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Louis Anderson

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After an unusual mission which had them landing in Russia, the B-17 unit headed to a Italy for a short stay. Louis Anderson relates just how much he was impressed with Italy. He was glad to return to Diss, his home base in England where he got something he'd always wanted, a ride in a P-51. (6:52)

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Louis Anderson describes the incredible sight of the Normandy landing from his vantage high above in a B-17. His mission was to hit targets of opportunity inland. In the Ruhr Valley, his plane was nearly incinerated when delayed fuses caused bombs from the preceding flight to explode giant fuel tanks right as they passed over. (3:49)

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For some reason, all the officers in the B-17 outfit got the Distinguished Flying Cross, but none of the enlisted men did. That made no difference to Louis Anderson. Neither did his rank, which remained Staff Sergeant for the duration. Back home, after telling him he was crazy, they tried to get him to stay in and fly B-29's. (4:15)

Louis Breitenbach

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Louis Breitenbach was drafted in 1942 and trained as a flight engineer on a B-17 crew. His training before he crossed the Atlantic was in gunnery, but once the crew arrived in England, they practiced emergency procedures, like bailing out over the frigid North Sea. (6:50)

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He was on his thirteenth mission, on the way to bomb an aircraft factory. Louis Breitenbach tells how the B-17 was pummeled by flak and enemy fighters and turned to try to make it home to England. They didn't make it, but they managed a crash landing in Holland without casualties. (3:01)

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It was every man for himself. The order for downed airmen was to split up and scatter and that's exactly what Louis Breitenbach and the rest of his crew did after crash landing in Holland. Soon he was picked up by the Underground and hosted in family homes, eventually moving into Belgium in a hidden compartment in a peddler's truck. (6:12)

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They evaded the Germans for months, hiding with families and in a church, but time ran out for the downed airmen. Louis Breitenbach and several others awoke one morning to see German soldiers setting up a sweep of the area. They knew there was no escape. (6:17)

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After his capture, B-17 Flight Engineer Louis Breitenbach was punched by a German officer who was angered by the air war his side was losing. Settled into a prison camp, he witnessed the cruelty of a particular commander who mistreated prisoners. The advance of the Russian Army caused the Germans to move the prisoners to different camps. (4:31)

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The camp had several barriers, mostly different configurations of barbed wire, but the inner barrier was a simple small wooden rail. If you crossed that, you got one yell and then it was machine gun fire. Louis Breitenbach describes the routine of the prisoners and the stern old Commandant, a strict military man. (4:42)

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They were always hungry. Former Prisoner of War Louis Breitenbach details the food situation in the German camp for downed flyers. There were ingenious desserts made from Red Cross parcel items, but the dinners served by their captors were much less appetizing. Since he did not smoke, the cigarettes from his share of the parcels gave him plenty of the local currency. (7:20)