Lt. Col. William T. Boren, O-406516, was killed on a training mission on 8 Janaury 1945 while a pasenger in B-29 43-6428 om a flight from Florida destined for Puerto Rico.
 
Prior to his assignment to the 29th BG, Mr. Boren was the commander of the 559th Bomb Squadron of the 387th Bomb Group based at Chipping Ongar, England.  The 387th was a medium bomber outfit flying B-26 Marauder aircraft.
 
On 21 Sep 1943 while on a raid of the Beuavais/Tille Airfield in France, then Major Boren's aircraft, 41-31721, "Cactus Jack", was shot down.  Major Boren successfully evaded and retruned to allied control in early November, 1943.  Below is the story of his evasion:
 
On 20 October 1943 the following Americans assembled at a train station in South Paris for a trip to Toulouse:

Major William T. Boren, B-26 Pilot--559th BS, 387th BG, Shot Down 21 Sep 1943--Beauvais, France, 41-31721, MACR 614 
1st. Lt. Olof Ballinger, B-17 Pilot--533rd BS, 381st BG, Shot Down 4 July 1943--LaCoulonche, l'Orne, 42-29928, MACR 161
1st. Lt. Keith W. Murray, B-17 Bombardier--335th BS, 95th BG, Shot Down 6 Sep 1943, East of Paris, 42-30271, MACR 545 
2nd Lt. Charles H. Hoover, B-17 CP--535th BS, 381st BG, Shot Down 3 Sep 1943, Stuttgart Raid, Bailed out--Belgium, 42-29789, MACR 473 
2nd Lt. Harold Bailey, B-17 Navigator, 379th BG, Bailed Out by Mistake (Thought plane was going down), 16 Aug 1943, Bourget Field, Paris, MACR 1351 (No A/C Loss)
T/Sgt. William B. Plasket, B-17 RO, 368 BS, 306th BG, Shot Down 6 Sep 1943--Stuttgart Mission, Bailed out at Beauvais, 42-30163, MACR 518
S/Sgt. Francis E. Owens, B-17 Waist Gunner, 533 BS, 381st BG, Shot Down 4 July 1943--La Coulonche, l'Orne, 42-29928, MACR 161

Also in the group were six Frenchmen who wanted to reach the Free French Army in North Africa.  Unfortunately, I do not have their names at the current time.

Each American was escorted by a female member of the Resistance.  After arriving in Toulouse, the group switched trains to Boussens, Haute-Garonne.  There, they switched trains again and headed for St. Girons, Ariege.  The group stayed at a hotel in St. Girons on the evening of Oct 20.

On the 21st. of October the group headed southeast and stopped for the night at Massat, staying with a farmer.  In the morning, Lt. Ballinger found that his legs were in poor condition and that he could not go on.  He was told to wait at the farm for 8-10 days until the guide returned.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the group headed towards the frontier, presumably towards Estrerri d'Aneu, Spain.  They encountered a number of German sentries in the mountains and they had to proceed slowly.  On the 23rd of October they encountered a severe storm which caused heavy snow and very cold temperatures.  Near the summit, one of the Americans collapsed.  He was carried by the others for some distance.  Once over the summit and on the way down towards Spain, two more Americans collapsed.  Now, all three of the exhausted Americans could or would not move another step.  Their paper shoes had disintegrated in the wetness and their feet were frozen.  Their poor diets and lack of exercise while they were evading in France contributed greatly to the problem.

The guides tried everything to get the exhausted men to move including the threat of shooting them but it was useless.  The remaining members of the evasion group eventually left the collapsed men in the snow and continued on down the mountain.  The escape group eventually reached Barcelona on 28 October 1943.

Meanwhile, Lt. Ballinger was forced to leave the farm in Massat when Gestapo agents started searching the area.  Ballinger left Massat alone on 30 October and reached Andorra City by the next day.  He left St. Julia de Leria on 2 November 1943, and proceeded to the southeast reaching Berga on the 6th and Manresa on Nov. 8.  He was in Barcelona the next day.  Ballinger was sick and exhausted and he did not leave Spain until 3 Dec 1943.

In early September, 1951 the bodies of the three Americans were found in the Pyrenees:  Lt. Bailey, T/Sgt. Plasket and S/Sgt. Owens.  It is presumed they all died of exposure.  My interest in this affair stems from the fact that Ballinger and Owens were in my father's crew (2nd Lt. John M. Carah, CP, A/C 42-29928, MACR 161).  Owens was buried at the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in Belgium.  Owens was posthoumously awarded the Soldiers Medal for saving a life during the bomb loading accident at Ridgewell on 23 June 1943.  Ballinger was killed in an auto accident in California in 1955 and is buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery.  Major Boren was MIA in a routine air trip from Florida to Puerto Rico on 8 Jan 1945.  The status of Lt. Charles Hoover is unknown.  Lt. Murray is living in retirement in Texas.

Sources:
   E&E Report No. 248--1st Lt. Olof Ballinger
   Interview with 2nd Lt. Keith W. Murray
   Interview with 2nd Lt. Chas. H. Hoover by Chaplain J.G. Brown, 1984, p232
   Interview with Owens Family
   Interview with Ballinger Family
   Various MACR Reports

Regards,

Warren B. Carah