COL US Air Force
World War II, Korea, Vietnam
From the Express-News October 18, 2014
Untold Story From WWII Leads To Medal
Lt. Col. James Gunn III didn't want anyone to know what he did in World War II and told his men to keep it that way.
Decades later his story about freeing POW's from the Nazis' grasp in Romania was told.
On Friday October 17, 2014 he was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for one of the more daring exploits of the war.
In August 1944 he slipped away from a Romanian POW camp, got into a cramped fuselage of a German fighter and was flown to Italy, where he told commanders of the of the desperate circumstances of the men at the POW camp.
Days later a daring airlift, Operation Reunion, was mounted, saving 1173 allied prisoners and one Romanian stowaway.
Lt. Col. Gunn was on his 32nd mission when he was shot down during a bombing run near the Ploesti oil field on August 17, 1944. He was seized by a mob of Romanians, taken to the headquarters in Ploesti where he learned that all but one of his crewmen had survived.
He devised a plan to borrow an aircraft to fly to Italy to arrange for the evacuation of the prisoners of war.
Ten days after he was captured, August 27, 1944, he flew the aircraft with a map made on a piece of cardboard, along the Italian shoreline reaching the San Giovannie Airstrip.
They had painted the US flag on the sides of the ME-109's fuselage in hopes friendly gunners would see it and not fire. The British troops spotted the aircraft, but withheld their fire. Later called "Operation Gunn" his escape was over.
An Air Force story detailing the information was used showing a photo of the former prisoners.
At the award ceremony, his 99 year old widow held the Silver Star citation as she rested in a wheelchair and with a smile on her face, looked back on his feat.
"He was so grateful to have the big bomber come and pick those people up." She said.
World War II, Korea, Vietnam
From the Express-News October 18, 2014
Untold Story From WWII Leads To Medal
Lt. Col. James Gunn III didn't want anyone to know what he did in World War II and told his men to keep it that way.
Decades later his story about freeing POW's from the Nazis' grasp in Romania was told.
On Friday October 17, 2014 he was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for one of the more daring exploits of the war.
In August 1944 he slipped away from a Romanian POW camp, got into a cramped fuselage of a German fighter and was flown to Italy, where he told commanders of the of the desperate circumstances of the men at the POW camp.
Days later a daring airlift, Operation Reunion, was mounted, saving 1173 allied prisoners and one Romanian stowaway.
Lt. Col. Gunn was on his 32nd mission when he was shot down during a bombing run near the Ploesti oil field on August 17, 1944. He was seized by a mob of Romanians, taken to the headquarters in Ploesti where he learned that all but one of his crewmen had survived.
He devised a plan to borrow an aircraft to fly to Italy to arrange for the evacuation of the prisoners of war.
Ten days after he was captured, August 27, 1944, he flew the aircraft with a map made on a piece of cardboard, along the Italian shoreline reaching the San Giovannie Airstrip.
They had painted the US flag on the sides of the ME-109's fuselage in hopes friendly gunners would see it and not fire. The British troops spotted the aircraft, but withheld their fire. Later called "Operation Gunn" his escape was over.
An Air Force story detailing the information was used showing a photo of the former prisoners.
At the award ceremony, his 99 year old widow held the Silver Star citation as she rested in a wheelchair and with a smile on her face, looked back on his feat.
"He was so grateful to have the big bomber come and pick those people up." She said.
COL US Air Force
World War II, Korea, Vietnam
From the Express-News October 18, 2014
Untold Story From WWII Leads To Medal
Lt. Col. James Gunn III didn't want anyone to know what he did in World War II and told his men to keep it that way.
Decades later his story about freeing POW's from the Nazis' grasp in Romania was told.
On Friday October 17, 2014 he was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for one of the more daring exploits of the war.
In August 1944 he slipped away from a Romanian POW camp, got into a cramped fuselage of a German fighter and was flown to Italy, where he told commanders of the of the desperate circumstances of the men at the POW camp.
Days later a daring airlift, Operation Reunion, was mounted, saving 1173 allied prisoners and one Romanian stowaway.
Lt. Col. Gunn was on his 32nd mission when he was shot down during a bombing run near the Ploesti oil field on August 17, 1944. He was seized by a mob of Romanians, taken to the headquarters in Ploesti where he learned that all but one of his crewmen had survived.
He devised a plan to borrow an aircraft to fly to Italy to arrange for the evacuation of the prisoners of war.
Ten days after he was captured, August 27, 1944, he flew the aircraft with a map made on a piece of cardboard, along the Italian shoreline reaching the San Giovannie Airstrip.
They had painted the US flag on the sides of the ME-109's fuselage in hopes friendly gunners would see it and not fire. The British troops spotted the aircraft, but withheld their fire. Later called "Operation Gunn" his escape was over.
An Air Force story detailing the information was used showing a photo of the former prisoners.
At the award ceremony, his 99 year old widow held the Silver Star citation as she rested in a wheelchair and with a smile on her face, looked back on his feat.
"He was so grateful to have the big bomber come and pick those people up." She said.
World War II, Korea, Vietnam
From the Express-News October 18, 2014
Untold Story From WWII Leads To Medal
Lt. Col. James Gunn III didn't want anyone to know what he did in World War II and told his men to keep it that way.
Decades later his story about freeing POW's from the Nazis' grasp in Romania was told.
On Friday October 17, 2014 he was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for one of the more daring exploits of the war.
In August 1944 he slipped away from a Romanian POW camp, got into a cramped fuselage of a German fighter and was flown to Italy, where he told commanders of the of the desperate circumstances of the men at the POW camp.
Days later a daring airlift, Operation Reunion, was mounted, saving 1173 allied prisoners and one Romanian stowaway.
Lt. Col. Gunn was on his 32nd mission when he was shot down during a bombing run near the Ploesti oil field on August 17, 1944. He was seized by a mob of Romanians, taken to the headquarters in Ploesti where he learned that all but one of his crewmen had survived.
He devised a plan to borrow an aircraft to fly to Italy to arrange for the evacuation of the prisoners of war.
Ten days after he was captured, August 27, 1944, he flew the aircraft with a map made on a piece of cardboard, along the Italian shoreline reaching the San Giovannie Airstrip.
They had painted the US flag on the sides of the ME-109's fuselage in hopes friendly gunners would see it and not fire. The British troops spotted the aircraft, but withheld their fire. Later called "Operation Gunn" his escape was over.
An Air Force story detailing the information was used showing a photo of the former prisoners.
At the award ceremony, his 99 year old widow held the Silver Star citation as she rested in a wheelchair and with a smile on her face, looked back on his feat.
"He was so grateful to have the big bomber come and pick those people up." She said.
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