30^th December 1943

Boeing B-17F # 42-29963 "Judy"

379^th Bomb Group

527^th Bomb Squadron

8^th Air Force

Ully-Saint-Georges (Oise)

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The 379^th Bomb Group, based in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, was designated to take part in this large-scale raid, sending a formation of 44 B-17 bombers.
Among these, the "Judy" # 42-29963.

Having completed a mission on the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen, Germany, on 20^th December and another on 24^th December on the V1 site at Bonnières-Beauvoir, in the Pas de Calais, France, this was to be the 3^rd mission of the crew.

                     2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp Jr             F/O Joseph F. Fitzgerald                 2^nd Lt. Jarvis H. Cooper                   2^nd Lt. Edward J. Donaldson

      

 

                                                                      Sgt. Neelan B. Parker                    S/Sgt. Robert E. Cross

Near Ludwigshafen, cloud cover completely covered the city. The German anti-aircraft artillery returned fire on the attackers in the final approach. Allied planes came under fire from bursting shells. Bombers were hit, others were slaughtered, often resulting in the death of their crews. 23 bombers and 13 fighter planes were reported missing on this raid.

Despite the losses, the bombing took place at an altitude of 21,000 ft between noon and 1:00 pm.
1,400 tons of bombs were dropped on the target.

Hit again, the Flying fortress became uncontrollable. Some crew members were injured, others killed. The pilot ordered the crew to evacuate the aircraft.

Now at very low level and doomed, the B-17 "Judy" hit the treetops and disintegrated in the Bois Morel, in the territory of the municipality of Ully-Saint-Georges (Oise).

Among the wreckage, three dead bodies were found: those of the co-pilot Joseph F. Fitzgerald, of the ball turret gunner Marcus C. Pierce and of the tail gunner Robert E. Cross.

Injured and having evacuated the aircraft at too low level, the body of the gunner Richard R. Giersch was found in a field near the scene of the crash. His parachute did not have time to open.

The bodies of the four airmen were buried the next day in the cemetery of Boran-sur-Oise.

After the war, three of them would be repatriated to the United States, at the request of their families.

Only Marcus C. Pierce still rests in France, his body being transferred post-war to the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.

Normandy American Cemetery
Marcus C. Pierce's grave

Upon landing, the other six airmen of the B-17 "Judy" were more lucky. They were all rescued collected, hidden and cared for by the people of our region, despite all the risks.

On 12^th January 1944, in the United States, all the families of the crew members were notified by a telegram from the War Department that their husbands or sons had not returned from the 30^th December mission. There was no further information. For the families then began the agonizingly long wait, in the hope that everyone had survived the crash.

French families did not hesitate to provide immediate help to the survivors throughout their escape in our region. Among these, the Robillard, d'Haleine families and Dr. Andrieu at Neuilly-en-Thelle, the Malingue family at Crouy-en-Thelle, the Legrand-Sauvage family at Clermont, the Toussaint family in Creil, the Lauro family at Gouvieux, the Dorez and Duchateau families at Montataire and the Eckert family at Noailles .

The Alsace network, led by Gilbert Thibault at Auneuil played a major role in helping many Allied airmen, including some from the B-17 "Judy", before directing them to established escape routes.

The six airmen received the help of different escape lines :
- Sgt. Douglas J. Farr, with the help of Vengeance-Turma network, managed to reach Spain on 27^th January 1944, less than one month after the crash of his plane. Via Gibraltar and Casablanca, he landed at Prestwick, Scotland on 24^th March 1944.

- 2^nd Lt. Edward J. Donaldson and Sgt. Neelan B. Parker, with the Shelburn escape line, were conveyed to the north coast of Brittany. They were repatriated to England aboard a corvette of the Royal Navy, on the night of 16^th to 17^th March 1944 during Operation Bonaparte III.

- S/Sgt. Milton J. Mills Jr. was conveyed to the Pyrenees by "Jacqueline," the future Mrs. Geneviève Le Berre, of the Burgundy network. He reached Spain on 20^th April 1944. Via Gibraltar, he returned to England by air on next 30^th May.

Taken in charge by the Comet network, 2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp and 2^nd Lt. Jarvis H. Cooper were captured by the Germans in early May 1944, on a train, not far from the Spanish border which they were hoping to cross.
They were incarcerated in the prison of Bayonne, then in Fresnes. Later they were sent to Stalag Luft I at Barth, in northern Germany.

Released in April 1945 by the Soviet Army, Glenn E. Camp and Jarvis H. Cooper were repatriated in the following weeks to the United States.

On 11^th September 2011, a ceremony was held at Ully-Saint-Georges (Oise) in memory of the crew.

March 2012 - Visit of the Mills family

October 2013 - Visit of Rudy Sanders, S/Sgt. Robert E. Cross's nephew

10^th August 2014 - Visit of Glenda Gray, 2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp's granddaughter