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Coincidences
27 February 1945
Another day of war for the 456th Bomb Group (B-24 Liberator Bombers), located in Southern Italy near the village of Storana. Selected crews of the four squadrons had been briefed and were in the sky overhead forming and gaining altitude.
On the scheduled time they headed north over the Adriatic Sea towards their target (Mission 207), which was rail transportation facilities including the many tracked railroad bridge crossing the Lech River, at Augsburg, Germany.
Hours later the target was in sight and we turned from the initial point toward the target at around 26,000 feet. Huge white bursts of anti-aircraft Flak appeared in our flight path. White bursts, not the usual black bursts told the crews that the Germans were using their biggest Flak guns and not their usual 88mm guns. We knew the killing radius was about twice that of the regular 88’s.
The first squadron dropped their bombs, as did our 745th squadron behind them. Something got my attention and as I looked ahead and off to the right I saw that a B-24 had the tail blown off of it. The front part had dropped off to the right and was spiraling toward the ground. The tail maintained level flight and our squadron was directed away from it so we couldn’t collide. I did not see any parachutes.
The war in Europe would end on 8 May 1945 and soldiers , airmen, and sailors would return to civilian life. I would return to the Army in 1950 and put in enough time to retire by 1968.
Then I would join the civilian workforce for 18 years and finally retire for good. Along the way I became interested in electronics and that became my hobby. On one occasion I picked up a broken computer printer, purchased a repair manual for it and got it up and running. Later I bought a broken computer and repaired it too. A Friend of mine checked out the printer and computer and told me I had them both working. I started to learn how to use this new toy of mine and in time with the help of Friends I knew enough to use it as a word processor.
I decided to put my military career on paper and did so. On 26 January 1995 I finished another story called “FLAK”. In a paragraph toward the end I remembered the B-24 bomber shot in two over Augsburg, Germany.
I would complete my book and call it “The Real Side, World War II & Korea” and thereafter, which was the story of my military career. My World War II stories would find their way on to the 456th Bomb Group web site for the world to read.
On 1 December 2000, a message appeared in the Guest portion of the Bomb Group web site. It was from Jerry Lind saying his Brother Robert had been with the Bomb Group and was shot down over Augsburg, Germany, 27 February 1945. He requested any information from others about that day. I checked my mission assignment sheet and his brother went down on the mission I was on. I checked the 456th BG History Book and the B-24 he was in was the only Group loss that day and it said the plane had gone down when the tail section broke away.
I made contact with Jerry by e-mail and referred him to my story on the web site titled “FLAK” where I described the downing of his Brother’s plane. It was hard to imagine what I had seen that day would mean so much to another person 55 years later.
Jerry is a former Marine and an artist, so he painted a 2 foot by 3 foot painting of his Brother’s plane, and two other B-24’s to represent those who had given him information about that day (Bob Carlin now deceased and me). He gave the painting to the Bomb Group, in memory of his Brother, at the last reunion in Texas.
This past summer Jerry told me he was going to visit the site of our old World War II airstrip in Italy with his son. I e-mailed him the following:
"Have an enjoyable trip and look in the skies overhead, listen, and maybe you will hear the bomber engines and maybe see a glimpse of the vapor trails now attended by Angels looking after your Brother and the others who gave so much, with tears in my eyes. Bob"
Upon his return he e-mailed me the following:
"Bob I stood there at the headquarters building and overlooked the field. I could almost hear the engines of the planes as they took off and thought of what you wrote to me. And as I listened to the bomber engines overhead I could see the vapor trails attended by angels looking after my brother and all the other crews who gave so much as you said. I could see them clearly even through my tear filled eyes. A moment I will never forget as long as I live. I felt a part of it even though I was not there at the time, but because my brother was, it was so very special."
We must remember that there was nine other crew members who died with Robert that day. As a result of that day, ten families would get the notice from the government that said, “We regret to inform you”, and so it would be until the end of World War II.
Jerry did send me a proof of his memorial painting recently, which I have framed and it is now on the wall of my computer room. We are still in touch.
Note: 1956 to 1958, I was stationed in Augsburg, Germany with the 11th Airborne Division. The US Army specialist (a former Hitler Youth) that I used as interpreter, in the Provost Marshal’s Office, had been on the Flak guns that day trying to shoot us down. We became very good Friends.
RWR- 16 November 2001
For many more stories from Bob Reichard, click on this link: Reichard.