Capt
William D. DeSANDERS
Hometown During Time of Service: Dallas, TX
Assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group
Location:
Unit: 350th Bombardment Squadron
Rank:
Position: Pilot
Beginning Date of 100th Service: Unknown
Time of Service at Thorpe Abbotts: Unknown - Unknown
Additional 100th Service Notes
From a press release found in February 1944 archives
AN EIGHTH AAF BOMBER STATION, England – Captain William B. DeSanders, Flying Fortress pilot and Flight Commander whose plane, 'Alice from Dallas' has introduced the Nazis by proxy to the Captain's wife for whom the ship was named, has completed his operational tour with the Eighth Air Force, winding up a colorful career in this theater with a flight over the Pas De Calais area which proved to be anything but strenuous.
Captain DeSanders, who wears the Purple Heart, Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and who has participated in many of the notable Fortress attacks on occupied territory, has the distinction of being the last of the original officer personnel of his squadron to finish his tour.
Captain DeSanders, before the war a student at the University of Missouri, lives at 4405 Fairfax Ave, Dallas. He was married in the service to 'Alice from Dallas' and only a few weeks ago received word that he was the father of a baby girl.
The captain has participated in many of the notable flying fortress attacks on enemy and occupied territory. One of his closest calls came recently on a visit to the same Pas de Calais section, when he brought home his plane with her rudder shot up, two engines knocked out by flak and all engine controls shot away. Both he and his partner in the cockpit, Major Albert M. Elton of Altanta, Georgia, were wounded slightly by flak, DeSanders in the leg and Elton in the eye. The pilots managed to get home and land safely, but then had great difficulty in taxiing their ship off the runway, since they could not control their remaining engines. Finally they settled for a tow tractor.
Captain Sanders lost his entire original crew early in his tour of operations when they elected to fly with another pilot on a day when he was grounded for illness. The mission was over Kiel, and the plane did not return. He participated in the record bombing attack on installations at Trondheim, Norway, which still rates as the record B-17 mission, in point of distance, and has helped bomb Bremen, Emden, Stuttgart, Mariensburg, Paris, St. Nazaire, Gelsenkirchen, and other towns whose defenses are rated highly by Eighth AAF Airmen. For meritorious achievement during an attack on Frankfurt, Capt. DeSanders has been recommended for the DFC.
AN EIGHTH AAF BOMBER STATION, England – Captain William B. DeSanders, Flying Fortress pilot and Flight Commander whose plane, 'Alice from Dallas' has introduced the Nazis by proxy to the Captain's wife for whom the ship was named, has completed his operational tour with the Eighth Air Force, winding up a colorful career in this theater with a flight over the Pas De Calais area which proved to be anything but strenuous.
Captain DeSanders, who wears the Purple Heart, Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and who has participated in many of the notable Fortress attacks on occupied territory, has the distinction of being the last of the original officer personnel of his squadron to finish his tour.
Captain DeSanders, before the war a student at the University of Missouri, lives at 4405 Fairfax Ave, Dallas. He was married in the service to 'Alice from Dallas' and only a few weeks ago received word that he was the father of a baby girl.
The captain has participated in many of the notable flying fortress attacks on enemy and occupied territory. One of his closest calls came recently on a visit to the same Pas de Calais section, when he brought home his plane with her rudder shot up, two engines knocked out by flak and all engine controls shot away. Both he and his partner in the cockpit, Major Albert M. Elton of Altanta, Georgia, were wounded slightly by flak, DeSanders in the leg and Elton in the eye. The pilots managed to get home and land safely, but then had great difficulty in taxiing their ship off the runway, since they could not control their remaining engines. Finally they settled for a tow tractor.
Captain Sanders lost his entire original crew early in his tour of operations when they elected to fly with another pilot on a day when he was grounded for illness. The mission was over Kiel, and the plane did not return. He participated in the record bombing attack on installations at Trondheim, Norway, which still rates as the record B-17 mission, in point of distance, and has helped bomb Bremen, Emden, Stuttgart, Mariensburg, Paris, St. Nazaire, Gelsenkirchen, and other towns whose defenses are rated highly by Eighth AAF Airmen. For meritorious achievement during an attack on Frankfurt, Capt. DeSanders has been recommended for the DFC.
From a press release found in January 1944 archives
AN EIGHTH AAF BOMBER STATION, England —“Alice from Dallas”, an Eighth AAF Flying Fortress was knocked off her bombing run, and her left rudder shot up, two engines knocked out and all the engine controls smashed by flak that wounded her pilot Captain DeSanders 23, of Dallas, Texas and his cockpit partner, Major Albert Elton 27, of Atlanta, Ga. during a recent visit to the Pas de Calais section of Occupied France.
Major Elton, who occupied the co-pilots seat while flying as combat Wing Leader had a close call when the flak started pouring into the bomber. The Major was not wearing a flak vest when “Alice from Dallas” started out on her mission. Noticing that the flak was getting a bit thick, Elton leaned down and picked up a flak vest which he spread over his lap, unfurling the flexible steel garment upwards to cover his chest. The about two pounds of German metal crashed through the side of the cockpit and nestled with a resounding thump and considerable force against the Major’s chest. As the Major said later: “That was the luckiest pick-up ever made.”
While all this was happening, Pilot DeSanders, whose home is at 405 Fairfax St., Dallas, was having his own troubles.
"I got hit in the right leg by flak” DeSanders said. “Another chuck of the stuff cut my seat right in back of me. For a little while I thought I had caught a bad one. Bucky (Major Elton) had a mess of glass fragments blown into his right eye so that he couldn’t see out of it, in fact he still can’t and he ought to be up at the hospital instead of down here at interrogation.”
“Anyway” interrupted Major Elton, we dropped our bombs. We lost one engine alright, then second went out on us. The other two engines were still going but we couldn’t control them — the engine controls were hit. The control cables were dangling down in the cock-pit like streamers of a confetti at a Mardi Gras. There wasn’t much left of the instrument panel. When we landed, we had no control over the engines at all.”
“It sure was thick up here today” summed up DeSanders, a veteran of many a rough air battle.
A ground officer standing nearby overheard the conversation and approached the two pilots. “Tell me”, he said, how in the hell did you manage to land at all?”
“Frankly”, cracked the Major, “I don’t know."
AN EIGHTH AAF BOMBER STATION, England —“Alice from Dallas”, an Eighth AAF Flying Fortress was knocked off her bombing run, and her left rudder shot up, two engines knocked out and all the engine controls smashed by flak that wounded her pilot Captain DeSanders 23, of Dallas, Texas and his cockpit partner, Major Albert Elton 27, of Atlanta, Ga. during a recent visit to the Pas de Calais section of Occupied France.
Major Elton, who occupied the co-pilots seat while flying as combat Wing Leader had a close call when the flak started pouring into the bomber. The Major was not wearing a flak vest when “Alice from Dallas” started out on her mission. Noticing that the flak was getting a bit thick, Elton leaned down and picked up a flak vest which he spread over his lap, unfurling the flexible steel garment upwards to cover his chest. The about two pounds of German metal crashed through the side of the cockpit and nestled with a resounding thump and considerable force against the Major’s chest. As the Major said later: “That was the luckiest pick-up ever made.”
While all this was happening, Pilot DeSanders, whose home is at 405 Fairfax St., Dallas, was having his own troubles.
"I got hit in the right leg by flak” DeSanders said. “Another chuck of the stuff cut my seat right in back of me. For a little while I thought I had caught a bad one. Bucky (Major Elton) had a mess of glass fragments blown into his right eye so that he couldn’t see out of it, in fact he still can’t and he ought to be up at the hospital instead of down here at interrogation.”
“Anyway” interrupted Major Elton, we dropped our bombs. We lost one engine alright, then second went out on us. The other two engines were still going but we couldn’t control them — the engine controls were hit. The control cables were dangling down in the cock-pit like streamers of a confetti at a Mardi Gras. There wasn’t much left of the instrument panel. When we landed, we had no control over the engines at all.”
“It sure was thick up here today” summed up DeSanders, a veteran of many a rough air battle.
A ground officer standing nearby overheard the conversation and approached the two pilots. “Tell me”, he said, how in the hell did you manage to land at all?”
“Frankly”, cracked the Major, “I don’t know."
Status: CPT
Comments: 13 FEB 44 NOBALL #120 LIVOSSART - BOIS REMPRE
Media Articles
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Media Item | Type | Page | Volume/Issue | Broadcast Source | Time | Description | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William DeSanders home with eight decorations | Fort Worth Star Telegram Nov 22 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Who Was Alice From Dallas | 12:00 am | Who-was-Alice-from-Dallas.docx |
Comments and Notes
Memo 1:
CREW
William D. DeSanders commanded three crews during his combat tour -- they are listed below in what
is believed to be the correct order.. Paul west
DeSanders original crew.
Crew #17 Aircraft #42 5867 "Alice From Dallas" M.A.C.R. #117 Crew was flying A/C #42-5862 "DURATION PLUS SIX" on July 25, 1943
1st Lt William D. "Big Bill" DeSanders P CPT 13 FEB 1944 Livossart & Bois Rempre (No Ball)
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
S/Sgt Robert D. Lepper WG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Keil
S/Sgt Maynard T. Parsons TG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Keil
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
It was mission #8 for this crew who were flying in "Duration Plus Six" and not their regular plane, "Alice From Dallas".
Lt DeSander, then a Capt., completed his tour with the 13 Feb 1944 Livossart mission. The 350th Operations Officer, Capt John H. Luckadoo flew with DeSanders as Command Pilot , this mission also completed Luckadoo's tour. Jim Brown and Richard Le Strange's book, Century Bombers contains an excellent account of this final mission for DeSanders and Luckadoo, a photograph of the two pilots congratulating each other is featured. Luckadoo is, in so far as I know, the only 100th veteran to be the Operations Officer of two Squadron in one tour -- the 350th & 351st…pw
DeSanders Crew # 2 Lt DeSanders took over Capt Mark Carnell's crew after Mark broke his arm.
1st LT. WILLIAM D. DeSANDERS P CPT 13 FEB 44 LIVOSSART (NO BALL)
2ND LT EDWARD K. MOFFLY CP: CPT
1ST LT ANTHONY P. GOSPODAR NAV: CPT 11 DEC 43 EMDEN
1ST LT JAMES P. FITTON BOM: CPT
T/SGT VERN M. BEST TTE: CPT
S/SGT WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS WG: POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN (CREW #15 LT BERNIE DeMARCO)
SGT EDMUND A. OLIVER ROG: POW 10 JUL 43 PARIS (CREW #12 LT CHARLES DUNCAN)
S/SGT STEVE BOSSER BTG: CPT
S/SGT PAUL A. VRABEC, JR WG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
S/SGT FLOYD P. BULLARD TG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
NOTE: PAUL VRABEC NOT ONLY COMPLETED 25, BUT VOLUNTEERED AND FLEW FIVE ADDITIONAL MISSIONS.
On 10 July 1943, radio operator Ed Oliver flew with Crew #12 which was lost that day and Oliver became a POW. He was soon replaced on the crew by George Rudden from Crew #17 which went down over Kiel on 25 July. On 8 October 1943, William Williams flew with Crew #15 and went down over Bremen.
DeSanders Crew #3
This is a crew was made up of Command personnel and could not be considered a regular crew.
The Co-pilot is listed asMaj. Bucky Elton, who was the 350th Squadron Commander and undoubtedly flew as Command Pilot (Actually the formation commander - could be Group or Wing. Elton would not have flown unless his Squadron, the 350th, was leading at least the 100th and possibly the 13 Combat Wing and in some cases the 3rd Air Division.
Capt.Robert K. (Bob) Peel was the Squadron or Group Bombardier at the time
Capt Joseph" Bubbles" Payne is the 100th legendary Group Navigator, said by Navigators Harry Crosby and Jim Brown to have been the 100ths best, who was lost at Sottevast 28 Apr 1944. The Enlisted men are all of high seniority with many combat missions?(.paul west 01 Jan 97)
T/Sgt Albert L.DeGregorio TTE KIC 29 Jan 44 Frankfurt (TKOF ACCIDENT) He was flying with the Lloyd C. Marks Crew and was killed when they crashed on takeoff from Thorpe Abbotts.
Airman Smith, believed to be a Waist Gunner cannot be positively identified from the DeSanders records.
S/SGT James E. Callahan ROG NOC
S/SGT ALBERT M. FREITAS BTG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST
S/SGT CHARLES C. SPRAGUE WG: CPT
S/.SGT DELBERT E. BARNHART TG KIA 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST
Airman Brown, may have been a ROG, who was killed at Sottevast, but cannot be positively identified from the DeSanders records.
Mission Log of William D. DeSanders with comments by DeSanders shown in brackets.
1. 6/25/43 Bremen, Ger. (Lost 3)
2. 6/28/43 St. Nazaire, Fr. (Flak rough - all OK - Good bombing)
3. 6/29/43 Le Mans, Fr.
4. 7/10/43 Le Bourget @ Paris. Fr, (Lost Duncan) This is Charles L. Duncans crew?pw
5. 7/24/43 Trondheim, Nor. (Beautiful bombing)
6. 9/3/43 Renualt Works @ Paris, Fr. (Lost 5 - Horrible mid-air collision)
7. 9/6/43 Conches, Fr.(Prim. Tgt Stuttgart - overcast-Lost 4)
8. 9/7/43 Watten, Fr.
9. 9/9/43 Beauvais-Tille, Fr. (Good bombing)
10. 9/15/43 Renault Works @ Paris, Fr. (I almost went down)
11. 9/23/43 Vannes (Good bombing)
12. 9/26/43 Paris, Fr.
13. 9/27/43 Emden, Ger.
14. 10/4/43 Hanau, Ger (Lost Helstrom) This is the Harold B. Helstrom Crew?pw
15. 10/9/43 Marienburg, Ger. (Perfect bombing)
16. 11/5/43 Gelsenkirchen, Ger. (Ruhr flak bad - Lost 1)
17. 11/7/44 Duren, Ger.
18. 11/26/43 Paris, Fr. (Lost 1,Cowboy finishes)
19. 12/11/43 Emden, Ger. (Lost 1)
20. 12/24/43 St. Josse au Bois, Fr. (Perfect bombing - 350th led)
21. 1/5/44 Nuess (Ruhr Valley), Ger. (Rough flak)
22. 1/14/44 No Ball, FR. (Sqdn mission - excellent bombing)
23. 1/21/44 St. Omer, Fr. (Ship badly damaged, I was slightly wounded)
24. 1/29/43 Frankfurt, Ger. (Led Group as Command Pilot - Good mission)
25. 2/13/44 Crossbow XL-120, Fr. (Led 350th on Sqdn mission - perfect bombing.)
Photos
William Desanders Crew
Lt William DeSanders Crew (courtesy of Rudden Family)
Click here to see album - 4 items
Click here to see album - 4 items
Click here to see album - 4 items
Click here to see album - 4 items
John Luckadoo and William DeSanders
Card from the bar at Thorpe Abbotts noting the completion of 25 missions (from the collection of John Luckadoo).
Crew List
1st Crew List
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capt | DeSANDERS, William D. | P | CPT |
| Lt | STYLES, William J. | CP | POW |
| Lt | DEFEVRE, Calvin H. | NAV | KIA |
| Lt | GRIFFITH, William | BOM | KIA |
| T/Sgt | BERG, Lester I. | TTE | KIA |
| T/Sgt | RUDDEN, George L. | ROG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | EDDY, Norman | BTG | KIA |
| S/Sgt | MAYVILLE, Charles | WG | KIA |
| S/Sgt | PARSONS, Maynard T. | WG | POW |
| S/Sgt | LEPPER, Robert D. | TG | POW |
2nd Crew List
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Lt | MOFFLY, Edward K. | CP/P | CPT |
| Capt | DeSANDERS, William D. | P | CPT |
| Lt | GOSPODAR, Anthony C. | NAV | CPT |
| Lt | FITTON, James P. | BOM | CPT |
| T/Sgt | BEST, Vern M. | TTE | CPT |
| T/Sgt | RUDDEN, George L. | ROG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | BOSSER, Steve | BTG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | VRABEC, Paul A. | WG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | BULLARD, Floyd P. | TG | CPT |
