Magdeburg, Germany (Target was Industry, Steelworks), Byron Leverne Atkins, flying with the James Joseph Brodie crew, went from duty to MIA (Missing in Action). He was subsequently declared KIA (Killed in Action).

Byron’s mission record indicates he performed three different duties aboard the B-17, with three turns in the ball turret (9, 10, and 13 September 1944), one turn as waist gunner (25 September), and twice as togglier (21 and 28 September) with both of those occasions with the James Joseph Brodie crew.

Byron never flew with his original crew, the James Woodrow Chadwick crew. With two waist gunners assigned to the Chadwick crew, Louis Merfeld retained the position of lone waist gunner with the crew as the 384th did not place two waist gunners on the B-17 on combat missions at that time in the war.

Byron flew with the Donald Hulcher crew those three times as ball turret gunner, and flew as waist gunner with the Hulcher crew under Commander James Wesley Hines on one mission as the low group lead. George Marshall Hawkins of the Brodie crew was one of the navigators on that crew along with Fred Rubin, whom I witnessed sign the 384th Bomb Group’s wing panel many years ago. And of course, Byron’s other two missions were as togglier with the Brodie crew.

Byron lost his life at the young age of nineteen. He is buried next to his father, who died eleven months after his son of a broken neck and fractured skull in an automobile accident, at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, in Plot 151-30.

Notes

Previous post, Byron L. Atkins

Byron “Bud” Atkin’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Byron Atkin’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Operational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron

Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Missing Air Crew Report 9753 for the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Byron Atkins’ Find a Grave memorial

The B-17 Flexible (Waist) Gunner

January 18, 2023 7:00 AM / 2 Comments on The B-17 Flexible (Waist) Gunner

My dad, George Edwin Farrar, was a flexible/waist gunner with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in World War II. On 28 September 1944, the Buslee crew and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the same group became forever connected when the B-17’s they were aboard on a combat mission over Germany suffered a mid-air collision.

I am currently updating the biographical information of the men of these two crews, and I thought it would be a good time to explain the duties involved in each position of the airmen aboard the aircraft, the B-17. I have recently updated the information of the four 384th Bomb Group Flexible (Waist) Gunners who flew with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron.

Lenard Leroy Bryant, assigned Buslee crew waist gunner, reassigned to top turret gunner after 5 August 1944 mission

Born 7 March 1919
Died 28 September 1944, age 25
Buried Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, Plot G, Row 7, Grave 22
384th BG Personnel Record
Lenard Leroy Bryant, Top Turret Gunner for the Buslee Crew
Lenard Leroy Bryant, Update

George Edwin Farrar, assigned Buslee crew waist gunner

Born 3 September 1921
Died 5 November 1982, age 61
Buried Floral Hills Memory Gardens, Tucker, DeKalb County, Georgia, USA
384th BG Personnel Record
George Edwin Farrar, Growing Up in Atlanta, Georgia
George Edwin Farrar, Update – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

Leonard Wood Opie, assigned Brodie crew waist gunner

Born 14 September 1921
Died 20 May 1974, age 52
Buried Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Longview, Gregg County, Texas, USA
384th BG Personnel Record
Leonard Opie
Leonard Wood Opie, Update

Harry Allen Liniger, assigned Brodie crew waist gunner

Born 9 August 1924
Died 8 October 1947, age 23
Buried Powells Point Christian Church Cemetery, Harbinger, Currituck County, North Carolina, USA
384th BG Personnel Record
Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew
Harry Liniger After the War
Harry Liniger’s Letters and Guardian Angel
Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

For a list of all of the airmen of the Buslee and Brodie crews, see permanent page The Buslee and Brodie Crews, which is maintained with new information/posts.

Duties and Responsibilities of the B-17 Flexible (Waist) Gunner

According to the 303rd Bomb Group and the B-17 Queen of the Sky websites,

Training in the various phases of the heavy bomber program is designed to fit each member of the crew for the handling of his jobs. The flexible/waist gunner:

Must have a fine sense of timing and be familiar with the rudiments of exterior ballistics.
Should be familiar with the coverage area of all gun positions, and be prepared to bring the proper gun to bear as the conditions may warrant.
Should be experts in aircraft identification.
Must be thoroughly familiar with the Browning aircraft machine gun. They should know how to maintain the guns, how to clear jams and stoppages, and how to harmonize the sights with the guns.
Should fire the guns at each station to familiarize himself with the other man’s position and to insure knowledge of operation in the event of an emergency.
Had the primary duty to look for and shoot down enemy fighters.
Would call out fighter positions (for the benefit of the other gunners and for the navigator to record in his log).
Would call out enemy aircraft he deemed to be damaged or destroyed (also for the benefit of the navigator’s log record).
Would call out B-17’s that he saw go down and the number of chutes deployed (for the benefit of the navigator and radio operator so that they could report these losses at the debriefing).
Would report damage to the aircraft to the pilot.

The waist gun position of the B-17 presented several difficulties, but mostly remedied with the introduction of the “G” model.

In models previous to the G model, the waist gunners were placed directly opposite each other, resulting in difficult maneuvering during engagement with fighters. Their placement also led to accidental disconnection of the other’s oxygen system, and if such disconnection went unnoticed, would result in the stages of anoxia – dizziness, loss of consciousness, and death.
Also in models previous to the G model, the waist windows were open to 200 mph winds at altitude, which resulted in minus 50 degrees below zero Fahrenheit temperature in the slipstream of air racing past the Fortress. Problem: frostbite. Anoxia and frostbite were the two biggest enemies of the B-17 waist gunner past the enemy fighters and flak. The waist gunners battled the freezing temperatures by wearing layers of heavy clothing and electrically heated suits. The G model added Plexiglas windows with an opening for the guns in the waist windows.
The waist gunners’ 50 caliber machine guns did not use a power assisted mount until the G model and the sights were aimed with a ball and ring sight until the sights were upgraded in the G with computing sights like those in the top turret and ball.
Originally, B-17’s carried two waist gunners, but late in the war, most bombardment groups reduced the number of waist gunners in a B-17 from two to one. The improvement of the distance the Allied fighters could accompany the bomber stream reduced the incidence and number of enemy fighters attacking the Fortresses, thus reducing the need for two waist gunners.

Location of the Waist Position in a B-17

The waist gunner positions of a B-17 are at the mid-point of the aircraft, just past the radio room and ball turret. Should the waist gunner have to bail out of the aircraft, he would likely bail out through the waist door of the aircraft, just past the waist positions on the starboard (right-hand) side of the aircraft and forward of the tail.

In the following diagram, George Edwin Farrar is noted in the waist position of the aircraft along with the other Buslee crew members in their positions on September 28, 1944.

Buslee Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
Diagram courtesy of 91st Bomb Group and modified by Cindy Farrar Bryan in 2014

B-17 Waist Position Photos

I took the following photos of the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-O-Nine a few years before its tragic crash.

View of waist door and right waist gunner window.

Waist door and waist window on the starboard (right) side of the B-17
Collings Foundation B-17 Nine-O-Nine at Ocala, Florida airport in November 2014

Note, step ladder is for post-war tour guests only and was not used in combat!

View of waist from rear of aircraft…

Waist area and waist windows with 50 caliber machine guns, seats not original (added for post-war tour flights)
Collings Foundation B-17 Nine-O-Nine at Ocala, Florida airport in November 2014

Note, seats also for post-war tour guests only and not used in combat!

View of waist from front of aircraft.

B-17 waist area aft of the ball turret in the foreground, ammunition boxes visible
Collings Foundation B-17 Nine-O-Nine at Leesburg, Florida airport in November 2017

View of waist, waist windows, waist door, and entry into tail area from just behind the ball turret.

Waist area of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017

Again, post-war tourist seats were not original equipment!

Stories of 384th Bomb Group Waist Gunners

I thought it might also be interesting to read stories, diaries, and journals written by or view video interviews of some of the 384th’s own waist gunners. You’ll find a chart of several waist gunners of the 384th Bomb Group below with links to their personnel records and their written and oral histories as are provided on the Stories page of 384thBombGroup.com.

Airman Personnel Record	Stories, Diaries, Journals, and Interviews
Austin, Ralph Earl⇗	A Personal Account⇓ (0.058 MB)
Burns, Robert (NMI)⇗	My Bit For Victory⇓ (2.721 MB)
Hitzeroth, Franklin Carl⇗	My Story: The First Four Days⇓ (2.045 MB)
Jackson, Leslie Hall⇗	How Leslie Jackson Became a Friend of Füssen⇓ (1.863 MB)
Matican, Sigmund Sidney⇗	Matican Diary⇓ (1.381 MB)
Montz, Nemours Albert, “Nem”⇗	Army Air Corps Vet Remembers His Luck⇓ (3.905 MB)
Schimenek, John Francis⇗	John Francis Schimenek WWII Diary⇓ (10.380 MB)
Seniawsky, Peter (NMI)⇗	Peter Seniawsky’s Black Thursday Escape⇓ (0.979 MB)
Sylvia, Francis Robert⇗	Account of 14 October 1943 Mission and its Aftermath⇓ (9.866 MB)
Zieba, Edmund (NMI)⇗	I Remember…⇓ (0.169 MB)
Britton, Joseph Rodman⇗	2016 Veteran’s History Project Oral History Interview⇗
Furrey, Thomas Edwin, Jr⇗	Oral History Interview⇗
Meyer, Alfred (NMI)⇗	Oral History Interview⇗

Note: I was unable to open the links to the last three entries in the list, the oral history interviews of Britton, Furrey, and Meyer. I will leave the links in place in the hope that the problem is temporary.

Sources and Further Reading

303rd Bomb Group: Duties and Responsibilities of the Engineer and the Gunners

303rd Bomb Group: Military Occupational Specialty

B-17 Flying Fortress Queen of the Skies, Crew Positions, Waist Gunner

TM 12-427 Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel

The Military Yearbook Project – Army Air Force WWII Codes

The Army Air Forces in World War II: VI, Men and Planes, Edited by W.F. Craven and J.L. Cate, Chapter 19: Training of Ground Technicians and Service Personnel

Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907 – 1945 by Rebecca Hancock Cameron

Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission in 2014 to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club.

George Hawkins’ Account of his Internment and Hospitalization

November 23, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

A continuation of last week’s post, George Hawkins’ Account of the Buslee-Brodie Mid-air Collision, as written in a letter to Frank Furiga, “an account of my 1944-45 visit to Germany,” some time after Christmas 1983.

George Hawkins continued his letter to Frank Furiga with information about his hospitalization and internment following his capture by the Germans after the mid-air collision.

Magdeburg

I remained here in the city for the remainder of the year [1944] … in the prison ward at the hospital while undergoing surgery and in the balcony of an old theatre where they housed several hundred injured from many nations. On October 6th they attempted to set my broken leg but an air raid interrupted their efforts and I came out of the anesthetic in the basement air raid shelter … the leg still not set. They finally got the job done on the 12th … and that deserves a little comment.

A Colonel, the chief of Surgery, at the hospital returned from leave the day before my second attempt at leg repair … he had just buried his wife and children who had been killed in an air raid. He needed to get back to work following his tragic experience and he found me. He decided he would perform the operation himself and did so … without anesthesia. I filed charges against him with the War Crimes Commission at a later date but nothing ever came of it. Magdeburg is still in the Russian zone. But, needless to say, POW time from that point on was a piece of cake.

In late November, I was returned to the hospital with a knee infection. The plaster cast was removed and they found a real mess. The leg would probably have to come off. But a young captain took charge and did a beautiful job. I’ve never been able to bend my knee since then but the leg is still there.

DULOG LUFT & HALL MARK

I departed from Magdeburg on January 12th and arrived in Frankfort two days later. I spent the night at the railroad station in a dungeon-like room about forty feet under ground and rode in a trolley car and a truck to Dulog Luft. A very short interrogation then up to Hall Mark the following day. I remember my interrogator who once worked for Western Electric and took bus 18 out of Newark each morning on his way to work. I had to admit that I didn’t know very much about Newark, New Jersey. I guess he just wanted to be friendly … right? One day later and we were on a hospital train to Obermassfeld.

OBERMASSFELD

Arrived here on the 18th of January. The British doctors took xrays and I finally got a full understanding of my physical condition … for the first time. Here I met a number of people who I’m sure you knew also … Irving Metzger (no fingers) and T.S. McGee from Mississippi … the chaplain. McGee, George Brandon and I came out together … we toured Paris together. One week later, on January 25th, I was moved over to Meiningen.

MEININGEN

Here we joined forces, Frank … so there is little I can tell you that you don’t already know. I do have a few dates noted so I will jot them down and see if they ring any bells:

[Dates are in 1945]

February 23, Bombing by USAF

March 2, Bombing by RAF

March 24, US fighter planes overhead

March 26, Group of ambulatory POWs moved out of camp to the East, away from approaching allied troops. Group included Marty Horwitz and William Griffin.

March 30, Shelling

April 1, Guards gone. We have taken over the camp

April 2, Obermassfeld liberated

April 4, German guards returned by order of local commander

April 5, LIBERATED by 11th Armored

April 10, Departed camp

POST MEININGEN

The ambulance convoy out of Meiningen took us to Hanau (94th Medical), then 58th Field hospital (?) and then it was a C47 to Paris (48th General) on April 12th … then back to the U.S. on April 23rd.

Thank you to Paul Furiga, son of Frank Furiga, for sharing George Hawkins’ letters with me. More information about George Hawkins courtesy of Frank Furiga to come soon…

George Hawkins’ Account of the Buslee-Brodie Mid-air Collision

November 16, 2022 7:00 AM / 1 Comment on George Hawkins’ Account of the Buslee-Brodie Mid-air Collision

George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. and Frank Dominic Furiga, both airmen of the 384th Bomb Group in World War II, met not at Grafton Underwood, the 384th Bomb Group’s airbase in the Midlands of England, but in a POW hospital after both were injured when bailing out of their respective aircraft during bombing missions to Germany.

The two men, George of the 545th Bomb Squadron and Frank of the 547th Bomb Squadron, became friends during their captivity and remained friends after the war.

George Hawkins was the navigator of the James Joseph Brodie crew and was involved in the crew’s mid-air collision with the Buslee crew’s B-17 on 28 September 1944. Frank Furiga, a bombardier-turned-navigator, was also on that mission and witnessed the collision.

George and Frank wrote letters back and forth to each other after the war and Frank urged George to write up his recollection of the collision. Frank kept George’s letters, and Frank’s son, Paul Furiga, discovered them in his father’s wartime mementos and shared them with me.

The following is what George Hawkins wrote in a letter to Frank Furiga, “an account of my 1944-45 visit to Germany,” some time after Christmas 1983.

September 28, 1944

Following ‘Bombs away’ and while making a shallow formation turn to starboard, our lead ship suddenly racked up into a tight right turn … so abrupt that my pilot(s) were forced to increase the bank of the turn and pull up over the lead ship to avoid a collision. Ship #3 (flying the lead ship’s left wing) increased its bank and, riding high in turn, probably went to ‘full throttle’ in an attempt to catch up to the lead ship. Unfortunately, we were also high, in a tight turn, and playing catch up.

Standing at my position, I watched as #3 came right down our flight path and we had impact … their pilot compartment coming right up into our ship’s belly. I’m sure they had the lead ship in sight but never saw us at all. We must have been just above the co-pilot’s view through his starboard window. As soon as I spotted them coming in I hit the mike button and yelled to Brodie and Vevle to pull up, but as I talked the nose cabin deck buckled up under me, and I was pinned to the starboard side of the ship just forward of the inboard engine. On impact, our togglier and the Plexiglas nose disappeared.

I fought to free myself but to no avail … the wreckage and the air pouring into the opening in the nose made any movement impossible. Shortly thereafter the ship fell off into a spin and we started down. I can only assume that my body weight increased due to the centrifugal force build up … and this coupled with the structural damage suffered by the nose section led to a rupture of the air frame … and I was sucked out of the ship and was able to make use of my chute. I landed at Erxleben, a small town northwest of Magdeburg.

One added note: I flew all my missions using a chest chute. I wore the harness and hung the chute pack on the fire wall near my station. A day or two prior to the Magdeburg flight I had myself fitted for a back pack … one that fitted so tightly and was very uncomfortable to wear during a long flight. Well, I had it on that day. I have never been able to remember why I made the change, but I will always be thankful that I did.

The next day I was reunited with Miller (tail gunner) and Liniger (waist gunner) and we were driven by truck to the German hospital in Magdeburg where I was dropped off. They then went on to a camp.

George Hawkins continued his story with information about his hospitalization and imprisonment until the end of the war, which I will report in my next post.

Thank you to Paul Furiga, son of Frank Furiga, for sharing George Hawkins’ letters with me.

American POW Camps for Axis Prisoners

November 9, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Harry and Carrie Liniger, newly married

In the spring and early summer of 1944, Harry Allen Liniger, with his newly awarded WWII silver gunner’s wings, participated in his final phase of training as an aerial gunner on an aerial combat team of a heavy bombardment unit at the 222nd Combat Crew Training Station, Ardmore Army Airfield, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

While Harry was in this final phase of his training before being shipped overseas for combat duty, his future wife, Carrie Belle Carter, was contributing to the war effort at home. During that time, Carrie lived with her brother, Benjamin Franklin Carter, and his wife in Newport News, Virginia.

In his later years, Benjamin Carter told Harry’s son, Harry Liniger, Jr., about his mother Carrie’s role during World War II, checking in German POW’s in Newport News. In an effort to learn more about Carrie’s work, an internet search of POW camps in the U.S., as well as those in Virginia, and Newport News specifically, turned up some interesting information.

My focus has always been on the Nazi’s POW camp, Stalag Luft IV, in which my father and Harry Jr.’s father were held, as well as other camps for allied prisoners of war of the Axis powers. I had not considered where the Allies held their prisoners of war, thinking that they would all have been housed in camps overseas.

However, I find there were a large number of camps here in the states. Author and researcher Kathy Kirkpatrick presents a comprehensive list of POW Camps in the USA and also a map of the camps on Gentracer.org.

Kathy’s color-coded map distinguishes between Base Camps, Branch Camps, Cemeteries, and Hospitals.

POW Camps in the USA
Courtesy of Kathy Kirkpatrick
© GenTracer

Kathy’s alphabetical list of Prisoner of War Camps, Italian Service Unit Camps, and Prisoner of War Hospitals is “based on weekly reports located on NARA microfilm #66-538 (population lists June 1942-June 1946). Additional locations based on newspapers, interviews, and other NARA records (at College Park and Regional Archives).”

According to Kathy Kirkpatrick’s information regarding POW camps in Virginia shared on Gentracer.org, there were eighteen base camps, twenty-two branch camps, and 3 internment locations in Virginia alone, including two POW camps in Norfolk (Allen Naval Operating Base and Norfolk Army Base), four in Newport News (Eustis – Fort Abraham, Eustis – Fort Eustis, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, and Camp Patrick Henry), and two in Virginia Beach (Camp Pendleton and Fort Story).

Not certain of where exactly Carrie Belle Carter performed her duties of checking in German POW’s in Newport News, I reviewed some internet resources for information. I found details about the prisoners and the camps and think I can get a clearer idea of Carrie’s responsibilities.

For starters, the Newport News High School Class of 1965 website has a page with a lengthy discussion about the Newport News WWII POW Camps. The page header notes,

Camp Patrick Henry, the German POW Camp, morphed into Patrick Henry Field, now Newport News Williamsburg International Airport.
Another German POW Camp was located at the continuation of the James River Bridge crossover from Virginia Avenue to Jefferson Avenue, below the bridge.
More still were housed at Fort Eustis.
The Italian POW camp was on the Old Casino Grounds which was on the hill behind the Victory Arch.
Camp Hill, also used for the Italian POWs, was bounded to the south by the temporary wooden railroad overpass at 58th Street, the James River Bridge/Military Highway railroad overpass to the north, Jefferson Avenue to the east, and the railroad yards to the west.

Many former and long time Newport News residents recorded their memories, including seeing the barbed wire of the camps, and where the camps were located in the discussion.

Contributor Joe Madagan noted,

The German Army Prisoners of War were brought to the United States on ships like the USS West Point (AP-23), the converted SS America, on their return voyage from delivering troops to Europe. She had a special Marine Detachment equipped to guard the POWs, including the wounded and ill prisoners.

The German Prisoners of War were transported from the Port north on Roanoke Avenue past our house so I had a good reason to sit on the front porch and observe the troop movements along the avenue.

There was a hospital for the wounded and ill Prisoners of War at Camp Patrick Henry, and Italian and German soldiers were treated at that facility.

If my memory serves me, the Italian Army Prisoners of War were confined to the camp near the Port, which would have terminated near the 25th Street Bridge…

Contributor Bill Lee shared,

Between 9/16/42 and 5/13/45, 134,292 POWs (88% German – the rest Italian) were disembarked at the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation (the Army’s name for the C&O piers). Most of them were sent to inland POW camps in the Southwest. But a fairly large number stayed in Hampton Roads and were put to work doing such things as KP, laundry and other chores. The first POW work camp in this country to be located at a port of embarkation was in Newport News.

Unseen, at one time, there were as many as 6,000 German POWs at Fort Eustis. Another 2,300 Germans (and 185 Italians) were a permanent part of the service workforce at Camp Patrick Henry.

After Italy switched sides in the war, more than a thousand Italian POWs, housed in Camp Hill – not to be confused with much larger Camp A. P. Hill, near Fredericksburg … were re-designated as ‘Italian Service Unit Personnel’ and employed in the port area. Hundreds more worked on farms in Warwick County, and in 46 businesses (not identified) on the Peninsula.

Camp Hill and associated military facilities were bounded to the south by the temporary wooden railroad overpass at 58th Street, the James River Bridge/Military Highway railroad overpass to the north, Jefferson Avenue to the east, and the railroad yards to the west. The most visible, to the public, of the prisoner enclosures was a barbed wire enclosed area on the north side. Although isolated from the rest of the military complex, anyone riding over the railroad overpass could literally look down into that encampment and ‘see the enemy’.

Camp Hill also included barracks for Military Police, a training facility for stevedore trainees and had a number of service-related facilities there, including a laundry … Some [of] his ’employees’ were Italian POWs. There was also a chapel, USO, theatre and gym at Camp Hill. Some of the Camp Hill structures remained in place and were put to local civilian use long after the war ended.

At the end of the war, there were still 4,100 Germans and 1,300 Italians on the Peninsula. Almost totally forgotten is the fact that a secret experiment took place at Fort Eustis in 1945/1946 to re-educate Nazi prisoners. The purpose of this was to create a core of cooperative and pro-American Germans to be repatriated and then help rebuild in the American zone of occupied Germany. In all, 20,000 POWs from all over the United States were processed through a six-day course at Fort Eustis before returning home!

Norm Covert added this information from the “Newport News WWII history book,”

A total of 134,293 German and Italian prisoners of war arrived via the Chesapeake and Ohio terminal.

The Port became the first to establish German prisoners of war work camps.

On June 13, 1945, 2,903 German prisoners and 1,419 members of the Italian Service Unit were engaged at the Port … Sept. 18, 1945, there were 4,077 German prisoners and 1,300 of the Italian Service Unit ….

Prisoners were quartered at Camp Patrick Henry and in the area adjacent to the overpass leading to the James River Bridge. Italian Service Units were quartered at Camp Patrick Henry and in barracks adjacent to the Chesapeake and Ohio piers.

It should be noted that Camp Patrick Henry included 1,700 acres activated Dec. 2, 1942. Nearly 750,000 men and women passed through the camp during 1943-1944.

As of Jan. 31, 1946, a total of 1,412,107 persons passed in and out of the camp.

Dale Parsons noted,

The Italian POW camp was on the Old Casino Grounds which was on the hill behind the Old Victory Arch. There was a movie theater built for the army (which later became The Jewish Community Center), and beside it was a gymnasium for army personal as quite a lot of troops were assigned to the port area. AA guns mounted on the roof of the Warwick Hotel, guards with dogs patrolling all the piers and the rail road storage area which contained ammunition, vehicles, food, etc. for the war. The Italian Camp was an open camp; they were allowed to roam in the Casino Ground area and lived in tents. This area was called the Hill. I remember talking to the prisoners as they had books to try to translate with me.

The German POW Camp was located at the continuation of the James River Bridge crossover from Virginia Avenue to Jefferson Avenue. It was located below the bridge. It had barbed wire above the fence, and had barracks with towers at each corner, and spotlights with armed guards manning each one. You could see the prisoners walking around the fenced in area.

The 58th Street overpass from Virginia Avenue to 58th Street was built for two reasons – to give the army better access to the HRPE Laundry, and for the new homes at Betsy Lee Gardens and new homes that had been built on Briarfield Road and Copeland and Newsome Park.

Camp Patrick Henry was a distribution point for the HRPE holding troops until ships were available to load them and equipment.

Fred Field added information “About Our Wartime Guests,”

I have been reading in recent issues the many recollections about Prisoner of War Camps on the Peninsula. I only remember the one near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Military Highway. My family were lunch guests at that camp one Sunday in late 1943.

During the war local residents were asked to rent rooms for local Army officers. As a result we had two officers living with us for about two years during the war. One officer was stationed at the Jefferson Avenue prison camp. We were pleased about the lunch invitation, although the destination was kept secret from my brother and me until we arrived at the camp.

Our lunch was with the Camp’s several U.S. Army officers. We were served by Germans who spoke English surprisingly well. The food was wonderful and we were told that the prisoners did all the cooking.

After lunch we were taken on a brief tour. Although the camp facilities were very basic, many improvements had been designed and added by the prisoners. I was very impressed by the theater which had been extensively upgraded from a simple meeting hall. Our German guide for the theater identified himself as an electrician in civilian life. He proudly showed us the light dimmer arrangement he had made out of simple materials.

In my 1943 summer job as messenger for the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, I did see German prisoners disembarking from a ship and being assembled on the pier in preparation for loading on busses. They were all from the Afrika Korps and appeared tan and healthy.

After Italy’s capitulation, Italian prisoners were somewhat emancipated. They were given more freedom of movement and were assigned jobs around the Army bases. They soon earned recognition as wonderful cooks and there was much talk about the great improvement in Army food. I remember some soldiers at the message center saying that the Italians were doing all the mess hall work and the regular Army cooks were trying to look busy to avoid being declared surplus and shipped overseas.

Fred Field was not the only American to notice the appearance of the German prisoners. Carrie Belle Carter, who, according to her son, did not talk much about the German POW’s, described them as “tall, lean, blonde, and pleasant to look at.”

In addition to the Newport News POW Camps discussion page, an online article, “HAMPTON ROADS HISTORY – World War II POWs poured through Hampton Roads,” shed some light on this aspect of our World War II history.

The article explains why so many German and Italian prisoners of war were sent here to the States and explains the procedures followed for processing the prisoners once they arrived on our shores.

In August 1942, some 273,000 captured German and Italian soldiers overwhelmed Great Britain’s North Africa holding pens. The United States was urged to take as many as 150,000 prisoners on one to three months notice.

First the U.S. government sent many of the POW’s to compounds in Canada, and then to camps in isolated areas of the Southwestern United States. But within a month of the Allies’ agreement, Hampton Roads, as the U.S. Army’s Port of Embarkation for North Africa and the Mediterranean, processed its first group of German POW’s.

In the article, author Mark St. John Erickson noted that “Wehrmacht soldiers” … “guarded by MPs wielding submachine guns, … filled out paperwork aboard the transport ships with the aid of port interpreters, then filed down the gangways to be searched and questioned at stations set up inside the warehouses on the piers.”

I believe this is how Carrie Belle Carter contributed to the war effort in Newport News, by being a part of the continual processing of arriving German prisoners. I think it is likely that her work involved checking in the German POW’s at one of these stations in the warehouses set up on the piers.

How do you think Carrie and other Americans felt about, as discussion page contributor Bill Lee noted, seeing “the enemy” among them on a daily basis? And would it be more difficult for Carrie to continue her work after her future husband, Harry Allen Liniger, went missing on a heavy bomber mission over Germany, and she eventually learned he was a prisoner of war?

Sources

Thank you to Harry Liniger, Jr., son of Harry Allen Liniger and Carrie Belle Carter Liniger, for sharing his family stories from WWII

Author and researcher Kathy Kirkpatrick and her POW publications

POW Camps in the USA courtesy of Kathy Kirkpatrick and GenTracer

POW Camps Map courtesy of Kathy Kirkpatrick and GenTracer

POW Camps in Virginia courtesy of Kathy Kirkpatrick and GenTracer

The Newport News WWII POW Camps courtesy of the Newport News High School Class of 1965

Article “HAMPTON ROADS HISTORY – World War II POWs poured through Hampton Roads” by author Mark St. John Erickson

Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 4

November 2, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner for the James Brodie crew. Photo courtesy of son Harry Liniger, Jr.

A new search and additional information from his son, Harry, Jr., have provided me with some new information regarding Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. He was an original member of the crew and on board Brodie’s B-17 on the 28 September 1944 mission to Magdeburg.

To view my original post and other information about Harry Allen Liniger, please see the links at the end of this post.

Harry Allen Liniger, Update continued…

This is the last part of my Harry Allen Liniger, Update article and will cover Harry’s return home, release from military service, and post WWII life.

For a recap of the story of the 28 September 1944 mid-air collision between the Buslee crew and Brodie crew B-17’s in which Harry Liniger was one of only four survivors, read 384th Bomb Group pilot Wallace Storey’s account here.

Germany Surrenders

On 7 May 1945, Germany surrendered to the western Allies at General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Headquarters in Reims, France. German Chief-of-Staff, General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender, to take effect the following day.

On 8 May 1945, V-E (Victory in Europe) Day was declared as German troops continued to surrender to the Allies throughout Europe.

Harry Allen Liniger’s Return Home from World War II Military Service

According to Harry’s Honorable Discharge and Separation Record, he departed the European Theater on 27 May 1945, destination US, and arrived back on U.S. soil on 9 June 1945.

Harry’s POW Story in his Own Words

Shortly after his arrival home, the Gates County [North Carolina] Index newspaper interviewed Harry about his POW experience and published the following article in the 13 June 1945 edition of the paper.

~*~

Liniger Home; Lost 60 Pounds As War Prisoner in Germany

Gatesville. – Having gained back the 60 pounds he lost as a German prisoner of war, Sgt. Harry Liniger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger of Gatesville, is back in town on a 60-day recuperation furlough. At the expiration of his furlough he will report to Miami for further assignment.

Sgt. Liniger, waist gunner aboard a Flying Fortress, parachuted to earth in Germany last September when his Fortress was in [a] collision with another Fortress which had been riddled by anti-aircraft fire. Of the 20 men aboard the two Fortresses, only Harry and three others survived.

The navigator [Brodie crew airman George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.] suffered fractures of both legs, but more than ten days elapsed before he could get medical attention. Harry suffered a back injury and various cuts and bruises. He was in jail within four hours after landing, he said.

He would not have escaped from the crippled plane had it not exploded, the sergeant added. The blast blew him out of the turret and he retained consciousness long enough to open his parachute.

Without Shoes

He landed without shoes, was given one issue of clothing which he wore for the next several months and subsided on three potatoes a day and half a loaf of bread per week supplemented by occasional Red Cross supplies. Diseases, dysentery and marching during the evacuation when Russia started its drive, took its toll of American prisoners, Harry said.

While they were marched in an effort to keep out of reach of Russian liberators, 500 or more would go to sleep in a barn and leave 50 or 60 who could not go on the next morning. The Germans said the disabled men would be hospitalized. Harry could not say whether they were or not.

Harry weighed only 98 pounds when he again reached Allied military control. He regained his normal weight within 30 days at a French rest camp.

Harry and thousands of others escaped when the collapse of Nazi Germany appeared eminent, but he was in a group recaptured by German troops who were scheduled to surrender the following day. But on the following day, the regiment got orders to continue fighting at the Elbe River.

At one time, the American escapees were within sound of front line gun fire but German machine guns drove them back to cover.

As prisoners, the men were permitted to write a letter a month. He did not receive a letter during the whole time he was imprisoned, and Red Cross supplies did not come through with regularity, he said.

Harry holds the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Good Conduct Ribbon, American theatre of operations Ribbon, and the European theatre of operations ribbon with four campaign stars, representing the Air War, the battles of Norway and Southern France and the battle of Germany.

Article courtesy of the Gates County Index newspaper online archives and contributed by the Albemarle Regional Library System, Gates County Public Library

~*~

This newspaper article was a great find. It confirms many things I have believed to be true and many things I can conclude about my own father’s POW experience that I have only assumed. My father, George Edwin Farrar, who was one of the other three survivors Harry mentions, was held in the same POW camp and forced on the same march. Dad likely was fed the same diet and suffered a similar loss of weight.

However, I don’t believe Dad was part of the group of American escapees Harry mentions. I would like to learn more about Harry’s escape and recapture experience, though. I imagine I can find similar stories from other Stalag Luft IV prisoners in some of their books and diaries. As often happens in my research, one find triggers a new search, and I’ll keep looking.

Just a couple of minor corrections to the article:

Eighteen men were aboard the two fortresses, not twenty
Harry was in the waist of the plane, not one of the turrets

One thing I must comment on, though, is regarding Harry’s mention that he did not receive a letter during his imprisonment. Don’t think his parents, sister, or future wife didn’t write to him. I am quite certain they wrote as soon as they received an address for him. They wouldn’t have learned he was a prisoner of war, or where he was held captive, or obtain an address to write to him until late December 1944.

Under normal circumstances, letters between families and prisoners took months to deliver. But Harry was marched out of the POW camp on February 6, 1945. Letters were probably on their way to him, but never made it into his hands. By the time a letter would have arrived at Stalag Luft IV, Harry was no longer held there. And mail certainly wasn’t delivered to the prisoners on the road during their 500-mile 86-day long march.

Marriage

Seven weeks after returning home, Harry married his sweetheart, Carrie Bell Carter. The Gates County Index newspaper published an article upon the news of their marriage.

On 1 August 1945, Dillon, South Carolina: “Mr. and Mrs. L.S. Carter of Gatesville, N.C. announce the marriage of their daughter, Carrie Belle, to Staff Sergeant Harry A. Liniger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger, also of Gatesville. The wedding took place in Dillon on July 26. … They will leave Gatesville on August 11 for Miami Beach when Sgt. Liniger is scheduled to report for duty.”

Japan Surrenders

Just days before Harry and Carrie were to leave for Miami, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, on Hiroshima on 6 August and on Nagasaki on 9 August. On 14 August, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender. Surrender documents would not be signed until 2 September. Some consider the 14 August 1945 date to be V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, but others consider 2 September 1945, when the surrender document was signed, to be V-J Day.

Reassignment Processing

According to the 1 August newspaper article, Harry Liniger left home on 11 August. He and his new wife Carrie traveled to Miami Beach for his reassignment processing. Their son, Harry Jr., shared this photo with me.

Harry Allen and Carrie Belle Carter Liniger (on the far right) at the 5 O’Clock Club, Miami Beach, Florida

I am uncertain of their arrival date in Miami, but the Gates County Index published another article reporting Harry’s arrival.

On 22 August 1945, Miami Beach, Florida: “S/Sgt. Harry A. Liniger, 21, of Gatesville, N.C. has arrived at Army Air Forces Redistribution Station No. 2 in Miami Beach for reassignment processing after completing a tour of duty outside the continental United States. During his processing, he is housed in an ocean-front hotel and enjoys abundant facilities for rest and recreation in this year-round beneficial climate.”

Release from Military Service

Honorable Discharge/Separation

With the war with Germany and Japan over, I am not sure how long Harry and Carrie remained in Miami, but according to his separation document, Harry Liniger was honorably discharged from military service on 31 October 1945 (his Date of Separation) at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina.

Some of the notable information on Harry’s Honorable Discharge includes:

His Military Occupational Specialty and No. as Airplane Armorer Gunner 612.
His Military Qualification as AAF Air Crew Member Badge (Wings)
His Battles and Campaigns as Southern France, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland
His Decorations and Citations as European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with 4 Bronze Stars, 1 Overseas Service Bar, Good Conduct Medal, and Air Medal. (Not listed on his Honorable Discharge are his Purple Heart, WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, and Prisoner of War Medal).
His Total Length of Continental Service was 1 year, 7 months, and 22 days.
His Total Length of Foreign Service was 11 months and 9 days.
For his Service outside the Continental U.S., he departed the U.S. on 1 July 1944, Destination European Theater, arriving 5 July 1944. He departed the European Theater on 27 May 1945, Destination US, arriving 9 June 1945.
He attended Radio School at Scott Field, Illinois, and Gunnery School at Harlingen, Texas.

Post-World War II Life

Ocala, Florida

On his Honorable Discharge/Separation document, I found another piece of interesting information. Harry’s permanent address for mailing purposes was listed as Box 251 Gatesville, NC, but handwritten beside that was the address “Municipal Trailer Park Ocala, Fla.”

Harry’s parents, Paul and Estella Liniger, lived for a time in Ocala and Harry and Carrie spent time there with them, enough so that Harry included the address on his Honorable Discharge/Separation document.

I have been living in Ocala for the past ten years and was curious if the trailer park still existed and where it is/was located.

I found that the Ocala Municipal Trailer Park no longer exists, but that it was formerly located at 517 Northeast 9th Street, Ocala, FL, directly north of Ocala’s Tuscawilla Park, near where one of the city’s premier entertainment venues, the Reilly Arts Center, is located today.

The trailer park opened in 1937 to house WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers. The WPA was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers to carry out public works projects. The trailer park was also reported to be intended for visitors to the area who were expected to stay on a short-term basis, but became very popular with longer-term visitors and residents.

Closing and eventually demolishing the park stretched over a three-year period beginning in 2007, displacing the ninety people who lived there.

The property is currently divided into two uses: one, a parking lot for The Reilly Arts Center, and two, the home of the Ocala Skate Park (for skateboarding, in-line skating, and freestyle bicycling).

I had never been aware that the parking lot where my husband and I park when we attend shows at the Reilly are at the very spot where Harry and Carrie Liniger stayed with his parents after World War II.

While in Ocala, Harry worked at an alligator farm. The name of the gator farm is unknown, but perhaps Harry worked for Ross Allen, the noted herpetologist, at the Ross Allen Reptile Institute on land near the head of Silver Springs. The reptile institute attracted thousands of tourists to Silver Springs for many decades.

Harry Liniger worked at a Gator Farm in Ocala, FL after the war

and

Carrie Liniger at a Gator Farm in Ocala, FL after the war

and

Harry and Carrie Liniger in Ocala, FL after the war

Harry and Carrie’s son, Harry Liniger, Jr., visited his grandparents in Ocala when he was twelve years old. He said, “When I was 12 years old my mother put me on a train by myself to visit my grandparents in Ocala. They took me to Silver Springs for a visit. It may have been special to them. They lived in a trailer park and I remember playing shuffleboard every day.”

Post-World War II

Harry and Carrie Liniger later moved to Portsmouth, Virginia and in 1946, Harry and Carrie were blessed with a son, Harry Jr.

Still in the early years of his marriage, and when Harry Jr. was only fourteen months old, Harry Liniger died in an accident in Portsmouth on 8 October 1947 at the age of 23.

He is buried in the Powells Point Christian Church Cemetery in Harbinger, Currituck County, North Carolina, along with his parents and sister.

Carrie passed away October 5, 2011, and is buried in the Carter family plot in Gatesville, NC, less than 100 yards from the house in which she was born.

Notes

Thank you to Harry Liniger, Jr. for sharing these stories from his family history.

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 2

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 3

Previous post, Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew

Previous post, Harry Liniger – After the War

Previous post, Boarding a Train

Harry Allen Liniger’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Harry Allen Liniger’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives

Harry Liniger’s POW record in the online National Archives

Stalag Luft IV Lager D roster

Dave Osborne’s Fortlog

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Operational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron

Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Missing Air Crew Report 9753 for the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Harry Allen Liniger on Find a Grave

Gates County Index newspaper articles courtesy of Digital North Carolina newspapers

13 June 1945 edition of the Gates County [North Carolina] Index newspaper

Several articles in the Ocala Star-Banner newspaper covered the trailer park over several years:

12 December 2005 – City’s choice, Officials to decide whether to repair or close park
25 October 2006 – City weighs pros, cons of saving auditorium
27 September 2011 – Ocala wants ideas on redesigning Tuscawilla Park
30 January 2015 – City’s transient trailer park called ‘one of the best’

Excluding the Gates County Index newspaper article, © Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2022

Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 3

October 26, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner for the James Brodie crew. Photo courtesy of son Harry Liniger, Jr.

To view my original post and other information about Harry Allen Liniger, please see the links at the end of this post.

Harry Allen Liniger, Update continued…

This part will cover Harry Allen Liniger’s MIA (Missing in Action) and POW (Prisoner of War) experience.

The Mid-air Collision

On 28 September 1944, the B-17’s of the John Buslee crew and the James Brodie crew collided over Magdeburg, Germany. Rather than repeat the story of the collision, I will direct those who would like to read it to 384th Bomb Group pilot Wallace Storey’s account here.

Missing in Action

Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group note the following for Harry Allen Liniger: On 28 September 1944, on Mission 201 to Magdeburg, Germany (Target was Industry, Steelworks), Harry Allen Liniger, flying with the James Joseph Brodie crew, went from duty to MIA (Missing in Action).

Harry and the other airmen involved in the collision would remain missing until some word was heard, typically relayed from the Red Cross to the military, and from the military to the families, or next of kin, of the missing. Word did not travel quickly outside of wartime Germany to families waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones.

The Gates County Index newspaper published two articles in the month of October with the only information available at the time.

On 18 October 1944: “Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger of Gatesville have been advised by the War Department that their son, Sgt. Harry Liniger, turret gunner on a Liberator bomber [correction: waist gunner on a Flying Fortress/B-17 bomber] is missing following a flight over Germany on September 28.”

On 25 October 1944: “Sgt. Harry A. Liniger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Liniger of Gatesville, waist gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress and recently awarded the Air Medal, is missing following a flight over Germany on September 28.”

A follow-up article in the same issue noted: “Award of the Air Medal for ‘exceptionally meritorious achievement while participating in sustained bomber combat operations over enemy occupied Continental Europe’ to Sgt. Liniger was announced by an Eighth Air Force bomber station in England soon after news that he was missing reached Gatesville.

Waist gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress, Sgt. Liniger was taking part in attacks being carried out against targets in Germany and the occupied areas by the American Air Forces. He was serving with a Fortress group that is a veteran unit on the European aerial front. Sgt. Liniger is 20 and was a student at Edwards Military Institute in Salemburg prior to entering the service.”

Prisoner of War

By December 1944, the Liniger family had received word that Harry was alive and a prisoner of war. The Germans allowed the POWs to write a limited number of postcards and letters home, but the mail could take several months to arrive.

For example, I have a letter my father wrote as a POW he dated 9 November 1944. Someone, probably my grandmother, noted on the letter that she received it over four months later on 23 March 1945.

Initial postcards the POWs sent home within a short time after capture looked like this postcard of my father’s.

Harry Liniger wrote his card just two days before my dad, who was hospitalized following capture, on 3 October. (I don’t believe POW’s were allowed to tell their families they were not in good health, hence unable to note he was seriously wounded and could not walk).

The Gates County Index newspaper published an article on 20 December 1944, so these first post cards likely took two months to reach the families.

On 20 December 1944: “Mrs. Paul W. Liniger of Gatesville recently received another card from her son, S/Sgt. Harry Liniger, prisoner of war of the German government. The sergeant said that he was in good health and was being moved to another prison camp. The card was dated October 3, five days after the Flying Fortress of which he was a crew member, was forced down into Nazi occupied Europe.”

Prison Camp

In Nazi Germany, Allied prisoners of war were confined to separate prison camps based on at least two criteria. Those held captive from various nationality air forces, airmen were kept in “Luft” stalags. Officers and enlisted men were also separated into different camps. Of the four survivors of the 28 September 1944 mid-air collision between the Buslee and Brodie B-17’s, one was an officer and three were enlisted.

The officer, George Marshall Hawkins, Brodie crew navigator, was seriously injured and served his entire POW internment in a POW hospital. If he had not been injured, he would have been assigned to an officer’s POW camp. The three enlisted men, George Farrar of the Buslee crew, and Wilfred Miller and Harry Liniger of the Brodie crew, were all assigned to Stalag Luft IV. Farrar spent the first two months of captivity in a hospital, but was then placed in the camp in late November 1944.

I discovered George Farrar and Wilfred Miller on the same camp roster, a Stalag Luft IV Lager D roster, placing both of them in the same Lager of the camp. I have been unable to find Harry Liniger’s name on any of the available rosters, though. It is possible that he was held in Lager A, B, or C, but looking through the Lager D roster more closely, I believe a page could be missing between scanned pages 37 (which ends with Lewis) and 38 (which begins with Lissendrello) where Harry Liniger possibly could be included alphabetically in this list.

Harry Allen Liniger’s POW number was #3818. His son, Harry, Jr., found the number in his grandmother’s war time diary along with her son’s POW address. Harry, Jr. says Estella Liniger’s diary was pretty simple, but held a lot of valuable information. “It had the addresses from all my dad’s duty stations, the address for the Red Cross in Switzerland and a few others. One entry said she received my dad’s Air Medal in the mail. It mentioned receiving a couple of letters from dad saying he was ok. She also wrote out her prayerful thoughts on some days.”

The March

Harry Allen Liniger was one of the Stalag Luft IV POW’s marched out of the prison camp on February 6, 1945 to begin the 500-day 86-mile march of prisoners across Germany. One day, Harry Liniger, Jr., opened his father’s New Testament and found a note his dad had written on cigarette paper.

Harry had recorded a horrific train ride to which the prisoners were subjected on their journey. This note confirms an event in the historical record of the march, the memory of which likely haunted the men on the train for the rest of their lives.

On another day, Harry Jr. showed the note to his daughter and she decided to look through the book. She found a list on the inside cover that looked like Harry was adding up his back pay while in captivity. There was also a man’s name, Charles Gleason, ASN 32718483, and a New York address of 200 E. 81st St., printed in the back.

Charles Gleason’s POW record in the online National Archives notes that he was held in Stalag Luft IV. Charles was a left waist gunner with the 97th Bomb Group, 340th Bomb Squadron, of the 15th AF based in Amendola, Italy in the Province of Foggia. [Note: Between 17 August 1942 and 21 October 1942, the 97th Bomb Group flew from Polebrook and Grafton Underwood with the 8th Air Force].

Charles Albert Gleason was 5’8″ tall, weighed 145 pounds, had gray eyes, blonde hair, and a light complexion. He registered for the draft on 15 February 1942. His place of residence was 200 E. 81 St., New York, NY and he was born on 29 June 1921 in New York, NY.

Federal Census records from 1930 and 1940 note that Charles’ father was Charles A. Gleason, Sr., his mother was Katherine (or Catherine, possibly with the maiden name of Kelly). He had two older sisters, Dorothy and Rita. His father died in 1936, leaving Charles’ mother a widow.

Charles Gleason went MIA on the 97th Bomb Group’s 23 October 1944 mission to the Pilsen, Czechoslovakia Skoda Works in B-17 42-31709. The missing air crew report, MACR9513, notes the cause as flak.

Ten men of the Josie Francis Flotz (Durham, NC) crew – Paul Eugene Rominger (Ohio), Leon Joseph Cooning, Jr., Wallace John Lameweaver, Robert T. Oakes, Dalton John Cormier, Charles Albert Gleason, Clifton Edward Huffman (or Hoffman of Palestine, WV), John David Lawson (Osborne, KS), and Richard Arthur Leonard (Dayton, OH) – all were captured and became prisoners of war.

MACR9513 notes that at a location of 4915N/1257E, the Flotz crew’s B-17 was observed “Straggling after target run. Result of enemy aircraft and damaged by flak or defect in oxygen.”

An airman who was an eyewitness, Sgt. Glenn W. Troutman, reported, “After completing the target run, I saw aircraft #709 straggling, because of a hit by flak or some other damage to aircraft.” Crew member Clifton E. Huffman reported: “All ten [crew] members bailed out shortly after losing three engines over target. Saw all crew members at Frankfort interrogation center.” The pilot, Josie F. Foltz, Jr., reported that they were over the target (just after Rally) when they left the formation. He added “All crew members bailed out approx. the same time & about 50 to 100 mi. SE of target near Eger, Germany.”

Charles Gleason was able to evade for a day, but was captured on 24 October 1944 at 17:30 (5:30 in the evening) near Maerzdorf dist. in Kaaden (Kadaň), a town in the Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czechoslovakia.

I expected to find Harry Liniger and Charles Gleason on the same POW roster from Stalag Luft IV. Coming from bomb groups that were not based even in the same country, Liniger in England and Gleason in Italy, I can’t imagine where they would have met if not in the prison camp or on the march.

However, I do not find their names in any list together. I do find Charles Gleason listed in the roster on page 74 of the POW book “Barbed Boredom – A Souvenir Book of Stalag Luft IV” by Charles G. Janis. He is listed as “Gleason C 200 E 81st St New York N.Y.” Harry is not found in this list. The author of “Barbed Boredom,” Charles Janis, was held POW in Lager D, the lager where I know George Farrar and Wilfred Miller were both held. However, neither of their names appear on Janis’ list either. And in the roster where I do find Farrar’s and Miller’s names on, the Stalag Luft IV Lager D roster, I do not find Charles Gleason, Harry Liniger, or Charles Janis.

Charles Gleason’s POW record indicates his last report date was 9 July 1945. Harry Liniger’s last report date was 31 May 1945. George Farrar’s last report date was closer to Gleason’s. Farrar’s was 13 July 1945. Farrar had an extended hospital stay following his liberation and perhaps Gleason did as well as both returned home much later than Harry Liniger.

Charles Albert Gleason died April 20, 2001 at the age of 79.

I have shared this information about Charles Albert Gleason because he must have been important to Harry Liniger during their confinement as POW’s during World War II. If any family members of Charles Gleason have any information about this time in his life, please contact me.

Liberation

The Gates County Index newspaper published several articles upon the news of Harry Liniger’s liberation.

On 30 May 1945: “Sgt. Harry Liniger, waist gunner on a Flying Fortress shot down over enemy occupied Europe many months ago, has been liberated from a German prison camp, according to information reaching his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger, through the Red Cross.”

On 6 June 1945, Gatesville: “Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger have received an Army Signal Corps message from their son, Sgt. Harry Liniger, liberated prisoner in Europe, telling them, ‘At the rate I am moving, I will be home in a few months.’ They also received a telegram from the War Department saying that Sgt. Liniger was returned to military control on May 2.”

On 28 May 1945, upon the receipt of the telegram of her son’s liberation and return to military control, Estella Liniger recorded her last prayerful thoughts in her diary, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”.

Notes

Thank you to Keith Ellefson for obtaining Charles Gleason’s missing air crew report for me.

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 2

Previous post, Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew

Previous post, Harry Liniger – After the War

Previous post, Boarding a Train

Harry Allen Liniger’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Harry Allen Liniger’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives

Harry Liniger’s POW record in the online National Archives

Stalag Luft IV Lager D roster

Dave Osborne’s Fortlog

Charles Gleason’s POW record in the National Archives

Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Missing Air Crew Report 9753 for the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Gates County Index newspaper articles courtesy of Digital North Carolina newspapers

97th Bomb Group courtesy of the American Air Museum in Britain

Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 2

October 19, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner for the James Brodie crew. Photo courtesy of son Harry Liniger, Jr.

To view my original post and other information about Harry Allen Liniger, please see the links at the end of this post.

Harry Allen Liniger, Update continued…

This part will cover Harry Allen Liniger’s entry into military service, stateside training, and overseas combat duty.

Harry Allen Liniger’s Entry into Military Service

Military School

Although I was unable to find a 1940 census record for the Liniger family, I believe in 1940, 384th Bomb Group waist gunner Harry Allen Liniger was likely living in Salemburg, Sampson County, North Carolina. He attended Edwards Military Institute in Salemburg.

Harry graduated from Edwards on 22 May 1942 and turned eighteen that summer. His diploma notes he “completed the course of study prescribed for graduation from the High School Department.” If he attended the school for four years, he would have been there since the Fall of 1938.

Left to right: Harry Allen Liniger and Dink Bishop
Edwards Military Institute Graduation
Photo courtesy of Harry Liniger, Jr.

This postcard picture of the Edwards Military Institute at Salemburg, Sampson County, NC is from “North Carolina Postcards” of the North Carolina Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Edwards Military Institute, Salemburg, NC
Photo courtesy of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The school, more recently known as Southwood College, was founded in 1874. From 1935 to 1965, two institutions, Edwards Military Institute and Pineland College, both operated on the same site. In 1965, the institutions became Southwood College, which closed in 1973.

Draft Registration

On 11 December 1942, Harry Liniger registered for the WWII draft at the Local Board No. 1 at the National Guard Armory in Edenton, North Carolina. He listed his place of residence as Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina. Harry’s place of employment was Marine Air Base in Edenton. He was 18 years old and born on 9 August 1924 in Steubenville, Ohio.

P.W. Liniger (Harry’s father Paul) of Gatesville, North Carolina was the person who would always know his address.

Harry described himself as 5′ 7″ tall, 150 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion. He noted a scar on his inside right wrist as an “other obvious physical characteristic that will aid in identification.”

Enlistment

On 24 March 1943, Harry enlisted in WWII at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and was inducted into military service as of this date. Harry’s enlistment record notes his residence as Gates County, North Carolina, and that he was born in Ohio in 1924. According to his enlistment record, his civilian occupation was “paymasters, payroll clerks, and timekeepers.”

One week later, 31 March 1943, was Harry’s date of entry into Active Service at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina (according to his Honorable Discharge).

Training in the States

The Gates County Index newspaper reported two significant events in Harry’s stateside training.

On 12 April 1944, Harlingen Army Air Field, Texas: “Harry Liniger … was graduated this week at this field as an aerial gunner and was awarded his silver wings. … [Next] he will join an aerial combat team…”

On 20 September 1944, Army Air Field, Oklahoma: “Pfc. Harry Liniger … has completed final phase training as aerial gunner of a heavy bombardment unit at the 222nd Combat Crew Training Station, 2nd Army Air Force.”

Other stateside training stations for Harry included basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 613 Training Group at St. Petersburg, Florida, 403 Training Group at Miami Beach, Florida, and Academic Squadron 1 at Scott Field, Illinois.

WWII Combat Duty at Grafton Underwood, England

Harry Allen Liniger’s 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record indicates that his duty was Arm-Gunner, one month’s pay was $140.40, and his home address was Mrs. Estelle Prysock Liniger, Box 251, Gatesville, NC.

Harry was credited with sixteen combat missions with the 384th Bomb Group, from his first on 7 August 1944 to his last on 28 September 1944.

Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group indicate the following for Harry Allen Liniger:

On 26 JULY 1944, Corporal Harry Allen Liniger was assigned to the 384th Bombardment Group, 545th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #148 dated 26 July 1944 as a waist gunner (classification AAG, Airplane Armorer/Gunner, with the MOS, military operational specialty, of 611).
On 2 AUGUST 1944, Corporal Harry Allen Liniger was promoted to Sergeant per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #155.
On 28 SEPTEMBER 1944, on Mission 201 to Magdeburg, Germany (Target was Industry, Steelworks), Harry Allen Liniger, flying with the James Joseph Brodie crew, went from duty to MIA (Missing in Action). He was subsequently declared POW (Prisoner of War).

The Gates County Index newspaper was quick to report Harry’s 2 August promotion to Sergeant.

On 23 August 1944: “Harry Liniger, now in England, has been promoted to sergeant.” Their source was a letter Harry wrote to his sister, identified as Mrs. Wesley Parker of Gatesville.

Side Note: From Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1, remember one of the lodgers living with the Liniger family during the recording of the 1930 census? Ancestry transcribed the name as Parker Westley, but apparently his correct full name was Jonathan Wesley Parker. He and Harry’s sister Eileen married that same year of the census on 8 August 1930. Wesley was 22 years old and Eileen was 14 according to their ages as recorded in the 1930 Federal census.

More about Harry Liniger and his MIA/POW experience in my next post…

Notes

Previous post, Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1

Previous post, Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew

Previous post, Harry Liniger – After the War

Previous post, Boarding a Train

Harry Allen Liniger’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Harry Allen Liniger’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives

Harry Liniger’s POW record in the online National Archives

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Operational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron

Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Missing Air Crew Report 9753 for the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Edwards Military Institute – North Carolina Postcards Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Southwood College, previously Edwards Military Institute and Pineland College

Gates County Index newspaper articles courtesy of Digital North Carolina newspapers

Harry Allen Liniger, Update – Part 1

October 12, 2022 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner for the James Brodie crew. Photo courtesy of son Harry Liniger, Jr.

A new search, and additional information from his son, Harry, Jr., have provided me with some new information regarding Harry Allen Liniger, waist gunner of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. He was an original member of the Brodie crew and was one of the three survivors on Brodie’s B-17 in the mid-air collision on the 28 September 1944 mission to Magdeburg.

To view my original post and other information about Harry Allen Liniger, please see the links at the end of this post.

Because I have so much new information to share after my latest research into Harry Allen Liniger, this update will be presented in multiple parts. First up, some background about the Liniger family.

The Liniger Family

The 384th Bomb Group waist gunner, Harry Allen Liniger, was born in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio on 9 August 1924 to father Paul Whitney Liniger (1889 – 1960) and mother Estella Jeanette Prysock Liniger (1893 – 1973). Paul and Estella married on 17 February 1912 in Belmont, Ohio. Harry had an older sister, Eileen May Liniger (1916 – 1972).

Harry first appears in the Federal Census in 1930 as a 5-year-old. He, his parents, and sister (all listed with the last name misspelled “Lianeger” and with his sister’s name misspelled “Oleen”), lived in Lynnhaven, Princess Anne County, Virginia. Paul was the Head of Household and 41 years old. Also included in the Liniger’s household were Estella (wife, age 36), Eileen (daughter, age 14), and Harry (son, age 5).

Also living in the Liniger household were Paul’s brother Harry A. (age 43), sister Mary (age 45), and two lodgers, Conard Ginon (age 32) and Parker Westly (age 22). Other than the two lodgers, all were recorded as born in Ohio. All, including the Liniger’s children Eileen and Harry, were recorded with the occupation of Showman or Show woman in a Traveling Circus.

384th Bomb Group waist gunner Harry Allen Liniger at 3 years old
Photo courtesy of his son, Harry Allen Liniger, Jr.

Going back twenty years, and two years before he and Estella married, Paul Liniger (misspelled Linneger, age 20), is recorded in the 1910 Federal Census as living in Pultney Township, Belmont County, Ohio with his father John (age 56, occupation – engineer on a ferry boat), his mother Sarah (age 46, no occupation), and brother Harry (age 23). Both Paul and Harry were listed with the occupation of Acrobat in the Circus. [Note: John Liniger is recorded under the name “William Liniger” on the 1900 Federal Census].

Beginning a career in the circus at least as far back as 1910 with the Liniger brothers in their early twenties, they went on to have their own show and eventually their own circus.

In 1916, the “Liniger Bros. & O’Wesney Shows” was described as a new show in the amusement world that was destined to be a big success. The staff was identified as Paul Liniger (manager), Ray Owesney (secretary-treasurer), and Harry Liniger (equestrian director), among others. Also of note was the comment that “Friends of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Liniger will learn with delight that the stork paid them a visit on May 11 and left a ten-pound baby girl. [Billboard, May 20, 1916, p. 62, Classic Circus History – Liniger Brothers.]

Paul Liniger in his areal uniform
Photo courtesy of his grandson Harry Allen Liniger, Jr.

In 1917, the “Liniger Bros.’ Combined Shows” big show program consisted of nineteen numbers, including the Three Liniger Brothers, and many other comedy, acrobatic, animal, and other acts. The transportation included six wagons and other vehicles. The brand new “canvas” included the big top – a “50,” and a “35” and two “20s.” Staff included, among others, Paul W. Liniger (manager), Mrs. Paul W. Liniger (ticket taker), and Harry Liniger (boss canvasman). [Billboard, June 2, 1917, p. 26, Classic Circus History – Liniger Brothers.]

The Liniger Brothers
Photo courtesy of Harry Allen Liniger, Jr.

In 1918, the show did not go on, “Owing to the fact that Harry Liniger, of the Liniger Bros. Shows, has been drafted and is somewhere in France, the show did not take the road this season.” [Billboard, August 10, 1918, p. 24, Classic Circus History – Liniger Brothers.]

In a 1920 entry found on the Classic Circus History website of the Circus Historical Society, in the Billboard Excerpts 1920 – 1922, Harry was described as having been a clown in the A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Forces). Harry served in WWI, enlisting on 27 May 1918.

According to the Ohio Roster of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in WWI, Harry spent part of his military service in WWI in the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), from 22 July 1918 to 23 February 1919. The Showman certainly took his show on the road in World War I! Harry’s military service release date, when he received an honorable discharge, was on 6 May 1919. [Read more about this aspect of the A.E.F. on The World War History and Art Museum website, “The Circus Goes to War – Show Business and the Armed Forces of World War I.”]

Harry Liniger of the Liniger Brothers Circus on the left, unidentified on the right
Photo courtesy of his great-nephew Harry Allen Liniger, Jr.

I did not find a 1920 Federal Census record for the Liniger’s, but I found another record of their involvement in the circus during the 1920’s on the Classic Circus History website of the Circus Historical Society. The Billboard Excerpts 1920 – 1922 notes that the brothers performed as the “Liniger Brothers” in the circus in that timeframe.

In 1921, Paul and Harry were with the Rhoda Royal show, “one on the sailor rope and the other in clown alley,” and in a later article, Harry Liniger wrote that he left the Rhoda Royal Circus, and the “Liniger Bros. will be out next spring with their own vaudeville and picture show under canvas.” [Billboard Excerpts 1920 – 1922]

In 1922, Paul and Harry had their own Liniger Bros. Circus-Vaudeville Motorized Show. [Billboard Excerpts 1920 – 1922]. The staff included, among others, Liniger Bros. (proprietors), Paul Liniger (manager), Harry Liniger (operator) ; Stella Liniger (pianist), Paul, Jr. and Eileen Liniger (kid workers). The program included Harry Liniger, Paul, Jr., and Eileen Liniger in songs and dances, and comedy acrobats by the Liniger Bros. and Paul, Jr. [Billboard, July 15, 1922, p. 63, Classic Circus History – Liniger Brothers.]

The Liniger Brothers Circus Family
Photo courtesy of Harry Allen Liniger, Jr.

For 1925, the only archive record I find online is this archive from Circus World. It is an Archive Record Herald. A herald is a circus advertisement that was similar to a hand bill. Below is the header for the Liniger Bros.’ herald.

Photo courtesy of Circus World Archives

Please check the Archive Record Herald link for images of the herald itself, both Side A –“WATER-PROOF TENTS” and Side B –“CASTLE’S CONGRESS OF ANIMAL ACTORS.” Among the “notable acts” are the “3 Liniger Brothers.”

Added 29 December 2022, a recently discovered Liniger Brothers postcard, found by Harry Liniger, Jr.

Liniger Brothers postcard
Courtesy of Harry Liniger, Jr.

After 1925, I know the show went on because the Liniger’s were recorded in the 1930 census with the occupations of Showman and Show woman in a traveling circus, but I find no other mentions of the Liniger Brothers in internet searches after this year. To learn more about the American circuses of this era, I may have to visit the Showmen’s Museum just south of Tampa, Florida.

The Showmen’s Museum is described as “Unlike other museums, the Showmen’s Museum houses decades of memories and history of carnivals and circuses of the past. Guests can stroll the 54,000-square-foot property and view the many artifacts, photographs and relics of the past.” Check their website for hours and ticket prices. 6938 Riverview Dr., Riverview, FL 33578, (813) 671-3503.

But I need to back up one year for a notable event in 1924. In 1924, the Liniger family grew by one. When Paul and Estella’s son was born in 1924, Paul named him for his brother – Harry Allen Liniger. The future 384th Bomb Group waist gunner grew up in a circus family whose many acts included everything from clowning to acrobatics and more. But for all the shows the Liniger’s performed, Paul’s son Harry would perform the most death defying act of any of them.

As a waist gunner on a B-17 heavy bomber, Harry celebrated his twentieth birthday on 9 August 1944 participating in his third combat mission of World War II. He risked his life on a total of sixteen combat missions, avoiding injury from enemy fighters and the ground fire of the German flak guns, until seven weeks after that birthday mission. On 28 September 1944, after his bomber and another of the 384th collided 25,000 feet above Madgeburg, Germany, Harry was propelled from the B-17 in an explosion that threw him from the ship.

If Harry had any flashbacks from his family’s circus days, he may have felt like he had been shot out of a cannon and was flying through the air, but not with the greatest of ease, no trapeze, and without a net to catch him and break his fall. Fortunately for Harry, his chest chute functioned properly and delivered him safely to the ground, although the “safely” part ended rather abruptly when he was taken into custody as a prisoner of war upon landing.

More about Harry Liniger and his military training and World War II service in my next post…

Notes

Previous post, Harry Liniger, Waist Gunner for the Brodie Crew

Previous post, Harry Liniger – After the War

Previous post, Boarding a Train

Harry Allen Liniger’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

Harry Allen Liniger’s Enlistment Record in the online National Archives

Harry Liniger’s POW record in the online National Archives

The World War History and Art Museum website, page “The Circus Goes to War – Show Business and the Armed Forces of World War I.”

Circus World Archive Record Herald

Parkinson’s Directory of American Circuses, 1916-1925, Classic Circus History from the Circus Historical Society – Liniger Brothers listing

Classic Circus History from the Circus Historical Society – Liniger Brothers

Category Archives: 545th Bomb Squadron

Barnes Family

Education and Civilian Employment prior to Military Service

Entry into WWII Military Service

Military Training

Combat Duty with the 384th Bomb Group

Return to the States

Release from WWII Military Service

Honorable Discharge and Military Record and Report of Separation

Post-World War II

Notes

Note on the spelling of Byron Atkins middle name

Family

Entry in to WWII Service

WWII Combat Duty at Grafton Underwood, England

Notes

Duties and Responsibilities of the B-17 Flexible (Waist) Gunner

B-17 Waist Position Photos

Stories of 384th Bomb Group Waist Gunners

Sources and Further Reading

Sources

Germany Surrenders

Harry Allen Liniger’s Return Home from World War II Military Service

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Liniger Home; Lost 60 Pounds As War Prisoner in Germany

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Release from Military Service

Post-World War II Life

Post-World War II

Notes

The Mid-air Collision

Missing in Action

Prisoner of War

Liberation

Notes

Harry Allen Liniger’s Entry into Military Service

Training in the States

WWII Combat Duty at Grafton Underwood, England

Notes

The Liniger Family

Notes

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