Mission to Normandy, pilot 1st Lt Willard F Jester

Can anyone tell me when this mission took place; what B-17 was involved; and am I right in assuming the crew belonged to the 94th BG?
 
Pilot: 1st Lt Willard F Jester of Riverside, NJ
Co-pilot: 2nd Lt Joseph M Leone of Brooklyn, NY
Tailgunner: S/Sgt Foy D Sinclair of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer: T/Sgt Elton B McNeil of Birmingham, Michigan
Bombardier: Durwood C Collier of Greensboro, VT
Navigator: 1st Lt Richard Gardner of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ball turret gunner: S/Sgt Rosse E Heath of Portland, OR
Radiooperator/Gunner: T/Sgt Oakley J Ragland
Right Waist gunner:S/Sgt Angus D Senn of Silver Street, NC
Left Waist gunner: S/Sgt Lawrence B Giles of Pittston, PA
 
They were on a mission to Normandy to bomb a German military strong point in support of ground troops. Returning from the target they were attacked by 25 FW 190s and Me 109s. When the fighters made their first pass, three of them were shot down by the gunners. During additional attacks the attackers shot a big hole in the nose of the B-17, raking it with bullets. The pilots leg was torn and the co-pilot wounded. The oxygen supply was struck and the cockpit and the passageway from the cockpit to the nose were filled with flame and smoke. The fighters kept attacking and the wounded pilot and co-pilot beat out the fire with the help of the engineer who sprayed the cockpit with an extinguisher. Jester and Leone had released the controls and the B-17 was in a steady climb as they beat out the flames. It wasn´t possible to bail out since 5 parachutes had been destroyed. Amazingly the two wounded men stamped and beat out the fire, flew evasive action through the fierce fighter attack and then brought the plane home and made a perfect landing.
 
I can guess this was some time after D-Day but when? what B-17? And did they belong to 94th BG?

Hi Chris,
 
thanks for your message. I am researching Oakley J Ragland, who later was killed in a crash in Sweden and buried in my hometown of Malmo, Sweden. He was then flying Carpetbagger/Operation Sonnie missions from Leuchars, Scotland. Before he was transferred to the ATC he had completed 35 missions.
 
His brother sent me some newspaper clippings, and in one of these is the mission above described. It is not dated, nor do I know which newspaper it´s from.
 
There is another clipping, telling of Ragland being awarded the DFC, which mentions that he is the radiooperator/gunner on the "Shady Lady". And that he previously has been awarded the Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters.
 
So I was wondering if the B-17 flown in the Normandy mission could be the Shady Lady, 42-102456.
 
I have found another website, where Angus D Senn talks briefly about the mission (it was a 94th bombgroup reunion in 1995) and also says he was one mission short of 30, and had to do the last mission with another crew and plane, due to the pilots being wounded and the plane damaged.

Hi Chris,

thank you for this. Very interesting to read about Jester and the Shady Lady. I look forward to hearing if you can find even more on the subject. I really appreciate it.

I don´t think it´s the Stars and Stripes. It is probablly a local newspaper; the headline is "Webster Man -----(unreadable)---Blazing Flying Fortress. S.Sgt Ragland in Epic Air Battle Over France"

Hi Chris,
 
yes it seems likely you have found the right mission. Thank you so much for helping me.
 
This is what Angus D Senn said about the mission on the reunion in 1995:
 
"We were dropping supplies in Southern France and the German fighters came in. They set our plane on fire. Pilot and co-pilot were both shot and burned. So anyway, we got fire extinguishers, put the fire out, and we did get back. Pilot and co-pilot were both in the hospital and I did lack one more mission. So they put me with another crew to fly my final mission so I could come home. I flew #30 with some other crew. "
SSgt. Angus Senn, Right-Waist Gunner
 
This is from 8th Air Force Memories by Celia Hayes, which can be found at: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=42390
 
I wonder if you can tell me if there is any way of finding out what missions Oakley Ragland flew? I am not familiar what type of information can be found in the records.

Hi,
 
Willard Jester was indeed the pilot of the Shady Lady, and my father, 1st Lt. Durwood C. Collier, was the bombardier. I have a xerox of the original mission report, and it will raise the hair on your neck, for sure.
I have a photograph of the entire crew, but don't see a way to attach it. My email is joeclfc@yahoo.com. If anyone would like a copy of either the mission report or the photo, please feel free to email me, and I will send it to you.
God bless the 94th, and all the children and grandchildren of her crew,  Joe Collier
 

     Annette and Joe,
    On 14 July 1944 the Lt. Jester crew flew 42-102456 QE-T "Shady Lady" on the supply drop to the French Maquis in the Vercors area of France. They flew in #2 position of the "C" Group flying high in the 4th Combat Wing "B" Group. After leaving the target they were attacked by 20 t0 25 FW-190's and ME-109's between 0935 and 1005 hours. They were attacked from the nose and tail at all levels making approx. 6 passes. Their A/C suffered major damage. Lt. Collier and T/Sgt. Ragland were aboard the A/C.
    I have the mission report, formation chart, map of the drop area and Interrogation report of the Lt. Jester crew after the mission. Send me a "private message" with your email address and I will send them to you. Give me a couple days to assemble the material into folders.
     Regards, Marc