This is so cool! The person mentioned was the only crewman from my Uncles B-17 crew that I have no info on untill now!
Dear Mr. Enlow
My name is Tom Allingham. I am a Captain in the US NAVY, Medical Corps. I was having a slow day and was doing a Google search on my family tree and came on to the website for the Hells Bells tribute page. Walter E. Hermanau was my mother’s older brother. I never knew him. He too was KIA over France I believe in 1944. I do have a clipping at home of my Grandfather accepting his Purple Heart medal. I could not be prouder of the job these men did or the sacrifices they made. I hope this helps to fill in any gaps. Take care and God Bless.
I can appreciate your joy over finding out more about your Uncle’s crew after all these years. I had gotten a phone call about 7 years ago from the nephew of my Dad’s best friend KIA in New Guinea in WW II. I finally met all the Mollbergs at their Family Reunion last Aug in Baudette, MN. I was named after Melvin Mollberg. Just this week I was digging though a box of old aviation pictures I had taken and came across a small black and white picture with three guys in khaki pants and white t-shirts. One was Dad with Melvin and another fellow. It’s the only picture I have of them together! Before I knew what Melvin looked like I had thought it was just some guys from “work” after WW II. His sister Mildred gave me a Cetificate of Honor given the family in honor of Melvin’s sacrifice and it is signed by Gen. Hap Arnold. What a treasure! Too bad my father passed away in 1989. I think my meeting the Mollbergs would have relieved him of some of his “survivor’s guilt”.
Those guys sure gave us all something to be proud of. My Grandfather was in the Army. He served in the Pacific I think. He has been dead for over a decade now, he never really liked to talk about the war much, so I never got to know to much. All I know is he was a SSGT and I think he diffused bombs or something. I am not quite sure but I think that is what he did. This world can never forget the sacrifices that those boys made over six decades ago or we will be unfortunate enough to repeat the problems that led the world to two castistrophic world wars. WE CAN NEVER FORGET.
To all who served in any country may you rest in peace. Amen.
Maybe it’s a little off topic but I feel to tell this story:
One of my grandfathers was a prefect in Austria. He never joined the NSDAP and was contantly under control for that. Once he was ordered to gather some peasants (I suppose jews) in a barn. What he wasn’t told, but somehow he found out, was that the barn would have been burned down with all the civilians.
For refusing to execute this order and informing the people of this threat, he and his pregnant wife (my grandmother) were transfered to Poland where they had a hard time for almost five years. I never understood why he wasn’t executed, but I’m thankful it didn’t happen.
Towards the end of the war he was recalled to Austria and forced to enlist in the Wehrmacht, but he served as a soldier only for a short time since the war ended soon.
My grandfather never recieved awards or similar for his deed but the gratest thank to him was seeing some of the people who were to be killed after the war.
Yes Thank you Avus! A very heart warming story indeed!
I wish I knew what German village my Uncle landed in…It would be cool to find some family members that remember thier Grandfather telling stories about hiding a U.S. airman in his potato celler for two weeks and then getting him safely to France.
I’m sure that there are tons of heroic stories of People helping People all over Europe during world war two.
Not all German folk were Nazi’s…in fact very few were. mostly just a bunch of scared and tired people trying to survive.
my neighbor (he moved a few years ago) served in vienam or somewhere around there during vienam, and i remember one of his stories were they were coming out of some helicoptors under heavy fire, and one of his friends got really angry when he got hit in the backpack and the bullet hit his last can of canadian beer.[:D]
And this year a WWII vet came to our school. he served in Italy. one time they were suppose to loop around behind the germans and cut them off from being resuplied, but they went to far noth and were taken prisoner by a large group of retreating germans. very interesting story. He was later rescued by a american division lead by Patton. this guy hated Patton and said he was a show off[:p]