COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
1ST LT ROY F. CLAYTOR
CREW #11 A/C #42-5862 "DURATION + 6" MACR #678 CREW WAS FLYING# 42-5867 "ALICE FROM DALLAS" ON AUG 17, 1943
1ST LT ROY F. CLAYTOR P: EVADEE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT RAYMOND J. NUTTING, JR CP: EVADEE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT OSCAR C. AMISON, JR. NAV: POW 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
2ND LT KENNETH R. LORCH BOM: POW 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
T/SGT JOHN W. BURGIN TTE: EVADEE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT CHARLES K. BAILEY WG: EVADEE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
T/SGT STEVEN S. KOPCZEWSKI ROG: KIA 25 JUL 43 KIEL ( flying with Capt. Carey/DeSanders Crew) SEE BELOW
S/SGT ROBERT H., WUSSOW BTG: KIA 08 OCT 43 BREMEN (flying with 1st Lt Frank H.Meadows Crew) SEE BELOW
S/SGT JOSEPH E. KEHOE WG: NOC INJURED IN GRD ACCIDENT AT T.A. AND RTN TO USA
S/SGT EDWARD A. MUSANTE TG: KIA 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
ON THE REGENSBURG MISSION THIS CREW WAS THE LEAD CREW OF THE SECOND ELEMENT, LOW SQUADRON. AT 1020 FIGHTERS ATTACKED THE LOW SQUADRON OVER EASTERN BELGIUM AND SEVERELY DAMAGED THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING CLAYTOR TO SOUND THE BAIL-OUT ALARM. EIGHT OF THE MEN ABOARD GOT OUT SAFELY, BUT MUSANTE'S CHUTE CAUGHT ON THE HORIZONTAL STABLIZER AND WAS KILLED WHEN THE PLANE EXPLODED IN MID-AIR OR WHEN IT CRASHED. WILLIAM M. HINTON, WHO WAS FLYING IN PLACE OF ROBERT WUSSOW, APPARENTLY DID NOT BAIL OUT- HE MAY HAVE STAYED TOO LONG TO ASSIST MUSANTE- AND WAS KILLED. BOTH HINTON AND MUSANTE WERE GIVEN A MILITARY FUNERAL AND WERE BURIED 20 AUG 43 ON THE AIRDROME AT ST. TROND. HINTON'S GRAVE NUMBER IS #287 AND MUSANTE'S #268
Two other replacements flying on the crew that day were, William M. Quinn as radio operator and Clifford R. Starkey as waist gunner. Starkey became a POW but Quinn evaded capture and made it back to England. Claytor, Nutting, Burgin and Bailey also were successful in evading capture and, after months with the underground, got back to England. Kenny Lorch was finally made a POW after hiding out nearly eight months
It was the 10th mission for most of the crew but only number two for Hinton.
When questioned, after the war, as to Musante, Claytor had this to say: "He was a
strange boy and was frequently given to air sickness. I think he was actually afraid
of the air. However, I mentioned having him removed from the crew several times
but he always persuaded me to keep him. He seemed to be brave and courageous
except I believe he had an inherent fear of the air. I admired him very much and
have never seen him fail in anything but I do believe he was afraid to bail out.
Crew #11 Continued
Charles Bailey's statement as regards Musante was as follows: "Musante was the TG
and I was the WG. I always took a personal interest in him because I was older then
he, and he seemed to depend on me to a great extent. He always had trouble
hearing over the intercam and I always made it a point to be sure that he always
understood the cammands given over the intercom so when the pilot gave the
command to bail out I checked with Musante and he started making preparations
to bail out. We both went to the escape hatch and I pulled the emergency release,
and Musante stepped up to jumpl but for same reason he changed his mind, and
motioned for me to jump first. Because two engines were on fire, and the plane
seemed to be going down fast, I couldn't see any reason to waste ,more time, so I
jumped. After my chute opened, I tried to keep my eye on the plane to see how
many chutes opened but all I could ever see was eight chutes.
The underground organization that helped me told me that one of the crew
members was killed when the plane went dcwn because his chute hung on the
plane and fram their description I knew it was Musante.
MISSION LIST LT CLAYTOR: (courtesy of Paul Andrews-Luck of the Draw appendix)
# DATE TARGET A/C NUMBER A/C NAME
1. 25 JUN 1943 BREMEN 25862 DURATION + 6
26 JUN 1943 LeMANS (ABORT/WEATHER) 25862 DURATION + 6
2. 28 JUN 1943 ST NAZAIRE (FLAK CITY) 25862 DURATION + 6
3. 29 JUN 1943 LeMANS 25862 DURATION + 6
4. 4 JUL 1943 LaPALLICE 25862 DURATION + 6
5. 10 JUL 1943 LeBOURGET 25862 DURATION + 6
6. 14 JUL 1943 LeBOURGET 25862 DURATION + 6
7. 17 JUL 1943 HAMBURG 25862 DURATION + 6
8. 12 AUG 1943 WESSLING 230380 LN-P
9. 15 AUG 1943 MERVILLE, AF & LILLE 25867 ALICE FROM DALLAS
10. 17 AUG 1943 REGENSBURG-SHOT DOWN 25867 ALICE FROM DALLAS
Dear Mr , Mrs ,
Please find in the attachment the translation from the pages in a book about the escapelines here in Belgium during WW II and the story told by John Burgin the engineer of " Alice from Dallas ". I'm not sure if my computer is sending away all my e-mails , would you be so kind give me a little sign that you received my mail .
Greetings from a cold and rainy Belgium
Alain Rosseels
alain-rosseels@scarlet.be
belgium
In august 1943 Frans Govaerts from the sector Bilzen ( Belgian secret army ) came to me ( Frans Vangronsveld) –Some airman came down in the neightbourhood.He wanted that they could come to rest at my house for a few hours and that I would hep them with civilian clothes.My elderly house was at the outskirts of the village and a safe area. Govaerts gave my a part of a letter and with this paper I had to go to a café in the nearby village Beverst. Here I met a certain man named Colson , a military from 11th Regiment.This man had the other part of the letter.We drove togheter to the castlof the village of Schoonbeek.Behind the forest was a big pasture with a stable.Here we found an american covered under the hay.He was dresses in civilian clothes but the didn’t fit him at all , his pants were to short and his shoes to big.All these clothes came from the countess of the Beverst castle. I tied to explain the american that he had to follow us on a bicycle and that I was going to put him on a train in Beverst. The station manager , who also was part of the Secret Army knew that we were coming .We put him on the train to Liége.
Frans Vangronsfeld did not know who the american was untill 36 years later when John Burgin visited Belgium , the man he put on the train was Lt Kenneth E Lorch , the bombardier.He stayed with Doctor Charles in Liége but was arrested later in France.
When I ( Frans Vangronsfeld ) came home after my job with the american , a man named Andries Poesen another with a second man stood in front of the house.Poesen said to me “ Give this man a hand “ I asked who he was and Poesen said to me “ an american “ He was well dressed , the man turned out to be George Mikel from 92 BG. This all happened on august 19 1944.
A few moments later Pieter Thijs and Colla Lathouwers from the village of Grote-Spouwen arrived with a thirt american , his name was John Burgin ( the engineer of Alice from Dallas )
John Burgin and his wife arrived back 36 years later in Belgium and he told his story ;
Our target was the Messerschmitt aircraft factorys at Regensburg.We belonged to the 350 BS 100 BG from Thorpe-Abbotts. Our crew was :
1st Lt Roy F Claytor pilot
Lt Raymond J Nutting co-pilot
Lt Oscar F Amison navigator
Lt Kenneth E Lorch bombardier
T/Sgt John Burgin engineer
S/Sgt Charles K Bailey gunner
T/Sgt Steve Copinzutsky radio ?????
S/Sgt William A Hinton ball turrett gunner
Sgt Joe Keikow tailgunner
Musante E gunner
We flew over Belgium , heading for Algiers in Marrocco and from there back to the UK.It was my 17th mission. Over the province of Limburg ( Belgium ) we were shot up by Flak at around 10.30 hrs AM.Immediatly our two wings were on fire.When the pilot gave the order to bail out I came out of my turrett.The pilot put the aircraft on auto-pilot and told us to get out as quick as possible. We bailed out from about 5.600 meters ( 15.500 feet )
Eight parachutes floated down.Later I found out from Sgt Bailey tha Musante and Hinton were killed when two Me 109 attacked us from behind. When I was hiding in the forest of the village Waltwider I saw some Germans looking for our tailgunner Sgt Keikow. He was picked up by the Germans as our navigator Lt Amison.The entire day and night the Germans were looking for me , lucky enough I had a very good hiding place and they didn’t fund me.I waited till the next day untill the Germans got in a truck and drove away.At the edge of the forest was a big pasture and a farmhouse.There were a lot opf people working overthere.We were told in the UK to talk only to the elder people when we were trying to escape.I saw on elderly man working on his own , I watched him for a while. I got out of my hiding place and whistled.He saw me and I waved with my hand.He waved back but didn’t moved.So I went back to my hiding place , and the he came over to me.The first thing he did with me was hugging me.We sat down , and he pointed out on his wath the number 7.First I didn’t understand this , but he wanted to point out that I had to stay and waited untill 7 AM next morning.The next morning two man arrived and told me “ come, bycicle , come “ After some time we arrived at a big house ( the Vangronsfeld house )They took me upstaires and there I met George Mikel. We stayed at the house for two days and Frans an another man took us to the town of Hasselt.When we arrived in Hasselt on bicycleFrans leftuse waiting in a little park with a statue and we sat down on a rocky wall.This was in the immediately surroundings of the german Kommandtur( Headquarters )Suddenly a group of Germans left the building , but nothing happened to us.
The next day Vangronsveld had to bring the two americans bij tram from Hasselt to Liége. Burgins said “ We stood at one side of the tramrails , our Belgian guards on the other side.They had told us not to stand to close to the other people waiting.Suddenly I German came right over to us.I had to think very quick how to react ;He sais something to me , I sais something , acting like someone who is deafHe loked at me , turned around and he went away.Wen we where in the tram , a German was sitting right over me , he looked at me and I looked back.Then I realised that I was still wearing my brown leather GI shoes !!!!!!!!!!
In the town of Tongeren we took another tram to Liége. In Liége I saw back the German from the tram , he was a sergeant.We crossed the town and arrived in a café.In the backroom from the café I met Rudolphe Depelsenaire.He asked my name and more information about our plane.After that he told me that he already knew this because he had been talking to my pilot.The they brought me to a farm south-east of Liége. We got two times a day food.Every second day we could make a walk in a nearby pasture.One day we went back to Liége.I left with Emle Mawet and George Mikel. I never saw Mikel back- he was arrested.During several months he stayed in different camps before they sended him alos to Stalag Luft III Sagan. After a weeks with Mawet I had to leave , because they told me , that at school the little Mawet boy was asked several times if there was some stranger living with the family.Then the Delpensaire family gave me shelter.Food for me came from Professor Albert Shlag.One day Rudolphe took me to town to meet someone.At Dr Charles house I met our bombardier Lorch , cio-pilot Nutting and some more aircrew.I stayed with the Delpensaire family for six weeks.
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-----Original Message-----
From: mike@100thbg.com
Date: 17 Feb 2007 02:39:35
To:mike@100thbg.com
Cc:jan@100thbg.com, charlie@100thbg.com, les@100thbg.com
Subject: Feedback: from 100thbg.com
REPLY TO: terrytucker912@bellsouth.net
SUBMITTER: Mary E. Claytor
EMAIL: terrytucker912@bellsouth.net
PURPOSE: Report a website error
INTEREST: I am the veteran's relative
VETERAN: Roy F. Claytor
DATE OF DEATH: 09/18/2003
FAMILY CONTACT: Mary E. Claytor
546 Durham Drive
B'ham, Al. 35209 205-871-6010
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NOTE:
CREW
1st Lt William D. Desanders P COMPLETED TOUR 13 FEB 1944
2nd Lt William J. Styles CP POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
2nd Lt Calvin H. Defevre NAV KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
2nd Lt William E. Griffith BOM KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
T/Sgt Lester I. Berg TTE KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
S/Sgt Charles J. Mayville WG KIA 25 July 1943 WarnemNnde Keil
T/Sgt George L. Rudden ROG COMPLETED TOUR (With Crew #10)
S/Sgt Norman C. Eddy BTG KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
Pvt Robert D. Lepper WG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
S/Sgt Maynard T. Parsons TG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde Keil
Crew #17 Aircraft #42 5867 "Alice From Dallas" M.A.C.R. #117
On July 25, 1943, Bill Desanders was either ill or on leave and Captain Richard Carey, Operations Officer of the 350th, flew in his stead and became a POW. Another replacement on the crew this day was T/Sgt. Steven S. Kopczewski, the regular radio operator on Crew #11. He was killed in action.
Unable to bomb Warnemunde, the primary target, the Group flew to Keil where intense flak was met. Plane was so damaged by flak that Captain Carey decided to ditch in the sea. All the crew except for pilot and copilot were in radio room when ship hit the water
Apparently, Parsons and Lepper, both of whom were wounded, got out of the overhead hatch but the others in the radio room were trapped and went down with the ship which rapidly sank. A subsequent report by William Styles said that, "Griffith was struggling to get out of hatch as the plane was sinking, that is the last I saw of him."
During a search for survivors, Danish fishermen found the body of Sgt. Kopczewski but, after making certain of death, left it in the water.
Carey, Styles, Lepper and Parsons were picked up by a Danish fishing boat and the latter two were taken to a hospital in Schleswig
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NOTE:
Bremen; Robert Wussow killed on this mission with Meadows's crew:
M.A.C.R #947 350th Sqdn.
Mission: Bremen A/C #42-30358 "PHARTZAC"
Date: 8 Oct.1943
1st Lt Frank H.Meadows P KIA
2nd Lt Lloyd W.Evans CP KIA
2nd Lt Frank B.Bush NAV KIA
2nd Lt William C.Hubbard BOM POW
S/Sgt Robert H.Wussow ROG KIA From "Original" Crew #11 Lt Roy Claytor
T/Sgt Harold R.Jackson TTE KIA
S/Sgt Richard H.Agor BTG KIA
S/Sgt James F.Ward WG POW
Sgt Dexter B.Pate WG KIA
S/Sgt Vincent D.Sapone TG KIA
This was apparently the seventh mission for all members of this crew with the exception of Bob Wussow & Dexter Pate. Wussow, the radio operator on the original crew #11,was probably about at the end of his tour. Pate was likely a replacement on the crew and the number of his missions is not known.
Lt.Hubbard,after the war,stated; "The reason I cannot answer most of these questions is because our plane had two bombs that failed to release and received a flak hit which caused them to explode. I being lucky enough to get out alive with quite a few injuries that caused me to become unconsious after I pulled the rip cord.One waist gunner (Jim Ward)was blown thru the side of the plane as it exploded. His chute opened and he reached ground.
S.O.C. P.20/23 has touching story of Agor ordering (in Sept.) roses to be sent to his mother in Shamokin,Pa for Christmas. They arrived many weeks after his death.
S.O.C. p.22 "James Ward,a gunner blown out of .Meadows'ship,pulled the rip cord before his mind blotted out,and Bill Hubbard,descending in his chute,saw Meadow's Fort drop by a super-highway near Bremen.Hubbard was clapped in "solitary",and threatened with death unless he would "talk",but he refused,and the Germans forced him to walk 100 miles to prison. Ward was unconscious 10 days in a hospital."
The dead of this crew were buried in a cemetary at Waller Friedhof,near Bremen.
MEMO 2:
Original 100th, Crew #11. Evaded capture for 8 months before being captured. Its my understanding......he was a mile from freedom and SS got him, executed a family member that housed him. Have a few letters and story Grandmother gave.
PHOTOS:
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Kenneth Lorch with a family he stayed with during his time evading capture by the Germans; taken in February 1944 (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Lt. Kenneth Lorch (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Lt. Kenneth Lorch stateside (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Letter from Gale "Buck" Cleven to the family of Kenneth Lorch (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Kenneth Lorch on the far right (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Kenneth Lorch with Belgian farmers during his time evading capture by the Germans (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Kenneth Lorch during stateside training (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Article on Kenneth Lorch (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Kenneth Lorch during stateside training (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Post-war letter sent to Kenneth Lorch from one of the men that helped him evade capture (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
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Photo from the collection of Kenneth Lorch, likely taken at Stalag Luft VII-A |
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Photo from the collection of Kenneth Lorch, likely taken at Stalag Luft VII-A |
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Photo from the collection of Kenneth Lorch, likely taken during the forced march to Moosburg. |
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Kenneth Lorch (left) |
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Kenneth Lorch (left) with a family who safeguarded him while he was evading capture by the Germans |
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The second group in the 100th Bomb Group to be awarded the Air Medal (from the photo collection of John Luckadoo). |
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Left-Right: Amison, Wussow, Kopczewski, Kehoe, Musante, Lorch, Bailey, Burgin, Nutting, and Claytor (courtesy of Nick Lorch) |
SERVED IN:
- CLAYTOR, Roy F. - P
- NUTTING, Raymond J. - CP
- AMISON, Oscar C. - NAV
- LORCH, Kenneth R. - BOM
- BURGIN, John W. - TTE
- KOPCZEWSKI, Steven S. - ROG
- QUINN, William M. - ROG
- HINTON, William M. - BTG
- WUSSOW, Robert H. - BTG
- BAILEY, Charles K. - WG
- KEHOE, Joseph E. - WG
- STARKEY, Clifford R. - WG
- MUSANTE, Edward A. - TG
