Personnel

CREW



1ST LT WILLIAM E. GREEN              P KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT JACK P. JENSEN                CP KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT JOHN J. JOYCE               NAV KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

2ND LT JOHN S. HAMILITON       BOM KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT ROBERT W. VALENTIK      ROG KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT ROMAN B. BERAN              TTE KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT RICHARD K. ANDEREGG     BTG KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT SANFORD TISDALE           WG KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT HARRY J. WASKEWICZ      WG KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

S/SGT LEROY R. LEIST                 TG KIA 4 FEB 44 FRANKFURT

 

MACR #2343, Microfiche #799

A/C #42-37975



418th Sqdn..  Crew joined in October 1943.  Crewas above, appears on the MACR #2343. No information as to when it joined the 100th.

EYEWITNESS; "This A/C, in 3rd element of the high squadron, pulled out of formation at 1352 hours & headed for the undercast. It was smoking but appeared under control. No chutes were seen."Original ROG on the Crew was S/Sgt Tom Sasser, replaced on Feb 4, 1944 mission by S/Sgt Valentik". 



MACR #2343 is very blurred and difficult to read but Walcheron Island (Off coast of Holland) is mentioned. The body of S/Sgt Waskewicz was washed ashore near Ouddorp (Coastal Holland) 6 Feb 44 and that of Lt Joyce on 18 Feb 44. The bodies of Richard Anderegg and John Hamilton also washed ashore near Ouddorp with Waskewicz. Joyce washed ashore near Ellemeet. ( Adrian Caldwell, daughter of Sgt Leist)



 Date: 3/3/2002 10:31:12 AM Pacific Standard Time 

From: rbcaldwe@dixie-net.com 

Hi Mike,

Here are the dates of the recovery of the four of the crew with my dad.

Harry Waskewicz, John Hamilton and Richard Anderegg recovered 6 Feb 1944,

buried 7 Feb 44 Ouddorp Communal Cemetery, Holland.

John Joyce, recovered 5 Apr 44, buried 18 April 44 at Haamstede Cemetery

near Ellemeet, Holland.  (Adrian Caldwell, daughter of Sgt Leist)



"On Feb 4th the 100th BG was dispatched to Frankfurt where it attacked a steelworks factory, the ST (secondary Target). The group lost three crews that day, Lt Green, Lt Brown and Lt McPhee. B-17 42-37975 Marking LD (418th Squadron) call sign U, piloted by Lt William Green and CP Jack Jensen crashed into the sea off the Dutch coast in the Vicinity of Walcheron Island. It was last seen at 13:32 (1:32pm) as it pulled out of the high squadron.and headed for the undercast. It was smoking but appeared under control. No chutes were seen. All Ten men aboard were KIA The body of Waist Gunner S/Sgt Harry Waskewicz washed ashore two days later near Oudorf in Costal Holland." 



Part of Missions Critique from MACR (Missing Air Crew Report). Bill Thompson 



"About 25 single engined enemy aircraft interecpted our formaiton near Liege on route from the target. They made several passes at the low group but seemed concentrated on Stragglers.The continuous flak over enemy territory was inaccurate. 975 pulled out of its postion in the high squadron of the formation at 13:32 hours and headed for the undercast, smoking but under control."

Robert K. Anderegg was born in West Bend, Iowa in 1922. His parents were Ernest C. and Nora M. Dewitt Anderegg. The US Census 1940 lists the family in West Bend.

Anderegg was drafted, probably in 1942 according to his crew training record. No NARA Enlistment Record has been located for him, but it is known that he was assigned to the Army Air Forces, trained as an aerial gunner, and sent to crew training in 1943. The crew went to England, arriving there in November, 1943. According to award code and tradition, the crew flew at least 15 combat missions.



On February 4, 1944, the crew was assigned to bomb the railway works in Frankfurt, Germany. Over the target, the formation came under attack by numerous German fighters as well as flak. A flak shell hit the aircraft, and one or more engines began smoking. The aircraft pulled out of formation, under control, and headed back to England. Several fighters followed the straggler, but failed to shoot it down. Flak batteries on the Dutch Coast opened up, but were inaccurate. The aircraft proceeded out over the North Sea, where it crashed just off the coast. Several bodies washed ashore to the Dutch islands in the next few days. Anderegg washed ashore on February 6 on Oudderp Island. He was recovered and buried in a local cemetery. After the war, his remains were retrieved, and moved to the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium, where he lies in Plot D, Row 8, Grave 49.



SSgt Robert K. Anderegg was acting as the ball turret gunner on B-17G # 42-37975, unnamed, assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron. (The crew's regular aircraft, B-17G # 4203508, named "Bastard's Bungalow," was in maintenance for an engine change, and unavailable.)



Missing Air Crew Report 2343 was issued for this loss. Crew rosters and personnel files show the crew as:



1 Lt William E. Green  p

2 Lt Jack P. Jensen  c-p

2 Lt John S. Hamilton  nav

2 Lt John J. Joyce  bomb

SSgt Roman B. Beran  eng/tt gun

SSgt Robert W. Vanderlik  r/o

SSgt Robert K. Anderegg  btg

SSgt Sanford Tisdale  wg

SSgt Harry J. Waskewicz  wg

SSgt Larry R. Leist  tail gun



SSgt Vanderlik replaced SSgt Tom Sasser before the crew left for overseas.