Personnel

CREW  

                            1ST LT ALVIN L. BARKER

                            ORGINAL 100TH PILOT



CREW #25  A/C #42-30059  "BARKER'S BURDENS"      MACR #685



1ST LT  ALVIN L. BARKER                    P;  KIA    8 OCT 43 BREMEN (WITH CREW 22, CAPT MURPHY CREW)

2ND LT  CHARLES W. FLOYD, JR         CP;  KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

2ND LT  ROBERT  N. ROSENBERG     NAV;  POW  3 SEP 43 PARIS     

2ND LT  FRANK C. COON                  BOM; POW  3 SEP 43 PARIS

T/SGT   WILLIAM M. STROUD            TTE; RFS    TRANSFERRED TO 447TH BG

S/SGT   EDWIN I. MORGAN                WG; POW  24 MAY 44 BERLIN  (With crew of E.J.Siewert) SEE BELOW

T/SGT   THEODORE W. PRICE           ROG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

S/SGT   ROBYN P. FULTON                BTG; POW  6 MAR 44 BERLIN    (with G.W.Brannan)

S/SGT   JOHN K. WILLIAMS                WG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS

S/SGT   JOHN M. NEAL                       TG; KIA    3 SEP 43 PARIS



351st Sqdn. An Original crew with the 100th.  

Barker was made Operations officer of the 351st and Floyd became pilot of the crew. On 3/9/43,Lt Jack C.Boyd,who had flown overseas with the group as a spare, was the CP. Also,on 3/9/43,S/Sgt EARL GRIGGS & Dale Huffer were flying in place of Willis Stroud & Robyn Fulton and both were KIA as was Lt Boyd. Lt.Peter Theodore,Asst. Station Gunnery Officer,flew in place of Sgt. E.I.Morgan and was KIA. Sgt.Fulton had received a Purple Heart in Aug.1943. 



The following is from a conversation between Cowboy Roane and Paul West in 1991…Cowboy's remarks are from notes:



"I was with them at Paris and saw King's plane hit amidships by flak. It pitched up in and extreme nose high attitude and struck the tail section of Alvin's (Barker) plane. It seemed like slow motion, or maybe that is just my memory but they seemed to hang there for a time and then Richard (King) went straight down and Alvin (Barker) just exploded then and there. It was and still is a sad day for me, I had been Richard's (King) co-pilot in the states, the entire crew were my close friends. I also knew Alvin (Barker) from back in the states where we were squadron mates as well." 



Crash Information: FROM LT KING CASUALTY REPORT

The third aircraft to be involved in a massive mid-air collision in the Paris, France area. A salvoed bomb (from the high group) hit the No# 3 engine of aircraft 42-30059 piloted by 1/Lt Charles Floyd, which collided with aircraft 42-5865 piloted by Lt Victor Fienup, resulting in loss of control. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Richard King received a diredt falk burst amidships and sudden moved upward striking aircraft piloted by Lt Charles Floyd, this aircraft exploded.



CHARLES FLOYD HAD MOVED UP TO PILOT WHEN ALVIN BARKER BECAME SQUADRON OPERATIONS OFFICER, FLOYD'S CO-PILOT SEAT WAS TAKEN BY LT JACK C BOYD, WHO HAD FLOWN OVERSEAS WITH THE GROUP.  BOTH PILOTS WERE KIA. THE NAVIGATOR, LT  ROBERT ROSENBURG AND THE BOMBARDIER, LT FRANK COON, WERE PROABLY BLOWN OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT, BOTH BECAME POWS. S/SGT EARL GRIGGS AND SGT DALE HUFFERS WERE FLYING IN PLACE OF REGULAR CREWMEN, WILLIS STROUD AND ROBYN FULTON; BOTH WERE KIA.  LT PETER THEODORE, STATION ASSISTANT GUNNERY OFFICER, WAS ALSO ON BOARD AND WAS KIA. ALTHOUGH HE WAS NOT REQUIRED TO FLY MISSIONS THIS WAS HIS FOURTH. LT THEODORE WAS HELD IN HIGH ESTEEEM BY THE GUNNERS OF THE 100TH.



T/SGT   WILLIAM H. STROUD  TTE; RFS after 7 missions due to illness, TRANSFERRED TO 447TH BG



Robert Rosenberg changed name to Robert M.Rowen. Address:121 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd,PA 19004.



MISSIONS OF CAPT. ALVIN BARKER (from Paul Andrews appendix in Luck of the Draw by Frank Murphy…mpf)





#        DATE                         TARGET                               A/C #                 A/C NAME                       COMMENTS:



1.      26/06/43                    LeMANS                          230184                     MUGGS 

2.      28/06/43                    ST NAZAIRE                    230086                     BLACK JACK

3.      10/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS

NC     14/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       #3 ENGINE, RUNNING ROUGH

4.      17/07/43                    HAMBURG                       230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS  

                       CAPT. BARKER IS MADE 351ST OPERATIONS OFFICER

5.      26/07/43                    HANOVER                       230089                     SUNNY       (Low Squadron Lead with Glenn Dye Crew) 

6.      08/10/43                    BREMEN                           25864                     PICCADILLY LILY (shot down with Capt. Murphy Crew)  

**************************************************************************************************************

MISSIONS FLOWN WITH BOTH CAPT. BARKER AND LT FLOYD:



#        DATE                         TARGET                               A/C #                 A/C NAME                       COMMENTS:



1.      26/06/43                    LeMANS                          230184                     MUGGS 

2.      28/06/43                    ST NAZAIRE                    230086                     BLACK JACK

3.      10/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS

NC     14/07/43                    Le BOURGET                   230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       #3 ENGINE, RUNNING ROUGH

4.      17/07/43                    HAMBURG                       230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS  

                       CAPT. BARKER IS MADE 351ST OPERATIONS OFFICER, LT FLOYD BECOMES 1ST PILOT

NC    25/07/43                     KIEL                               230059                     BARKER'S BURDENS       BLEW TIRE ON TAKE OFF

5.     28/07/43                     OSCHERSLEBEN               230059                      BARKER'S BURDENS       RECALL

NC    29/07/43                     WARNEMUNDE                230059                      BARKER'S BURDENS       RETURNED EARLY, OXYGEN LEAK

6.     30/07/43                     KASSEL                          230057                      RAUNCHY

7.     12/08/43                     WESSELING                    230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN

NC    17/08/34                     REGENSBURG                  230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN        RETURNED EARLY, ENGINE FAILURE

8.     19/08/43                     WOENSDRECHT              230035                      TORCHY

9.     24/08/43                     EVREUX-FAUVILLE           230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN

10.   03/09/43                     PARIS                            230059                      BARKER'S BURDEN        MID AIR COLLISION        



S/SGT MORGAN FLEW AS LWG ON LT HELMICKS CREW ON MARCH 6, 1944 MISSION TO BERLIN

          



CREW #23

351st  BS

Mission: Paris (Beaumont AF)

 M.A.C.R.#685

Date: 3 Sept.1943 Aircraft #42-30059  "BARKER'S BURDENS"

Time: 0920

A/C last seen: Over Beaumont Airdrome at Evreux,France



CREW ABOARD:

 Charles W.Floyd,Jr.   2nd Lt P    KIA (see above for Floyd's original crew)

 Jack C.Boyd             2nd Lt CP    KIA

 Robert M.Rosenberg 2nd Lt N    POW

 Frank C.Coon           2nd Lt B    POW

 Theodore W.Price    T/Sgt R    KIA

 John M.Neal             S/Sgt E    KIA

 Earl Griggs               S/Sgt BT   KIA (Replacement)

 Dale P.Huffer           Sgt RWG   KIA (Replacement)

 Peter J.Theodore     1st Lt LWG  KIA (Gunnery Officer)

 John K.Williams         S/Sgt TG    KIA



FROM CASUALTY REPORT FOR RICHARD KING: Crash Information:

The third aircraft to be involved in a massive mid-air collision in the Paris, France area. A salvoed bomb (from the high group) hit the No# 3 engine of aircraft 42-30059 piloted by 1/Lt Charles Floyd, which collided with aircraft 42-5865 piloted by Lt Victor Fienup, resulting in loss of control. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Richard King received a diredt falk burst amidships and sudden moved upward striking aircraft piloted by Lt Charles Floyd, this aircraft exploded."



When Al Barker,regular pilot of this crew,was made Squadron Operations officer, Charles Floyd moved from the co-pilots to the pilots seat and Jack Boyd,who had flown overseas with the 100th unassigned to a crew,became the new co-pilot.



Earl Griggs and Dale Huffer were flying in place of regular crewmen,Willis Stroud and Robyn Fulton, while Lt. Peter Theodore flew this mission in place of Edwin Morgan.



Lt.Theodore,Assistant Station Gunnery officer and and a very early member of th 100th,was under no duty or obligation to fly combat missions but he firmly be-leived that only by knowing at first hand the problems encountered by combat crew gunners could he be of help to them and gain their trust and respect. This was the fourth mission he had flown and he had demonstrated great coolness and courage in action.







Of interest in this regard is the following statement given by Robert Rosenberg many months after the event:



"The target, the Renault Works at Paris, was hidden by cloud when our group reached the target area.  Flak was relatively heavy and fairly accurate.  Our Group commander was knocked out of the formation and during the ensuing period in which the deputy commander moved into the group lead our plane was hit in the number three engine.  Through skillful flying, Lts. Floyd and Boyd were able to keep control and maintain our position, No. 3, low squadron, low group.  As we proceeded away from the target area to the secondary target at Evreux, German fighters joined the attack.  We reached Paris at 0845 but did not leave until almost 0900.  The fighters succeeded in sending many bullets through the plane without causing any injury to any crew members or any material damage to the plane.



"At about 0920 I began re loading the nose guns from the ammunition case on which I was sitting while the bombardier kept a sharp lookout.  I had finished loading two of the guns when the pilot began to say something over the intercom.  Before he could finish speaking, he, the co pilot and bombardier apparently saw German fighters re forming to renew the attack.  I began firing the right nose gun at an incoming fighter and while so engaged felt the plane jump violently.  Observers whom I met later tell me that a plane salvoed its bombs from the high squadron just before it blew up.  One of the bombs hit our already damaged and feathered #3 engine and caused our plane to maneuver into the plane of the flight leader (m is was Lt. V. Fienup  Crew #21), from which plane, already on fire, the crew members were bailing out.  Our plane was now out of formation with the left wing tip and right mid wing section ablaze.  The pilot and copilot were still fighting and managing to retain a modicum of control.  German fighters were closing in on us and everybody was concentrating on returning the fire of these oncoming ships. Word came across the intercom to abandon ship but before I could make a move, the ship seemingly exploded.  I recovered consciousness four days later.  We were not permitted any freedom while in the hospital at Paris but from what little I could learn, the bombardier, Frank C. Coon, and I were the only survivors. All the while we were imprisoned; we fruitlessly sought to learn of some small word of the fate of the rest of the crew."



Frank Cocn was also blown from the ship but recovered in time to pull the ripcord.



John M. Neal is commemorated on The Wall of the Missing at the Brittany American Cementary.



Dale Huffer is commemorated on The Wall of the Missing at The Lorraine American Cementary, Saint Avold, France.



LT CHARLES W. FLOYD BURIED: AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY AT OMAHA BEACH GRAVE D-7-40





CREW



2nd Lt Emil J. Siewert                   P KIA   24/5/44     BERLIN

2nd Lt Wayne S. Proulx               CP POW 24/5/44     BERLIN

2nd Lt Donald W. Huffer           NAV POW 24/5/44 WIA BERLIN

2nd Lt Irving Jacobowitz             BOM KIA   24/5/44        BERLIN

  S/Sgt Julian T. Barkman            ROG POW 24/5/44        BERLIN

  S/Sgt Oliver B. Scully              TTE POW 24/5/44       BERLIN

    Sgt Chester J. Padlo             BTG POW 24/5/44 WIA  BERLIN

    Sgt Francis X. Cousins            RWG POW 24/5/44 WIA BERLIN

    Sgt Earle F. Bell                   LWG CPT

   Sgt Frank V. Kroczynski              TG KIA   24/5/44        BERLIN



351st Sqdn.  Crew, as above, joined the 100th Group on 12/4/44.  MACR #5165, Microfiche #1851, A/C #42 31306. "NELSON KING"



S/Sgt Edwin I. Morgan, from the crew of A.L. Barker (one of the "original" 100th crews) was with this crew as LWG 

on 24/5/44 and became a POW. This crew was on it's 11th mission.



Over the target area at approx. 1115 hours this A/C was attacked by many enemy fighters. Apparently S/Sgt Frank V. Kroczynski

was killed in the first fighter attack. As to Lt Irving Jacobowitz, Lt Wayne S. Proulx had this to say in the MACR: "He might have

been killed by the explosion as he bailed out, but since he was out of his chute when I saw him lying on the ground, he might 

have been killed by German civilians."



T/Sgt Oliver B. Scully always believed the exploding oxygen bottles blew the nose off before Lt Emil J. Siewert could bail out.





November 14, 1948  (information provided by Peter Cousins July 2001 to  mpf)



To Whom It May Concern,

 I Technical Sergeant Francis Cousins Jr.  A.A.F. 33288676, Formerly with the 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, Based at Thorpe Abbotts, England.  On May 24, 1944 at approx 10:30, while flying over Berlin, Germany, the aircraft on which I was was a  crew member was struck by flak, enabling number 3 &4 engines, causing us to lose altitiude and pull out of formation.  We were by ourselves at about 21,000 feet altitude when were attacked by 5 FW 190's.  I received a machine gun bullet in my right thiegh on the second pass causing me to be knocked back to the rear door.  The ship caught on fire at the gasoline tank on the right wing forcing us to parachute out.  I dragged myself to the escape hatch and bailed out having trouble with my chute, it opened at about 8000 feet at the cloud level.  I landed in a ploughed field.  Due to the condition of my leg, I could not move to hide. I was observed by a Polish slave laboror who tried to ge me to move into the woods that were a short distance away. Seeing my condition,  he left to get help.  Soon after he left , two Hitler Youths came over,  seeing that I was an American they beat me up and stole my watch and other personal items.  A German soldier came over and chased them away.

 A German civilian was going to shoot me but was stopped by another civilian who said he was a prisoner in America in the First World War and was well treated by the Americans.  The Pole in the meantime came back with a two wheel wagon.  They had picked up my Navigator 1st Lt Donald W. Huffer, who at the time was also suffering from flak wounds and an injured hand.  They placed me in the wagon and took us to a small village.  Throm there they pu us in a station wagon and took us to a town called Woodstock or Whittstock approx 70 kilo's N.W. of BERLIN.  We laid in a Police station until about 11 O'Clock that night  without medical attention or food.  Then we were chained in a truck and taken to a small aid station, it must have been at an airfield because I could hear aircraft engines.  We were examined by a German officer, I think he was a medical officer because he ordered my leg put in a splint and I was given a shot that relieved the pain somewhat.

 The next day or the day after I am not sure because things were pretty hazy, we were moved in a truck to a camp at New Ruppin, Germany.  The barracks we were placed in were prefabricated  huts, about 25 ft long and about 20 feet wide.  There were 20 double decked wooden beds with straw mattresses in the building.  There were no sanitary facilities in the baracks, outside there was one water tank used by all.  The kitchen was in a separate hut, the cook was a German soldier who owned a restaurant in Berlin so most of our food went there.  Our ration consisted of a cup of watery coffee and two pieces of black bread with margarine or synthetic jam for breakfast.  Two potatoes and a cup of cabbage or turnups for lunch and  for dinner it was the same as for lunch.  We received 85 grams of meat per week, if we were lucky.

 Our Medical attendants were two Russians who were captured in the invasion of the Ukrain, one was a medical officer, Dr Theadore Fakeow and the other Capt Jacob Charchieck.  They changed our bandages and dressed our wounds under the supervison of the German doctor who came to see us from a nearby Hospital.  His Name was Dr Wilkie (or Willie).  He would visit us once or twice a week to check on our conditon.  In the meantime we were pretty hungary as the food wasn't sufficient for our needs.  We were losing weight pretty fast. I lived there until the first of August, then I was placed in a Plaster of Paris cast and sent to Dulag Luft at Frankfurt Germany for interrogation.  Because I was shot down 3 months previous I was considered to old and was not interrogated.  On August 8th, I was sent to a prision comp at Ohermannsfeld in Thurm---

Germany.  It was a Prison Hospital, staffed by English who were captured in Africa and the fall of France in 1940.  

 The food situation was little better there as we received an occasional RED CROSS food parcel.  There were 4 men to a parcel.  Some weeks if we had a shipment of parcels there would be two men to a parcel.  I was sent to another hospital approximately 5 miles away in the latter part of January.  I stayed there until the first part of March when due to a when due to a coming attack ………..??



December 5, 1944 from Mr C.S. Sanns to Mr Cousins



Dear Mr Cousins,

   Tonight over the German short wave , we picked up a Medical report on you son Sgt Francis Cousins.   He is in a hospital in Germany and is getting along fine,  They did not say what hospital he is in but said that you have nothing to worry about, as his condition is very good,

                                               Sincerely, Mr C. S. Sanns





April 8, 1945, from Mr & Mrs F.L. Cooper to Mr Francis Cousins



Dear Mr Cousins,

 On April 4th, the German Short wave radio broadcast a medical report to you about your son Sgt Francis Cousins. "His right leg was broken above the knee.  He is receiving functional followup treatment."  These reports are not dated and often are old, some being sent after the man has left the hospital.  Lately, some have been repeats of previous reports and a few were from a hospital already liberated.  With our sincere hope that your son will return to you safely and very soon.  

                                             Signed Mr and Mrs F.L. Cooper

Original 100th, Crew #23.  For more information on his last mission see the Siewert Crew Page.



Edwin I. Morgan is listed on the Siewert Casualty Report (LWG) but not on the Siewert MACR (#05165) - Reason unknown.