Home: Reedsville, Wisconsin.
Service ID: O-2044650.
Squadron: 577th Bomb Sq 392th Bomb Gp
Awards: Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT James W. Dickson KIA
Target: Brunswick Germany
MACR: #03945
Date Lost: 8-Apr-44
Serial Number: #42-7599
Aircraft Model B-24J
Aircraft Letter: "B-Bar"
Aircraft Name: "MACK'S SACK III" 29th Mission
Location: southeast of Breitenhaus Germany
Cause: enemy fighter attack crew of 11 10KIA 1POW
MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: An eye-witness account by Lt. Ellis on a returning crew stated the Dickson plane was seen going down 5-10 minutes before bomb drop as a result of enemy fighter attack with (3) parachutes being seen. A German Report from Airfield Command at Fassberg and dated 11 April cited the time of shoot down "probably by fighter" at 1400 hours (GLT) at a location of (2) kilometers southeast of Breitenhaus and (15) kilometers south-southwest of Ulsen on 8 April, Report #121227-121228. The plane was found totally destroyed in the crash, and (10) crewmen were found dead. The 11th crew member, Sgt. Luchak, who was wounded, was taken prisoner the next morning, 9 April, at 1000 hours near Weyhausen and placed in a Luftwaffe hospital at Wiemar.
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: There is no such report in this MACR from the lone survivor, Sgt. Luchak.
BURIAL RECORDS: A thorough investigation into this crew's crash was made after the war by the U.S. Army. Discussions with German witnesses revealed that a bomber formation was seen after noon heading from west to east that was attacked by German fighter planes. One plane crashed in flames in the woods in the vicinity of Bokel. The bodies of nine crewmen were buried by the Wehrmacht in the crater made by the plane. The body of a tenth man was buried in the community cemetery of Sprakensehl, about four miles from the scene of the crash. T/Sgt Zimpelman's body was apparently identified at a later date and returned to the U.S. for burial.
The "MACK'S SACK III" crew
1/Lt. James W. Dickson Pilot
1/Lt. Edward W. Kubale Co Pilot
1/Lt. John J. McDade, Jr Navigator
1/Lt. Edward I. White Bombardier
T/Sgt. Roy M. York Engineer
T/Sgt. John G. Zimpelman Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Alexander Luchak Gunner
S/Sgt. Clifford W. Erickson Gunner
S/Sgt. Bernard A. Reilly Gunner
S/Sgt. Francis L. O'Neill Gunner
S/Sgt.Samuel L. Cooper, Jr. Gunner
Home: Reedsville, Wisconsin.
Service ID: O-2044650.
Squadron: 577th Bomb Sq 392th Bomb Gp
Awards: Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT James W. Dickson KIA
Target: Brunswick Germany
MACR: #03945
Date Lost: 8-Apr-44
Serial Number: #42-7599
Aircraft Model B-24J
Aircraft Letter: "B-Bar"
Aircraft Name: "MACK'S SACK III" 29th Mission
Location: southeast of Breitenhaus Germany
Cause: enemy fighter attack crew of 11 10KIA 1POW
MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: An eye-witness account by Lt. Ellis on a returning crew stated the Dickson plane was seen going down 5-10 minutes before bomb drop as a result of enemy fighter attack with (3) parachutes being seen. A German Report from Airfield Command at Fassberg and dated 11 April cited the time of shoot down "probably by fighter" at 1400 hours (GLT) at a location of (2) kilometers southeast of Breitenhaus and (15) kilometers south-southwest of Ulsen on 8 April, Report #121227-121228. The plane was found totally destroyed in the crash, and (10) crewmen were found dead. The 11th crew member, Sgt. Luchak, who was wounded, was taken prisoner the next morning, 9 April, at 1000 hours near Weyhausen and placed in a Luftwaffe hospital at Wiemar.
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: There is no such report in this MACR from the lone survivor, Sgt. Luchak.
BURIAL RECORDS: A thorough investigation into this crew's crash was made after the war by the U.S. Army. Discussions with German witnesses revealed that a bomber formation was seen after noon heading from west to east that was attacked by German fighter planes. One plane crashed in flames in the woods in the vicinity of Bokel. The bodies of nine crewmen were buried by the Wehrmacht in the crater made by the plane. The body of a tenth man was buried in the community cemetery of Sprakensehl, about four miles from the scene of the crash. T/Sgt Zimpelman's body was apparently identified at a later date and returned to the U.S. for burial.
The "MACK'S SACK III" crew
1/Lt. James W. Dickson Pilot
1/Lt. Edward W. Kubale Co Pilot
1/Lt. John J. McDade, Jr Navigator
1/Lt. Edward I. White Bombardier
T/Sgt. Roy M. York Engineer
T/Sgt. John G. Zimpelman Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Alexander Luchak Gunner
S/Sgt. Clifford W. Erickson Gunner
S/Sgt. Bernard A. Reilly Gunner
S/Sgt. Francis L. O'Neill Gunner
S/Sgt.Samuel L. Cooper, Jr. Gunner
Inscription
1LT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORLD WAR II
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