Daniel L Culler
MilitaryHit by flak after bombing the target of Friedrichshafen, GR on 18 Mar 1944, B-24H #42-7618 'Scourge of the Skies' headed towards Switzerland and landed at Dubendorf.
Culler was interned and detained at Adelboden internment camp. On 12 May 1944, he along with some colleagues attempted to escape, but after eating some unfamiliar berries which made him sick and he was forced to return to the camp the same night.
Upon return to Adelboden, Culler he was subjected to strict arrest for 10 days before being transferred to Wauwilermoos to await military tribunal for attempted escape. At Wauwilermoos Culler was subjected to horrific conditions and repeated sexual abuse by camp staff, which he described in his memoir: the Black Hole of Wauwilermoos, in 1995.
50 years after his detention, Swiss President, Kaspar Villager personally apologised to Culler for his treatment during the Second World War.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Scourge of the Skies
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 66th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Other
- Known as: Straflager Wauwilermoos
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Syracuse, Indiana, USA | 22 March 1924 | |
Other Interned (INT) |
Switzerland | 18 March 1944 | |
Died |
24 April 2016 |
Revisions
History of Wauwilermoos on Lagota blog - please be aware this link contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.
Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography" - βtheβ was misspelled.
Added S/N per MACR 3982 at Fold3.com. Source: https://www.fold3.com/image/28621870
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3982 / MACR 3982, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database