Our Bomber Boy

I've been fortunate to find a lot of information about Granddad's service during World War II. I've found so much information that I'm a bit overwhelmed and happy to finally commit it to written word.

As the US entered the war, there was an intense debate about the ability of heavy bombers. The outcome produced a dangerous over-confidence: heavily-armed bombers on daylight precision bombing missions could penetrate any defense without the support of long-range escort fighters. Unfortunately for thousands and thousands of men this assertion was wildly incorrect.

US Bomber aircraft, left to their own defenses, were easy targets for flack gunners and the German Messerschmitts. Knowing the likelihood of not returning to base from any one mission was understandably debilitating for the bomber crews. As morale became a larger issue, the USAAF leadership instated a 25 mission rule: once an airmen flew 25 combat missions, he was cleared to go home. The number was later raised to 30 and then 35.

I mention this because Mom requested and recieved Granddad's official military record from the Gov. I don't think we were expecting full disclosure (which is good, because we didn't get it) but we did learn that Granddad flew 31 combat missions (!) during the bloodiest period of the war for American heavy bombers. I'll have to double check the dates on those changes…conceivably; granddad was in overtime when he was shot down!?

I never thought the key that would unlock the most information about WWII Granddad was his plane. Granddad was a Navigator aboard B-17 aircraft #41-24352.   Navigators were officers which made Granddad a Lieutenant and third in command aboard his aircraft.  The B-17F Flying Fortress was assigned and delivered to granddad and crew (a.k.a. the 352^nd squadron of the 301^st bombardment group of the 8th Air Force) at RAF Chelveston in July, 1942.  Granddad flew his first 5 missions with the 8th Air Force.

 

The relationship between crew and plane didn't start out so well. In August, '42 aircraft #41-24352 made an emergency landing at an unfinished Earls Colne Airfield in Essex, England.  Be sure to check-out the Wikipedia link for Earls Colne. In the last paragraph of the Origins section, look for Granddad's plane #. J Fortunately, the relationship later improved.

Matthew found how aircraft #41-24352 eventually became the Holey Joe.  The story below and the location of Earls Colne seem to make sense.  Dover, England is 70 miles Southeast of Essex, England.

"The plane earned its nickname during a raid on Lille, after which the bomber had to make an emergency landing at an airstrip near the Cliffs of Dover with two dead engines and two wounded crew. After surveying the damage their ship had absorbed, one of the crew exclaimed, "Holey Joe!" The name stuck."

In the following picture, A is Essex; B is Dover; and C is Lille.  Other crews flew the Holey Joe but the primary crew was granddad and team.

301bg.com is a website that does a better job of documenting the history of the 301^st Bomb Group than any other source. The site has details about many of the missions flown by the group. I was able to find flight information for three of granddad's combat missions. How's this for surreal? 1, 2, 3. Or:

  

It looks like his regular crew consisted of James Hair (Pilot), Lonnie Miers (Co-Pilot), Emmet Cook (Bombardier), Louis Patriquin, William Garratt, Woolsey, Robert Doremus, Andrew Seaman, and Douglas Upton.  We understand that Granddad and Emmet were close friends.

In November, 1942 Granddad and crew were transferred to North Africa to join Operation Torch under the command of General Doolittle.  On March 22, 1943, Granddad's 26th birthday, the day's target was the harbor at Palermo, Italy.  On that day the Holey Joe had been grounded due to mechanical problems. Instead, they were flying Junior, a newer plane that had been assigned only one month earlier to the squadron based at Ain M'Lila Airfield in Algeria.

At top speed, the B-17F moved just about 300 miles per hour.  Palermo is 401 miles from Ain M'Lila.  Once unleashed, it would have taken Junior and crew certainly no more than 90 minutes to reach their destination.

I wonder if the crew celebrated birthdays?  Probably.  Had they hit the bars the night before? Probably not.  Were they planning an extra celebration for that night? I don't think bomber boys planned beyond the next mission.  Did anyone say, "Happy Birthday, Yonych, we got you a new plane?"

During the raid, Junior was hit by flack and broke apart.  Granddad never talked about it. Any of it. We found a couple of descriptions from Emmet Cook's family members. Here's the first one:

"I was shot down on my 32nd mission, over Palermo, Sicily," Emmet said. "We were hit by flak between the number 2 engine and the fuselage and the fuel tank caught fire. I pulled the emergency release cable that was supposed to pull out the lower hatch door's hinge pins, but it wouldn't budge. I then released the regular latch and stood on the door, trying to use my weight to push it open and I got it open, but because of the force of the slipstream, it didn't open far enough for me to get out. At that moment, the wing burned off and the plane went into a spin. I was pinned against the deck and the plane exploded and I found myself out in the air. Five of the crew didn't make it out."

And the second one:

The day's mission was a raid on the harbor at Palermo Italy. Emmet said, "Our crew was with the 352d Squadron of the 301st Bomb Group flying out of North Africa. [The raid] on shipping at the Palermo, Sicily Harbor...was my 32nd mission. Several ammo ships were blown out of the harbor."

Junior and several of her crew would not survive the raid on Palermo. The B-17 was hit by flak. The bomber's left wing caught fire and eventually tore-off, sending the plane into a spin. Five men including the pilot, co-pilot, engineer, radio operator and ball turret gunner were trapped and perished in the crash.

Both Emmet and Granddad were captured after being shot down and detained by the Germans at Stalag Luft III in Zagan, Poland. He was held captive for over two years.

Mom says that Granddad didn't directly participate in the great escape, but he did contribute bed slats that were used to reinforce the tunnels.  These pictures were taken approximately one month after being shot down and captured. They came from the second link of Emmet's above. Can you see Granddad?

…answer: he's on the far right in the first picture. Emmet is on the far left. I'm the only one that thinks he's in the second picture: fourth person from the right with his hands on hips.  As a sidenote, I've learned that Stalag Luft III is probably less than 500 miles from the birthplaces of both Granddad's parents.

On January 27, 1945, the Allied forces were closing-in on Stalag Luft III and Hitler ordered that those detainees be moved to Moosburg. They were moved by foot over 80 miles during a blizzard before being loaded onto trains for the remainder of journey. The trip took over a week. ...one of many horrible memories that Granddad bared silently.  Granddad and the other POWs were eventually liberated by General George S. Patton (Granddad was proud of this).  Among other medals, he was awarded the Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster.


EDIT: I got a comment from Aunt Gerry this afternoon that I'd like to attach to this post:

DAVID - didn't know writing/blogging was one of your many talents!!! Really enjoyed reading about your research on the Yonyches - the crew records show two other friends of Grandad and Grammy (she met them at the POW reunions) - Doug Upton and Ned Woolsey. Also - Grandad did know that Mama and Papa came from towns that were "close" to each other so although 100 miles sounds far to me - he thought it interesting that they could have met back in the old country (possibly) if they hadn't migrated to the USA. Thanks for researching & sharing with us all. Love you! Gerry

Just for the record, I have a remarkably short list of talents.  Thank you for the comment and the contribution!  ...without some reaction from my readers(?), blogging feels awefully lonesome.

Wasyl & Maria

Following Granddad's funeral, I came home with a newfound interest in my genealogy. A few clicks around Ancestry.com only fueled my fascination. It didn't take long before I had completed the family tree to the level of my immediate great grandparents. In total, I've gone back as far as 1812 on my father's side. On my mother's side, I'm limited by the families' more recent immigration to the US. Nonetheless, I can track my lineage through my mom back to the second half of the 1800's.

Considering the source of this interest, it's no surprise that I shortly found my way into one of the thickest books I've ever read, Masters of the Air by Donald Miller. Certainly a healthy dose of appreciation is due to both Miller and Ancestry.com. Then again, I pay for both…so let's call it even.

I didn't know very much about pre D-day (David-day) Granddad Yonych: farm hand, navigator, POW, swimmer, won't go to bed hungry, rumors of a legendary temper (although I was never in his crosshairs), married for life, and only a handful of other things. Enter Ancestry.com…

Born in 1917, Granddad was one of 5 siblings born to Wasyl Janecz and Maria Sobecka. Wasyl and Maria immigrated from Central Europe to the US. Wasyl arrived in New York on August 6, 1913 from Cuxhaven, Germany at age 28. Maria arrived in New York on May 31, 1914 from Hamburg, Austria at age 19.  During this period, the geo-politicol temperature of the region was certainly "hot".  Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914 officially signalling the start of World War I.  I can imagine that inhabitants of the region could sense the build-up of tension.  I wonder if Maria and Wasyl were fleeing the region to escape the impending doom?

On May 21^st, 1914 Maria Sobecka departed Hamburg, Germany aboard the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. Her hometown is listed as Litowicz, Austria. However, my intelligence team tells me that is incorrect.  Maria was born in Brody, Ukraine.  Hamburg is 820 miles away from Brody which is 560 miles away from Stalag Luft III. Traveling in fourth class, steerage, she arrived at Ellis Island ten days later. Here is her passenger record from the Ellis Island Foundation. This is a useful reference because you can clearly see her arrival information and the ship manifest. Maria was single when she arrived. She lists 'agricultural day laborer' as her occupation on the Hamburg Passenger Lists of 1850-1934. Here's a picture on file of the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. The ship was later the subject of an unfortunate retirement in approximately 1930. Lots more pictures and information about this ship can be found by searching for ship Kaiserin Auguste Victoria.

The New York Passenger Lists, 1820 – 1957 shows that Maria was detained upon entry to the US. This was fairly common for women traveling without men. "These women could not be admitted without assurance that someone would care for and protect them." The record shows that she was detained with her cousin (Tekla Bojoun) for a short period of time. Comparing the number of meals served to Tekla and Maria makes me think that Tekla was detained for a slightly longer period than Maria. Alternately, she might have lost her appetite or been ill…your guess is as good as mine. As best I can determine, they were only detained for one night:

1. Tekla was served only one dinner and one breakfast
2. I've seen both 5/6 and 5/7 recorded as Maria's date of arrival at Ellis Island.  Perhaps Maria arrived on 5/6 and cleared immigration on 5/7.

On the other hand, perhaps it's just a convenient reconciliation. At the end of the day, both Maria and Tekla were en route to Maria's sister, Anna Sobecka. Anna's, address is listed as 128 Ridge St, New York, NY. Interestingly enough, mom recalls that Granddad grew up on Ridge Street. Presumably, Wasyl and Maria settled within walking distance of one another. I don't know for certain, but this might be the building where Granddad spent some (or most) of his childhood. Here's what it looks like today.

Wasyl Janecz boarded the Imperator in Cuxhaven, Germany on July 30, 1913. The manifest shows Wasyl's hometown to be Rameuka (?).  However, Granddad has gone on record saying that Wasyl was born in Rava-Russkaya.  Based on Granddad's testimony, Wasyl and Maria were born only 100 miles apart.  Like Maria and Tekla, Wasyl passed through Ellis Island. His passenger records can be found here. Wasyl was one of the first passengers aboard the Imperator. Its maiden voyage was June 20, 1913. More images of the ship, interior and exterior, can be found here.

The ships manifest, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, shows that he traveled in the steerage class, was in good health, 5' 6" tall, arrived with $45, and was…married? But married to whom? Let the scandal begin! J I've found two sources that say Wasyl was married upon arrival at Ellis Island: The New York Passenger List and the Ellis Island Passenger Record.

Here's where it gets even more interesting. In this image from the aforementioned manifest; what do those two highlighted words say? Is the first word wife? And is the second word Tekla? Could the third word on the same line be the (in)correct or alternate spelling for Boujon?

Whatever the mystery, it'll remain secret now. I can't find any more information about Tekla and the 1930 US Census shows that Mary and William married and are the parents of granddad. I also see that, by 1930, Wasyl and Maria did their best to Americanize themselves: Wasyl became William and Janecz became Yonych.

***** Update - 6/29/2012 *****

While I was on Ellis Island, the folks in the library straightened me out (a little bit).  Turns out that the writer just got the lines mixed-up.  They wrote Wasyl's information on the entry above and vice versa.

The column header reads, "The name and complete address of the nearest relative or friend in country from whence alien came."  For Wasyl, the information reads, "brother: Alecksy Janecz, Rameuka."  The passengers name that is listed above Wasyl reads Nikolay Bochauka.  Presumably, this is the husband of Tekla (the woman who Maria was traveling with).

Boston in Winter

And just like that, winter has arrived.

Part of the fun of living in Boston is getting to know the city.  I learned a few things about Boston over the last couple of days.

1. Boston roads get WAY more love from the plows than any road in the burbs. 
2. if you are an out-of-towner or don't own ice skates, then you visit the frog pond (in all of its glory) during operating hours.  BUT, if you're a true Bostonian, then you own your skates (duh) and, once the sun goes down, you head over to the pond at the Public Gardens to skate on the naturally chilled ice.
3. the snow cloud layer traps the light from the city.  Nighttime during a snow storm is curiously bright.
4. the snow absorbs a lot of the Boston noise leaving making room for sounds that are typically drowned out.  That's nothing new...but, the only consistent sound through the Boston streets was the sound of the blizzardy winds hitting and deflecting around the John Hancock Tower.  It was like a passenger jet heard from the same distance.  ...really kinda spooky.  You can't help but hope the engineers designed for blizzardy wind loads.