COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
Lt John P. Ernst P POW 3/2/45 BERLIN Taps 1993
Lt James P. Olmsted CP SWA 10/1/45 COLOGNE sn# 0-767625
Lt Seymour G. Passen NAV CPT 24/3/45 ZIEGHEHAIN
Lt Robert J. Doucette BOM POW 5/11/44 LUDWIGSHAVEN (With crew of O.E. Hopkins)
T/Sgt. Charles H. Webber ROG CPT 3/2/45 BERLIN
T/Sgt Duyger C. West TTE POW 3/2/45 BERLIN
S/Sgt Warren Winters BTG POW 3/2/45 BERLIN
Cpl Orrell J. Brooks WG NOC
S/Sgt George Windisch TG CPT 3/2/45 BERLIN
Cpl Anthony A. Covino WG NOC
351st Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined the 100th Group on 23 JUL 44. After 7 missions they became a lead crew.
Lt. Passen became Squadron Nav. for 351st Sqdn.
On Jan 10, 1945 Lt James Olmsted was seriously wounded in action. Sent to 65th General Hospital. Achieved rank of Capt. Did not return to combat. Was sent home.
Dad was shot (took flak from blast above fuselage) on the 25th mission. Will have to look up the bomb target. Plane dropped out of formation after bombs away and returned speedily to base. Dad was hospitalized when John Ernst crew was shot down over Berlin. I think they flew another plane when the did the 30th Berlin run. Remember that Rosenthal (higher ranked than John) was with them, as co-pilot on lead crew, took dad's place on that one. So dad, James Olmsted, was not on that mission and thus was not caught behind enemy lines like Doug was on that last Berlin mission. He was not a POW, or get to the underground and brought out. He was in the hospital recovering from surgery. Dad had damage to his left hand, nose, and left temple from flak burst. I still have the piece of flak.
I will send you the list of missions. When dad was injured and what position they flew. Most missions were as lead crew, either squadron, high or low command, in the group. That being the case, they always were the target ship for the German Nazi gunnery to take aim. Dad said after the British escort fighters would drop off a hundred miles past the Channel, German Luftwaffe would come up but out of range of the turret gunner machine guns, never fire a shot, and fly at altitude and radio down the elevation so that gunnery would always fix on the lead crew. This was typically more accurate than their radar at the time (if they had radar then, I think they did by 1944-45). That is why flak field was so black and dense, and why John would always try to outfox the gunnery sets by shifting elevation. Even when they began the bomb runs. Command at base, always established that elevation for bomb drops to get the most accurate pattern, but pilots like John knew the guns were targeted at the right elevation. So, they often changed up dependent upon flak filed pattern. He was always the rebel, but the best pilot! Not sure what they did when Rosenthal was on board, the day Doug went down. Dad always said that there where fights, in the cockpit, on that last mission according to John when he visited dad on hospital visits and when he'd come down to stay with us in Pacific Beach in the 50s.
Rosenthal was Jewish (as was Passin), and they did not want to get caught behind enemy lines and be sent to concentration camps, though others were anyway (Jewish and non Jewish) so Rosenthal did not want John to go down behind enemy lines, and he and John fought over how long to stay with the ship trying to get it further into allied held territory, or so the story goes. There are lots of things that went down between John and my dad that never went into the "storybooks of glory" and all that stuff. Historians would have a field day!
So, that is what I know. I have a few other stories, and things stated in letters between my dad and my mom, Kay. Someday I'll dig though those letters to read about things. Can't do it now.
And that is why Dad is not listed on that last 30th mission of the Ernst crew, that Doug is mentioned in.
We'll stay in touch.
Jim Olmsted Jr.
When this crew went down on 3/2/44, the crew list was as follows: MACR #12046, A/C#44 8379. MICRO - FICHE #4417
Maj Robert Rosenthal Command Pilot Landed in Russian Lines
Capt John Ernst P POW
1st Lt Arthur I.Jacobson CP POW (from Crew of Lt. G. Brown)
1st Lt Stewart J. Gillison Command NAV POW (from Crew of Lt W. Terminello)
1st Lt Louis C. Chappel NAV KIA (from Crew of Lt W.J. Wilson)
1st Lt Robert H. Stropp Radar NAV Landed in Russian Lines
1st Lt Eugene E. Lockhart BOM KIA (from the Crew of Lt Oren Hopkins)
T/Sgt Charles H. Webber ROG Landed in Russian Lines
T/Sgt Dugger C. West TTE POW
S/Sgt Warren Winters WG POW
S/Sgt G.A. Windisch TG Landed in Russian Lines
Ernst's leg amputated in German Hospital night of 3/2/45 & he was soon exchanged.
See "CONTRAILS" p.131 & S.O.C. p.95. Also p.219/223 of "FLYING FORTRESS" by E.Jablonski.
EYEWITNESS REPORT from MACR # "A/C #44 8379 was hit by flak,reported to be a ground
rocket a few seconds before bombs away. A/C continued on run and dropped bombs. Fire and
dense white smoke was seen in the fuselage and bomb bay, including the cockpit. Bomb bay
doors closed and then reopened. Pilot opened his window and peeled gently off to the
right, directing deputy leader to take over on VHF. A/C headed NE and flew level for a few
moments while six members bailed out (3 appeared to come from waist or tail and 3 from
bomb bay..There was a small explosion in #3 engine nacelle and thd A/C headed down, burning
and beginning to spin when last seen at 15/000 feet. Observers believe entire crew had an
excellent chance to bail out."
TAPS: 1993
JOHN ERNST. Last month, in California. As S.J.
Passen put it, "Congestive heart failure got him his final
flight to the Great Airfield in the sky." 351st Squadron.
With Bob Rosenthal as command pilot, John was the
lead pilot of the entire 8th Air Force on the February 3,
1945, maximum effort to Berlin. Shot down by flak,
seven of the crew became German prisoners, with one
of them Iynched by civilians. Three were picked up by
Russian soldiers. As he left the plane, John caught his
leg on the jagged edge of the bomb bay door, cutting it
so badly that it had to be amputated by a Russian doc-
tor without anesthesia. About him, Bob Rosenthal wrote,
"I regard John as one of the most skillful, courageous
and dedicated men I ever encountered." (Wayne Page,
Bud Vieth)
First 26 Missons of John Ernst
8/5/44 Mageburg
8/11/44 Paris - VillaCoubleu
8/15/44 Venlo
8/25/44 Politz
8/26/44 Long Island - Brest
8/27/44 Berlin (Recalled at 31,000 feet)
9/12/44 Fulda
9/18/44 Warsaw (Russia Mirgorod - Ukraine)
9/19/44 Szolnok (Hungray) Deputy Lead with Scott)
9/22/44 Foggia (Return to England, no mission credit)
10/9/44 Mainz (Wing Lead)
10/12/44 Bremen (High Squadron)
10/19/44 Mannheim (Group Lead)
10/26/44 Hannover (High Squadron)
11/6/44 Neumunster (Group Lead)
11/9/44 Saarbrucken (Group Lead)
11/30/44 Leuna (High Squadron)
12/2/44 Koblenz (High Squadron)
12/3/44 Friedburg (Wing Lead)
12/11/44 Koblenz (Group Lead)
12/18/44 Mainz (High Squadron)
12/24/44 Biblis (High Squadron)
12/27/44 Fulda (Group Lead)
12/28/44 Koblenz (Group Lead)
12/29/44 Frankfurt (Low Squadron)
1/10/45 Cologne (High Squadron) (Lt Olmsted wounded)
2/3/45 BERLIN (3rd Air Division Lead) SHOT DOWN
Our Pilot (Capt Ernst) told a story on himself. He made lead crew on his 10th Mission. While taking lead crew training, he was returning to base but in the co-pilot seat. As they pulled up to the hardstand and got the signal to stop, he reached down to pull the parking breaks. Instead he mistakenly pulled the fire extinguisher for the engine. Fire retardent poured all over the right wing. The crew had a good laugh over that...Capt Jim Olmsted
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James P. Olmsted (“Johnny”) b. June 28, 1922 d. November 29, 2012
Eighth Air Force, 100th Bomb Group, 351st squadron
Achieved rank of Captain at time of discharge. He was a 2nd Lieutenant while at Thorpe Abbots.
Last surviving member of the John Ernst crew
Arrived at Thorpe Abbots on July 4, 1944
Trained as a pilot.
Cadet training Washington State College-Pullman, WA
Pre flight school-Santa Ana, CA
Primary flight training- Hemet, CA
Advanced flight training-Stockton, CA
Transferred to Yuma, AZ (better weather conditions)
Combat flight training-AAF Ardmore, OK
He became a co-pilot and when the crew was squadron lead on numerous missions he was typically responsible for establishing and assuring accurate squadron formation on final target bomb runs. Ernst’s crew was often tapped as lead for missions.
He was wounded on January 10, 1945 on the bomb mission over Cologne, Germany and spent nearly two years in the hospital for reconstructive surgery on his left hand before being discharged. Flak was removed from his left temple that passed through his hand. He threw his hands up to protect his face when he knew the burst was near the fuselage. He was on his 25th mission. His aircraft took flak, on the incoming bomb run, and he was the only crewmember injured. He crawled up the gangway near the front of the ship and was attended to by the other crewmembers. Bombs were discharged at target and the plane turned out of formation and returned to base as quickly as possible.
The Ernst crew was shot down later over Berlin on their 30th mission while dad was recuperating in the military hospital. Some of his crew lost their lives on that mission at the hands of the Nazi’s. Others parachuted behind enemy lines and survived POW status, or made contact with the underground and found their way back to safe harbor. My dad considered himself lucky after learning of this unfortunate outcome for his crew.
He was the recipient of the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, World War II Victory Medal, European Theatre Ribbon with 4 Bronze Stars, and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Clusters, as well as the American Theater Ribbon.
He attended 100th Bomb Group Reunions at Colorado Springs, Long Beach, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Omaha (2001). There were many great stories shared at these Reunions among attending crewmembers.
In 1997, my dad and I took a trip to Diss, England and went to Thorpe Abbots. It was an incredible trip. We were not on a tour, just traveling on our own. When we were at the museum, the curator put word out that we were walking about the grounds and out on the field previously used as the hardstands and landing strip. Two grown men rode up to “meet” one of the crewmembers that was “a soldier on a B17 bomber.” They were kids living on a nearby farm (in 1944-45) and remembered the airmen, the planes, and the sky filled with B17 bombers circling awaiting complete formation for departure over Western Europe, and later, Germany. A lot of tears were shed over that half hour with descriptions of the thunderous sounds, returning maimed planes, crash landings, etc. But most impressive were the handshakes and the overwhelming gratitude for what those airmen, like my dad, had done for the short time they were at Thorpe Abbots and the astounding job that they performed for England and all of Europe. They felt so indebted and appreciative. I’ll never forget the look on their faces for as long as I live. Dad never thought of himself as a hero, but understanding the views of those two Englishmen, I would never deny it.
All of those stories and the brave storytellers, including my dad, will be sorely missed.
MEMO 2:
