Posted on 06/14/2014 5:15:27 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
I'm not trying to be a papal apologist but what was the Pope expected to do about it when from the same post it is reported that:
Germans kill 642 residents as revenge for the killing of an SS officer by a Resistance sniper. Women and children are burned alive in a church and the men are machine-gunned. Of the 642 victims, seven are Jewish refugees who had escaped deportation to Auschwitz by living with sympathetic Oradour-sur-Glane villagers.
This is today’s edition of the ongoing daily thread I pinged you to yesterday. We’re getting very close to the day of the first narrative we have of the hedgerow fighting on the way to St. Lo. I’m trying to keep a pretty close eye (from info in these threads) on what the infantry is engaged in leading up to the narrative. There’s so much here! It’s unfortunate that our narrative doesn’t include calendar dates, though some of our morning call and after-action report entries do. I’ll keep a closer watch as we approach June 22nd, for sure!
Today begins a chronicle of Captain/Major Charles E. Cook’s combat history with the 493d Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He flew his first combat mission on 14 June. I am a few days late posting this first account, but in future will try to post them on the anniversary date.
14 June 1944
8th Air Force Mission 412: Bad weather again covers all strategic targets in Germany except one in the extreme N; a major effort is against tactical objectives, mainly in France; 1,357 of 1,525 bombers dispatched hit the targets listed below; 14 bombers are lost:
Of 191 B-24s, 7 hit Ham-sur-Somme, 32 hit targets of opportunity, 52 hit Lille/Vendeville, 12 hit Calas Tres, 12 hit Denain Drousey, 39 hit Laon/Athies and 70 hit Chievres; 2 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 56 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 4 MIA.
493d Bomb Group Mission 6: On this mission 33 aircraft flying in 3 groups attacked Laon-Athies Air Field near Laon, France. This was the first mission for the Captain Charles E. Cook crew flying in a B-24J aircraft, serial number 44-40480. This was not their “own” aircraft, crews were assigned whichever aircraft was ready to fly. The Cook crew was a lead crew, but for their first mission, they flew behind the lead so that they could learn the extra duties associated with the leading a mission. Flying with them was MAJ Frederick Seelman occupying the copilot seat. The group’s senior officers were designated Command Pilots and would fly with a lead crew, usually sitting in the copilot seat. The copilot would then fly as the tail gunner so that he could give reports on the status of the formation. But, on this first mission, since they were not a lead crew, SSG Walter H. Miller flew in his assigned spot as tail gunner. Also along for this mission was an extra Navigator, Captain Donald B. Schulman from Group Headquarters.
They took off from Debach in East Anglia, USAAF Station #152 and assembled at 18,000 feet at 0526. They reported being ten minutes late crossing the English coast. Near the target, they dropped to 14,000 feet due to overcast and because of bad radio communications, confusion reigned at the Initial Point (IP). A jammed bomb bay door on the lead aircraft caused them to release bombs 4 minutes early. Those aircraft that managed to avoid the early bomb release made a second run on the target and bombed with good result.
The group had difficulty reassembling after their target run, but reformed and the route back was normal.
The 493d Bomb Group lost three aircraft on this day. Tail number 569, flown by 2LT Carl Heintz crashed attempting to land and all 10 crewmen were killed. B-24J-165-CO 44-40460, “Wong Long Hop” piloted by 2LT Floyd Addy was hit over the target and crashed near Wodecq, Belgium. 4 of the crew evaded capture, 5 became POW’s, and one, Lt. Addy was killed. B-24H-15-FO 42-52750 “Jane’s Wittle Wabbit”, piloted by 2LT Orville H. Brewer crashed near Steene, France. All 10 crewmen became POW’s.
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