IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers WOLFGANG W. E. SAMUEL COLONEL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (RETIRED) FOREWORD BY JAMES F. TENT UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI / JACKSON www.upress.state.ms.us The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Copyright © 2015 by University Press of Mississippi All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing 2015 ∞ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Samuel, Wolfgang W. E. In defense of freedom : stories of courage and sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces flyers / Wolfgang W.E. Samuel, Colonel, United States Air Force (Retired) ; foreword by James F. Tent. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-62846-217-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-62674-594-0 (ebook) 1. World War, 1939– 1945—Personal narratives, American. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Aerial operations, American. 3. United States. Army Air Forces—Biography. 4. Air pilots, Military—United States—Biography. 5. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns. I. Title. D790.2.S26 2015 940.54’49730922—dc23 2014045127 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available Dedicated to the young men of the United States Army Air Forces who flew into the face of fear to free our world from tyranny. When they finished their work, in spite of horrific losses, the Empire of the Rising Sun was history, as was Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Their courage and sacrifice helped make possible the world we now live in. We owe them great thanks for what they accomplished and the sacrifices they made for you and me. CONTENTS Terms and Abbreviations Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction Robert P. Walker—Mosquito/C-54/B-66/Test Pilot RCAF, 8th Air Force David M. Taylor—B-17/C-54/C-47 8th Air Force Charles P. Johnson—B-17 8th Air Force POW StalagLuft I, Barth, Germany Byron A. Dobbs Jr.—P-38/F-5/B-26 5th Air Force POW Korea Edgar E. McElroy—B-25 5th Air Force One of Doolittle’s Raiders Robert S. Hamill—B-25/C-54/KC-97 12th Air Force Russell B. Witte Jr.—B-25/Test Pilot Western Desert Air Force 9th/12th Air Force Charles E. Schreffler—P-38/F-51 12th Air Force Kenneth O. Chilstrom—A-36/Me 262/Test Pilot 12th Air Force Robert M. Slane—B-17/B-26/B-47E 8th Air Force POW StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany Harold R. Austin—C-54/RB-45C/RB-47E In Pilot Training When War Ended Joseph J. Gyulavics—B-29/RB-47H In Navigator Training When War Ended Samuel E. Pizzo—B-17/RB-47H/A-12 15th Air Force Marion C. Mixson—B-24/RB-45C/RB-47H/U-2 15th Air Force Bernard T. Nolan—B-24/B-17 8th Air Force Robert J. Anspach—P-47/Me 262/Fw 190/F-86 1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional) Lloyd M. N. Wenzel—P-38/F-86 9th Air Force Frederick B. McIntosh—P-47/Fw 190/TA 152/Ju 290 9th Air Force Roy W. Brown—P-47/Me 262 12th Air Force 1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional) Albert S. Tucker—P-38/F-80/Gloster Meteor 8th Air Force POW StalagLuft I, Barth, Germany Robert A. Hoover—Spitfire/Fw 190/Test Pilot/Barnstormer 15th Air Force POW StalagLuft I, Barth, Germany Frederick Leiby—B-17 15th Air Force POW StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany Arthur E. Exon—P-40/P-47 9th Air Force POW StalagLuft III Sagan, Germany Robert C. Strobell—P-47/Me 262 8th Air Force Chasten L. Bowen—B-17 8th Air Force POW Buchenwald Concentration Camp, StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany Charles E. Myers Jr.—B-25/F9F/Test Pilot 5th Air Force James F. Setchell—Mosquito/F-5 12th Air Force Thoughts about Sacrifice and a Terrible War—The Cost of Victory Notes Interviews and Photographs Bibliography Index