Luck
Sometimes one wonders about the accuracy of some of the incredible stories told by veterans. It's difficult to believe that men could suvive some of the situations in the stories. Obviously, not every story is entirely true and sometimes veterans may embellish events. However, it's important to remember that remarkable events do sometimes happen in war.
The following is a summary of a few of the remarkable events in the history of the 301st Bomb Group, Who Fears?, The 301st in War and Peace, 1942-1979 by Kenneth P. Werrel, printed by Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.
1. Page 108-109
On December 29th, 1944 the 301st attacked the marshalling yards at Innsbruck, Austria. First Lieutenant Lyle Pearson was flying a new B-17 with the 419th Squadron. The Pilot and Bomardier were on their 50th and last flight. Just before the IP they came under fire from anti-aircraft guns located near the Brenner Pass. The plane was hit in the lower turret and the bomb bay, which started a fire. The plane went into a steep bank and the right wing and the tail tore off. Crewmen in other planes saw the crippled plane hit a mountain and explode. They did not see any parachutes.
Almost half of the crew miraculously survived. Arthur Frechette regained consciousness just seconds before he hit the ground without a parachute. He impaced on a steep slope with about two feet of snow and survived with a broken right arm, a sprained right ankle, a smashed kneecap, and various bruises and contusions.
Sam Wheeler, the co-pilot, was thrown from the plane without a parachute. As he fell, he grabbed a falling parachute, which he managed to put on and deploy before hitting the ground.
2. Page 68
On a mission of January 11, 1944 a number of planes from the 301st and the 97th Bomb Group collided while flying a mission to Piraeus Harbor, Greece. As a result of the collision, the tail of a B-17 from the 353rd Squadron was severed from the plane, trapping the tail gunner in it. The tail gunner, James Raley, miraculously survived. He said he remembered spinning all the way to the ground before it laned in a group of pine trees. Only after he opened the bulkhead door did he realize that the rest of the plane was missing. The tail gunner was the only survivor from his plane, the rest were killed in the crash.
3. Of course, for every lucky person who miraculously survives, there are probably dozens who do not live to tell their story. Often in war, the end comes because a soldier or airman just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, the crewmen in the B-17 in the following photos probably never knew what happened to them.
a. Photo 1
b. Photo 2
c. Photo 3
Copyright 2007 by Dan Oja