29 Mar High Noon over Haseluenne
(2009) High Noon over Haseluenne: The 100th Bombardment Group over Berlin March 6, 1944 by Luc Dewez and Michael P. Faley is the detailed story of the life of one bomber group on one day. March 6th was the day of the 8th AF’s first large-scale attack on Germany’s capital.
March 6th was the day of my Dad’s final mission on the Liberty Lady, albeit from a different bomber group, the 306th.
This is a highly informative, very personal chronology of each crew of the 100th BG that flew out of RAF Thorpe Abbots. It was on this day that this group solidified the right to be called “The Bloody Hundredth.” Haseluenne is the city just inside the Germany border where the most devastating air battle took place.
I am mesmerized by the stories of the boys who flew to Berlin that day. Just one example … Waist gunner Owen D. Stockton was the only crew member to survive when his B-17 broke up. After the tail gunner was killed, Stockton climbed back into the tail to watch the rear. Then the tail broke off with the gunner in it! He landed in some trees and survived the fall although his back was broken in two places. He spent almost a year in a German hospital, then went to a POW camp for the rest of the war. His wife said that he never got over the fact that he was the only member of the crew to make it. That and back problems plagued him for the rest of his life.
We can never thank our veterans enough.
High Noon over Haseluenne: The 100th Bombardment Group over Berlin, March 6,1944 at amazon.com
Google
Larry
Posted at 19:50h, 29 SeptemberI had the pleasure of working with Owen many years ago at GE Aviation in Evendale Ohio. He was a great guy to work with and loved kidding around – one of our country’s many heros who served during WWII.
Pat DiGeorge
Posted at 20:11h, 29 SeptemberLarry, thank you so much for your comment. I was so touched by his story. And it was only one of them …
Pat DiGeorge
Posted at 15:17h, 18 JanuaryA wonderful email I received after writing this post: Owen Stockton was my great grandfather from my grandmother’s side. Even though I never met him when he was alive, I heard he was a kind man with a great sense of humor. I can see a part of him in all his children, grandchildren, and even his great grandchildren.
Thank you for including his story in your blog. I know my family has passed the story down for generations, but it’s amazing to actually see it written on paper, let alone online.
As my mother says, a thousand tiny strokes of luck, and we all get to be born.