Battery Corporal
             Willis S. Cole
                   Military Museum
                             A Non-Profit Corporation, Washington  U.S.A.

      Certified Authenticity!

                  Dual
 Congressional Medal Of Honor
            Bomber Relics!

            Lady Jeannette, B-17G-35VE, SN: 42-97904

        Delivered to the Army Air Force on 1 April, 1944

         Arrived in England, on "D Day," 6 June, 1944

             Crashed on 9 November, 1944, in France

   Four crewmen were killed in the crash, five survived by bailing out.

1st Lt. Donald J. Gott, Pilot, K.I.A., Congressional Medal Of  Honor,
                                                                 G.O. 38, 16 May, 1945
2nd Lt. William E. Metzger, Jr., Co-Pilot, K.I.A., Congressional Medal Of Honor
                                                                                        G.O. 38, 16 May, 1945
2nd Lt. Joseph F. Harms, Bombardier, K.I.A..
2nd Lt. John A. Harland, Navigator, K.I.A..
T/Sgt. Russell W. Gustafson, Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, K.I.A..
T/Sgt. Robert A. Dunlap, Radio Operator, K.I.A.
Sgt. James O. Fross, Ball Turret Gunner, K.I.A..
Sgt. William R. Robbins, Right Waist Gunner, K.I.A..
Sgt. Herman B. Krimminger, Tail Gunner, K.I.A.

                    729th Bombardment Squadron (H)
                      452nd Bombardment Group (H)
                               45th Combat Wing
                                  3rd Air Division
                     8th United States Army Air Force
                          Deopham Green, England
     Other Squadrons of the Group, 728th, 730th & 731st.
                             Mission Number: 162                          
Primary target of the mission of the day, 9 November, 1944,
                           Metz - Thionville, France
         In support of a planned attack by General Patton
452nd Bombardment Group (H) diverted to secondary target:
                           Saarbrucken, Germany

    Four minutes before bomb drop, with its bomb bay door open, the
Lady Jeannette was struck by two FLAK bursts.  The first tore
off the number four engine (outside engine, Co-Pilot's side) clear
back to the edge of the wing.  The engine was forced downward
when it was torn off and its fuel line was bent down, the flowing
fuel, which could not be shut off, caught on fire with flame blowing
back past the bomber's tail.  Seconds later, the second shell burst
below the numbers one and two engines on the Pilot's side.  The
number one engine stopped with its propeller un-feathered, the
number two engine was broken and it lost some power output,
while smoke from it flowed along the flight path.  A piece of the shell
tore through the Flight Engineer's leg, taking out a piece of bone about
an inch long.  Another piece, cut the Radio Operator's leg and cut
through his right arm, just above the wrist, leaving the hand dangling
by a small strip of flesh.  Other pieces, cut many controls and several
entered the Ball Turret, whizzing around and around, with some
small pieces entering the Ball Turret Gunner's head.
    For their heroic efforts in getting the bomber back beyond Allied
lines in an attempt to provide fast medical care for the wounded, the
Pilot and Co-Pilot were awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor.

The museum is preparing certified relics 
recovered from that bomber's crash site
for display!

        The village where the bomber crashed gave the museum permission
to install a memorial to the bomber and its crew at the south end of the
village. 
        Installation was completed on 9 November, 2000, with the ceremony
attended by Jean Metzger Scholfield, the sister of the Co-pilot, and
and several member of the 109th Evac. Hospital.  

    Your donations will all be used to help meet this goal, to update previous
memorials installed, in France, by the museum, such as a new memorial
to 1st Lt. Richard F. Noble, U.S.A.A.F., and P.O. Henri E. DUBE, R.C.A.F.
These two Allied were executed at the village of Olizy, France, on 8 August,
1944, by the Germans, when captured for second time in their attempt to
 reach on-coming Allied troops.  This memorial, was dedicated on the
9th of November, 2000, and two other memorials were dedicated on the
10th of November, 2000.  All four made possible by your donations.

Contact the museum about giving a donation:  ww1@ww1.org

Contact museum about requesting a relic:  ww1@ww1.org

This page last updated:  Friday, April 01, 2005 10:01:51 PM

Webmaster:  ww1@ww1.org