lynching of US Air men in Austria

Hi Josef,
 
I see that this post has remained unanswered for some days now, so here is my question with regard to the details you have outlined .
 
Which was the crash that involved the crewman that was hanged ?
 
Alex

Hi,
Thank you Micky for your reminder re Italy.
 
I have in this instance looked up the ABMC website and sure enough the names are there that are referenced by Josef.
 
S/Sgt. Frank Rogan  15323643 from Ohio, 767 Bomber Squadron 461st Bomber Group . But date of death is given as 25th July 44 not 26th as per Josef.
 
Others lost were S/Sgt Harold F. Williamson; S/Sgt Anthony A. Lucero and 2Lt. William Jellen jr.
 
Anyone know which aircraft they were in ( if indeed in same crew) side number would have been in the "60" to "79" range ?
 
Then the Mitchell event of 23-3-45.
 
Sgt. Charles Mitchell 15375807 from Ohio was with the 736th Bomber Squadron 454th Bomber Group . He is recorded as died 24th while another from the same Group is recorded as the 23rd. He was 2Lt. Charles S. Faxon jr.
Again anyone know 'plane serial number ?
 
The named 'plane "Who Nose" was 41-28699 from the 459th Bomber Squadron 454th Bomber Group MACR 3160 which is recorded in this forum's macr lists as lost on the 25th February 1944. Josef has the 29th (?). Anyone know the names of her crew ?
 
Still looking at the others .
 
Alex
 
 

If I understand you correctly, you are hopeful of establishing some sort of memorial to commemorate American and Russian servicemen who died in Austria in their efforts to liberate that country from German oppression/occupation ? That being the case, I think that you will have a difficult job in selling it to the Austrians who, in common with their German brethren, largely resent losing the war anyway, and who,like most other peoples of the World have little affection for either America or Russia,neither now or at anytime since 1945. In my country (England) we have at least one major cemetery where Axis servicemen killed over Great Britain are interred. I wouldn't have any problems with another memorial commemorating their sacrifice if a memorial were to be added to their headstones in that cemetery, but I wouldn't want to see any memorialsof Axis dead anywhere else, especially near the thousands of war memorials that we have in our cities, towns and villages and which commemorate the hundreds of thousands of British war dead sacrificed in fighting the two terrible wars started by German and her allies, of which I would number Austria.
Marlin.

Hi Josef,
Well I have searched and found the following for the 25th July 1944 ( your date was 26th). Re Rogan's fate.

On the 25th July 1944 there were 11 B24 Liberator losses from the 461st Bomber Group, plus another 4 returning to Base, of these one came down at Foggia, one at Vis while two others made it to base.

Of the 11 lost -
42-52451 Pilot 2Lt. John J. Kane           a/c"66"                    MACR 7004
41-28693 Pilot 2Lt. Richard E. Freeman  a/c "1" "War Eagle"     MACR 11977
42-52459 Pilot 2Lt. Wray M. Stitch       a/c "8" "Winona Belle"  MACR 11978
42-52368 Pilot 2Lt. Glenial Fulks           a/c "34" "Piecemaker"  MACR 7110
42-95383 Pilot 2Lt. Grover F. Mitchell    a/c "12" "Lazy Lady"   MACR 7035
41-28867 Pilot 2Lt. Kenneth O. Githens  a/c"21""Sleepytimegal" MACR 7113
41-29529 Pilot 2Lt. Robert A. Warren jr  a/c"23"                    MACR 9844
41-28850 Pilot 1Lt. Joseph B. Hesser     a/c "44"                   MACR 10000
41-28836 Pilot 2Lt. Robert W. Fisher     a/c"61"                    MACR 7038
42-95257 Pilot 2Lt. Rolland T. Olson  a/c "72"                       MACR 7117
42-94732 Pilot 1Lt. Clyde L. Boyer        a/c "68" "Tail Dragon"  MACR 7037
(Ther is also Edwin W. Bowyer named as pilot for this a/c ).

I have not been able to break down the 11 crew's for the above aircraft  except to say that I found that Rogan was a crew member at one time with Francis J Riley (pilot); 2Lt. Captain E. Jones (pilot); 2Lt. Arthur L. Hewitt (bombardier); John R. Hancock (Navigator); John F.Douglas (Radio); Thomas J. Sullivan (Radio); Carl D. Gates (Gunner); Richard C. Brady (Gunner); and Hyman Silverstein (Gunner). [ref: 461 Website]
Hancock, Hewitt and Sullivan were POW's.
 
If as you say Rogan was from the 767th Bomber Squadron of the 461st Bomber Group then there were four a/c from that squadron lost.
 
"61" 41-28836
"66" 42-52451
"68" 42-94732
"72" 42-95257

Can anyone match Rogan or name crews to match either the a/c or pilots  please ?

Thanks

Alex

Hello Josef,

I'm working on some cases of lynching of US Air men in Germany. You can contact me via e-mail.

Best regards in meantime

Steve

I think the investigation of these killings varied by the occupation forces.  In U.S. zones the investigations were more diligent and even within them, quality of coverage varied. Hitler, of course, encouraged civilians to retaliate against aircrews and officials who attempted to intervene were held accountable. Until the withdrawal of occupation forces and restoration of local government prosecution was by AMGOT. Afterwards the province of local authorities. 

Here is an example of one our abuses of POWS.
 
STARVATION AT REMAGEN
After the capture of the Remagen Bridge, the US Army hastily erected around 19 Prisoner of War cages around the bridge-head to hold an estimated one million prisoners. The camps were simply open fields surrounded by concertina wire. Those at the Rhine Meadows were situated at Remagen, Bad Kreuznach,Andernach, Buderich,Rheinbach and Sinzig. The German prisoners were hopeful of good treatment from the GIs but in this they were sadly disappointed. Herded into the open spaces like cattle, some were beaten and mistreated. No tents or toilets were supplied. The camps became huge latrines, a sea of urine from one end to the other. They had to sleep in holes in the ground which they dug with their bare hands. In the Bad Kreuznach cage, 560,000 men were interned in an area that could only comfortably hold 45,000. Denied enough food and water, they were forced to eat the grass under their feet and the camps soon became a sea of mud. After the concentration camps were discovered, their treatment became worse as the GIs vented their rage on the hapless prisoners.
 
In the five camps around Bretzenheim, prisoners had to survive on 600-850 calories per day. With bloated bellies and teeth falling out, they died by the thousands. During the two and a half months (April-May, 1945) when the camps were under American control, a total of 18,100 prisoners died from malnutrition, disease and exposure. This extremely harsh treatment at the hands of the Americans resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 German prisoners-of-war in the Rhine Meadows camps alone in the months just before and after the war ended. It must however be borne in mind that with the best will in the world it proved almost impossible to care for such a huge number of prisoners under the strict terms of the Geneva Convention. The task of guarding these prisoners, numbering around 920,000, fell to the men of the US 106th Infantry Division. The Remagen cage was set up to accommodate 100,000 men but ended up with twice that number. On the first afternoon 35,000 prisoners were counted through the gate. About 10,000 of these required urgent medical attention which in most cases was completely absent. All roads leading to the camps were clogged with hundreds of trucks bringing in even more prisoners, sent to the rear by the advancing 9th US Army. By April 15, 1945, 1.3 million prisoners were in American hands. At war's end, 1,056,482 German prisoners were held in US camps in Europe, 692,895 were classified as Prisoners of War and 365,587 classified as DEF's (Disarmed Enemy Forces) In May, 1945, the number of prisoners held in Allied camps in northern Europe numbered 5,235,700. 
 
Tourists, cruising down the Rhine today can pick out a small memorial and plaque built on the site of the former POW cage. In the Remagen cemetery there are 1,200 graves and at Bad Kreuznach, 1,000 graves.

I shared with you what I heard I don't recall you being there then or anytime this GERMAN spoke. The Germans told the all allied transports carrying GERMAN POWS to run with all their lights on and the GERMANS' would not attack those ships. This was approved by the RED CROSS and USA and no ships carrying GERMAN POWS to the states was EVER SUNK.
 
The Japanese never bothered and our POWS were sunk and killed by American planes.
 
This LT. could not praise his treatment in the states enough, he worked on a potatoe farm and all were paid, the daily rations were equal to our troops. They  attended classes and had SUNDAYS OFF. His father was a LUTHERAN PASTOR and when he was captured the American Lutheran Church had them reunited on a CHRISTMAS one year.
 
He shared NO GERMAN was returned to GERMANY before they saw the films of the death camps.
Once back in POW camps in EUROPE things went down hill fast.

He mentioned that if it was learned  the USA had violated the agreement and sunk everything. Think how  many Americans might have come home from the PACIFIC  if the JAPS had some humanity in them.
 
We did sink ship carrying AMERICAN and ALLIED Troops.

He mentioned that if it was learned  the USA had violated the agreement they would have then
sunk everything. Think how  many Americans might have come home from the PACIFIC  if the JAPS had some humanity in them.
 
We did sink ships carrying AMERICAN and ALLIED Troops.