Museum's military tribute wall
In the later part of last year, I was notified that a close friend had passed away. He and I had met at work, developed a good relationship, and by the time that we retired often met for lunch with our wives, helped each other on many home projects and shared a bit of beer.
It after he passed, I discovered that during his Vietnam War service, he had earned a Bronze Star. But, he was a person who modestly recalled his military service and gallantry as a small part of his life. My father was another such man, he served in the Air Corps during WWII and thought of his time served as only necessary. There are many such modest men and women of this area whose military service stories are little known, but are all tales of efforts that seem much more than only necessary. One of these outstanding stories is of Fred H. Jones.
At the beginning of WWII the US Air Corps developed a small bomber called the B-24 Liberator. A four-engine plane that carried eight in the flight crew. It could carry a heavy load and was maneuverable at very low altitudes. The first flight unit was activated at McDill Field in Florida in 1942. Later, after a short assignment in England, Squadron 67 of the 44th Bomb Group was stationed in the country of Libya, Africa, to support the invasion of Italy. Lieutenant Jones began his war here as pilot - flying nine missions, bombing Italian railyards and airfields.
On August 1, 1943 Jones would participate in one of the most consequential assaults of the war at Ploesti, Romania. At the time, Ploesti was the oil refinery center of Europe, holding 20% of Nazi oil reserves. To destroy these reserves, a massive airstrike against the heavily defended region was laid out under the name Operation Tidal Wave.
The 67th Squadron left Libya and flew northeast across Greece into Romania. The plan was to come in low as a second of several waves behind the heavy bombers. One returning plane was famously documented as having corn stalks hanging from the bomb-bay doors. Many flights however were not lucky enough to return, eleven of the thirty-seven crews. Jones' was the second plane hit.
Flight Engineer Sgt. Leo Spann recalled, "We approached the target down the railroad track at a very low altitude of about 100 feet. Our target was already on fire as some other group had already bombed it. We went through the smoke and fire, dropping our bombs on the designated spot. We then went down on the deck as low as we could, as the picturesque haystacks opened up and then revealed their guns – and these guns started giving us hell. They shot out the #4 engine and a shell exploded between the two waist-gun positions, wounding both gunners in the legs. I was the engineer and operated the top turret and I had a complete view of what was going on. I saw one plane that had gone in with the wheels up in a field and all of the crew was outside of the plane. We broke one balloon cable and I was looking directly at it when we collided with it. I saw another B-24 climb straight up until it stalled and just as it 'fell out', I saw one parachute come out and open just before it hit the ground."
As the aircraft tried to gain altitude, fighters fell upon it. Of the attacking fighters, four were downed by fire from Jones' crew. After escaping the fighters, with the plane now badly damaged, the crew began throwing out everything, including guns, ammunition and equipment in an effort to clear the approaching mountains of Greece. Successful in clearing the mountains, the plane would later lose a second engine as it approached the ocean. Struggling for another forty-five minutes, Jones could no longer keep her flying, the plane went into the sea about 6 pm. Records would later credit Jones with saving his crew in the first recorded B-24 landing at sea without the loss of life, or even serious injury.
The plane ditched about thirty miles south of the island of Corfu off the coast of Greece and the crew escaped into rafts. At about three pm the next day, an Italian sea-plane retrieved the crew, who were then delivered to a hospital in the town of Brindisi, Italy. Jones and four crewmen were not seriously injured. They were soon sent to a former monastery that had been converted to a prison in the nearby mountains, thus ending their story as flyers and beginning the story of POWs.
The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society tries to remember men and women such as Mr. Jones through our display of veterans' photos. Mr. Fischer would be glad to help add your family member, call us. The ASHS Museums are open each Saturday, nine rooms of local history displays. Bring the family, show the kids.
