10^th August 2014

 

Ully-Saint-Georges (Oise)

 

 

 

On Sunday 10^th August 2014, the municipality of Ully-Saint-Georges and the ASAA were once again honoured to welcome an American family connected with the story of the Flying Fortress shot down over the village on 30^th December 1943.

Coming from Colorado Springs, in Colorado, Glenda and Joel Gray took advantage of their very first trip to France to go with great emotion to this place steeped in both special and tragic history.

More than 70 years ago, on 30^th December 1943, 2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp Jr., Glenda‘s grandfather, was in command of the Flying Fortress "Judy" belonging to the 379^th Bomb Group that crashed in the Bois Morel, on the way back from a high-risk bombing mission on the industrial city of Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Having managed to evacuate his aircraft, 2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp Jr was rescued by the population before being taken in charge successively by the "Alsace" and then "Comet" escape networks. He was successively taken in at Neuilly-en-Thelle, Crouy en Thelle, Clermont, Noailles, Montjavoult, Chaumont-en-Vexin and Paris.

On 5^th May 1944, at an identity control on a train near the Spanish border, he was taken prisoner at the station of Bayonne with his navigator Jarvis H. Cooper.

First of all held in Bayonne then in Fresnes prison in Paris, the two airmen were transferred to the Stalag Luft I in Pomerania, until their liberation in April 1945.

After being greeted by Mrs. Nicole Robert, mayor of the village and her municipality, a ceremony was held in honour of the visit of Glenda to the stele which was inaugurated in September 2011.

 

The fate of the crew of the American bomber was first remembered at length, including the sacrifice of the four airmen who lost their lives in the crash of the aircraft on that cold winter day in 1943.

Among the people attending, in addition to some witnesses of the crash of the aircraft, we had the honour to have with us Mrs. Geneviève Le Berre. Part of the "Burgundy" escape network, she led a large number of Allied airmen to the Spanish border including the radio-operator of the B-17 "Judy", S/Sgt. Milton J. Mills. In March 2012, she was able to meet his descendants during their visit to France.

Also present was Jean-Marc Sauvage, Gaston Legrand and Odette Sauvage’s grandson who, in Clermont, had taken in 2^nd Lt. Glenn E. Camp Jr and his navigator 2^nd Lt. Jarvis H. Cooper for three weeks in January 1944. Strong friendships were created at the time between the airmen and this French family.

With great emotion, Glenda then spoke, thanking very warmly the municipality and all those present for the tribute to her grandfather and his crew. She remembered that he never spoke of the war and expressed her gratitude to the French who, during his escape, took good care of him so that he was able to get back home.

   

Wreaths of flowers were laid at the base of the memorial before the American and French national anthems were played followed by a minute of silence in memory of the airmen.

Everyone was then invited to the top floor of the village hall decked out for the occasion with the Stars and Stripes. A reception was held in a very friendly atmosphere where everyone could talk with Glenda and her husband. A small exhibition recalled the adventure of the B-17 "Judy" and also showed one of the escape hatches recovered shortly after the crash, and since carefully preserved.

 

 

Once again, this day has made possible to the strengthening of bonds of friendship that unite the village and the American families of the crew and the perpetuating, through generations, of the memory of these young airmen who fell from the sky for our Freedom. This beautiful tribute will undoubtedly remain etched in the memory of Glenda and her husband.