This dramatic photo and the one below show the final moments in the lives of ten Airmen on Whizzer II (SN 42-5786), a B-17F Flying Fortress. She and her crew were assigned to the 840th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy). On April 15th, 1944, the Fifteenth Air Force – flying out of bases around Foggia, Italy – launched multiple strikes against German rail facilities in Yugoslavia.
448 B-17s and B-24s went out that day, and the 840th was part of the force attacking the marshaling yards at Nis, Serbia. 2nd Lt. James O. Preston served as the aircraft commander for Whizzer II on this, his crew’s third mission.
The attackers began their bomb run a few minutes before 12:30 pm. The formation crossed the Initial Point at twenty nautical miles northwest of the target. From this spot until bombs away, the Fortresses were guided by the bombardiers. The crews could not take evasive action as their Norden bombsights tracked toward the target.
As the Fortresses neared the target in Nis, they came within range of the German antiaircraft batteries defending the the airfield just northwest of the city. As the lead bombers flew within range, the enemy gunners opened up. One heavy Flak crew scored a direct hit on Whizzer II near the right aft wing wing root, causing the right wing to break away from the mortally wounded Fortress.
No chutes from the stricken Fort
The big bomber went into an steep dive, still flying toward the target. As the formation crossed the aiming point, Whizzer II banked sharply to the right and fell away from the formation.The ship burned fiercely, and flames trailed behind her. None of the crew made it out of their doomed Fortress. Whizzer II was the first combat loss suffered by the 840th Bombardment Squadron.
The report
After the surviving Fortresses returned to base, the squadron adjutant compiled a missing aircraft crew report (MACR). This was a standard report used throughout the Army Air Forces in World War II. It included information of the missing aircraft and crew, witness statements, sketch maps, etc. MACR 42-5786 was filed for Whizzer II’s shootdown.
The report contained two short witness statements. 1st Lt. Alpha Fowler was flying aboard another B-17 in the same formation as Whizzer II. He wrote:
2nd Lt. Len Koutnik flew aboard another B-17 near Whizzer II in the formation. He wrote:
The sketch map below accompanied the crew report. As displayed here, south is generally at the top of the sketch.
The fallen Airmen
Almost nothing is known of the German effort to recover the crew. It must have been a sad task that confronted their soldiers at the crash site. They recovered and recorded the remains of nine Airmen they found, one of whom they were unable to identify. After identification, they buried the crew in a cemetery in Nis.
The German Air Force command at Nis compiled the list below to account for the crewmen and forwarded it to their administrative headquarters. One was burned beyond recognition. The other crewman remained missing since the German only accounted for nine of the crew. They were 2nd Lt. Preston, and crew chief Staff Sgt. John Toutant.
The Germans had unknowingly buried Staff Sgt. Toutant’s remains with those from two of his crew mates. In 1948, all of Whizzer II’s fallen Airmen were accounted for and repatriated to American control for re-burial. American authorities were able to confirm the identities of both missing Airmen using records the Germans did not have access to. These were likely dental x-rays, and specific information in the MACR.
The aircraft commander goes home for the last time
Perhaps the story of 2nd Lt. John Preston can represent all of his buddies who went down with their Fortress. His body was shipped home to Ohio in June 1949, a few months before what would have been his 28th birthday. He lay in state in the family church, and was buried in Leesville Cemetery on June 19th, 1949.
James Preston had less than one year’s service when he was killed on April 15th, 1944. In a single, shattering moment, he was trapped with his crew in an unrecoverable crash dive. At the age of 21, he carried an incredible weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
There is no way to know what happened in the few short seconds between the moment that the Flak round his Whizzer II and the crash. But one thing is without question. 2nd Lt. James Preston and his crew died at their positions, fulfilling the duty of their country.
A close family friend named Mrs. Cora Bower composed a special poem for James. Her eloquent and heartfelt words echo still across the generations. They speak for all of the young men who gave everything for freedom’s cause:
Cover him over.
Yes, cover him over with beautiful flowers.
This hero of ours.
Lying so silent by night and by day.
Sleeping the years of his manhood away.
Under the sod and the dew, waiting for judgment day.
Cover him over, yes, cover him over.
Deck him with beautiful flowers.
This hero of ours. (1)
Mrs. Cora Bowers died on the morning of James’ funeral service.
I would like to close this story with a passage from Ernie Pyle, the G.I. journalist of World War II:
That is our war and we will carry it with us as we go on from one battleground to another until it is all over, leaving some of us behind on every beach, in every field. … Medals and speeches and victories are nothing to them any more. They died and others lived and nobody knows why it is so. They died and thereby, the rest of us can go on and on. When we leave here for the next shore, there is nothing we can do for the ones beneath the wooden crosses, except perhaps to pause and murmur, “Thanks, pal”” (2)
Never forget,
Mark
Notes:
- I am indebted to the staff at Ancestry.com and Fold3.com. Missing Aircraft Crew Report 42-5786 is archived in their database and I relied heavily on this document to write this story. The poem by Mrs. Bowers and photo of 2nd lt. preston’s coffin are found in the search results for his name.
- The cited passage is from page 304 of Here is Your War by Ernie Pyle. Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 1943.