-24H #42-50324 ‘Eileen’ would crash 2 KM South of Ulfen, Germany.
Of the nine crewmen on board, three would bail out and survive: 2Lt Walter George (Copilot), T/Sgt Constant Galuszewski (Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), and T/Sgt Sammy Weiner (Radio Operator). They would become prisoners for the remainder of the war.
Four other crewmen would also bail out, but they would not survive.
1Lt Donald Brent (Pilot) is believed to have been killed when his parachute malfunctioned.
What happened to the three gunners in the rear of the plane, S/Sgt Woodard Watts (Tail Gunner), S/Sgt Militon Smisek (Waist Gunner), and S/Sgt George Linkletter (Waist Gunner), is not entirely known but they are believed to have been killed by German civilians on the ground.
The two remaining crewmen, 2Lt Harold Mercier (Navigator) and S/Sgt Donald Larsen (Nose Gunner), did not bail out and their bodies would later be recovered from the aircraft wreckage.
Both men are believed to have been killed when a number of cannon shells from the German assault fighters struck the nose section of the aircraft.
--------------------------------------------
1st Lt Brent was commissioned a second lieutenant in the air forces in June 1943, at Yuma, Arizona, following earlier training at Mira Loma Flight Academy in Oxnard, California, and at Minter Field, Bakersfield, Calif. He took combat training at Casper, Wyoming. He was graduated from Eugene High School prior to entering military service, and was stationed at a Portland air base before he was called to cadet training.
Statement of Capt Andres Grove:
'100 to 150 enemy aircraft attacked our formation from 6 o'clock. They came in about 10 to 15 abreast and there were about 6 rows. B-24's were going down all around and it was impossible to state which was which. Many parachutes were seen in the area. Many of the planes were seen going down in flames.'
One of the surviving crew members, Radio Opeartor T/Sgt Sammy S. Weiner, sayed that after bombs away he heared Lt Brent saying over the interphone that he was very happy since this mission was his 33rd and he had only two to go. He also stated that he saw Lt Brent the last time when he tried to bail out of the bomb bay. He assumed Lt Brent aither got hun up in the bomb bay or his parachute never opened.
The co-pilot, 2nd Lt Walter George believed he was killed on the ground by civilians. He heard much small arms fire and many shouts and cries.
Lt Brent was first buried at the cemetery of Ulfen the same day.
Of the nine crewmen on board, three would bail out and survive: 2Lt Walter George (Copilot), T/Sgt Constant Galuszewski (Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), and T/Sgt Sammy Weiner (Radio Operator). They would become prisoners for the remainder of the war.
Four other crewmen would also bail out, but they would not survive.
1Lt Donald Brent (Pilot) is believed to have been killed when his parachute malfunctioned.
What happened to the three gunners in the rear of the plane, S/Sgt Woodard Watts (Tail Gunner), S/Sgt Militon Smisek (Waist Gunner), and S/Sgt George Linkletter (Waist Gunner), is not entirely known but they are believed to have been killed by German civilians on the ground.
The two remaining crewmen, 2Lt Harold Mercier (Navigator) and S/Sgt Donald Larsen (Nose Gunner), did not bail out and their bodies would later be recovered from the aircraft wreckage.
Both men are believed to have been killed when a number of cannon shells from the German assault fighters struck the nose section of the aircraft.
--------------------------------------------
1st Lt Brent was commissioned a second lieutenant in the air forces in June 1943, at Yuma, Arizona, following earlier training at Mira Loma Flight Academy in Oxnard, California, and at Minter Field, Bakersfield, Calif. He took combat training at Casper, Wyoming. He was graduated from Eugene High School prior to entering military service, and was stationed at a Portland air base before he was called to cadet training.
Statement of Capt Andres Grove:
'100 to 150 enemy aircraft attacked our formation from 6 o'clock. They came in about 10 to 15 abreast and there were about 6 rows. B-24's were going down all around and it was impossible to state which was which. Many parachutes were seen in the area. Many of the planes were seen going down in flames.'
One of the surviving crew members, Radio Opeartor T/Sgt Sammy S. Weiner, sayed that after bombs away he heared Lt Brent saying over the interphone that he was very happy since this mission was his 33rd and he had only two to go. He also stated that he saw Lt Brent the last time when he tried to bail out of the bomb bay. He assumed Lt Brent aither got hun up in the bomb bay or his parachute never opened.
The co-pilot, 2nd Lt Walter George believed he was killed on the ground by civilians. He heard much small arms fire and many shouts and cries.
Lt Brent was first buried at the cemetery of Ulfen the same day.
-24H #42-50324 ‘Eileen’ would crash 2 KM South of Ulfen, Germany.
Of the nine crewmen on board, three would bail out and survive: 2Lt Walter George (Copilot), T/Sgt Constant Galuszewski (Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), and T/Sgt Sammy Weiner (Radio Operator). They would become prisoners for the remainder of the war.
Four other crewmen would also bail out, but they would not survive.
1Lt Donald Brent (Pilot) is believed to have been killed when his parachute malfunctioned.
What happened to the three gunners in the rear of the plane, S/Sgt Woodard Watts (Tail Gunner), S/Sgt Militon Smisek (Waist Gunner), and S/Sgt George Linkletter (Waist Gunner), is not entirely known but they are believed to have been killed by German civilians on the ground.
The two remaining crewmen, 2Lt Harold Mercier (Navigator) and S/Sgt Donald Larsen (Nose Gunner), did not bail out and their bodies would later be recovered from the aircraft wreckage.
Both men are believed to have been killed when a number of cannon shells from the German assault fighters struck the nose section of the aircraft.
--------------------------------------------
1st Lt Brent was commissioned a second lieutenant in the air forces in June 1943, at Yuma, Arizona, following earlier training at Mira Loma Flight Academy in Oxnard, California, and at Minter Field, Bakersfield, Calif. He took combat training at Casper, Wyoming. He was graduated from Eugene High School prior to entering military service, and was stationed at a Portland air base before he was called to cadet training.
Statement of Capt Andres Grove:
'100 to 150 enemy aircraft attacked our formation from 6 o'clock. They came in about 10 to 15 abreast and there were about 6 rows. B-24's were going down all around and it was impossible to state which was which. Many parachutes were seen in the area. Many of the planes were seen going down in flames.'
One of the surviving crew members, Radio Opeartor T/Sgt Sammy S. Weiner, sayed that after bombs away he heared Lt Brent saying over the interphone that he was very happy since this mission was his 33rd and he had only two to go. He also stated that he saw Lt Brent the last time when he tried to bail out of the bomb bay. He assumed Lt Brent aither got hun up in the bomb bay or his parachute never opened.
The co-pilot, 2nd Lt Walter George believed he was killed on the ground by civilians. He heard much small arms fire and many shouts and cries.
Lt Brent was first buried at the cemetery of Ulfen the same day.
Of the nine crewmen on board, three would bail out and survive: 2Lt Walter George (Copilot), T/Sgt Constant Galuszewski (Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), and T/Sgt Sammy Weiner (Radio Operator). They would become prisoners for the remainder of the war.
Four other crewmen would also bail out, but they would not survive.
1Lt Donald Brent (Pilot) is believed to have been killed when his parachute malfunctioned.
What happened to the three gunners in the rear of the plane, S/Sgt Woodard Watts (Tail Gunner), S/Sgt Militon Smisek (Waist Gunner), and S/Sgt George Linkletter (Waist Gunner), is not entirely known but they are believed to have been killed by German civilians on the ground.
The two remaining crewmen, 2Lt Harold Mercier (Navigator) and S/Sgt Donald Larsen (Nose Gunner), did not bail out and their bodies would later be recovered from the aircraft wreckage.
Both men are believed to have been killed when a number of cannon shells from the German assault fighters struck the nose section of the aircraft.
--------------------------------------------
1st Lt Brent was commissioned a second lieutenant in the air forces in June 1943, at Yuma, Arizona, following earlier training at Mira Loma Flight Academy in Oxnard, California, and at Minter Field, Bakersfield, Calif. He took combat training at Casper, Wyoming. He was graduated from Eugene High School prior to entering military service, and was stationed at a Portland air base before he was called to cadet training.
Statement of Capt Andres Grove:
'100 to 150 enemy aircraft attacked our formation from 6 o'clock. They came in about 10 to 15 abreast and there were about 6 rows. B-24's were going down all around and it was impossible to state which was which. Many parachutes were seen in the area. Many of the planes were seen going down in flames.'
One of the surviving crew members, Radio Opeartor T/Sgt Sammy S. Weiner, sayed that after bombs away he heared Lt Brent saying over the interphone that he was very happy since this mission was his 33rd and he had only two to go. He also stated that he saw Lt Brent the last time when he tried to bail out of the bomb bay. He assumed Lt Brent aither got hun up in the bomb bay or his parachute never opened.
The co-pilot, 2nd Lt Walter George believed he was killed on the ground by civilians. He heard much small arms fire and many shouts and cries.
Lt Brent was first buried at the cemetery of Ulfen the same day.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Oregon.
Family Members
Other Records
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Records on Ancestry
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1930 United States Federal Census
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1920 United States Federal Census
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Idaho, U.S., Birth Records, 1861-1921, Stillbirth Index, 1905-1971
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U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949
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California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980
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