Kenneth Alfred Green
Military398th.org
Assigned to 603BS, 398BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x missions. ETD
Awards: AM (4OLC), GC, WWII Victory, EAME (4 x Battle Stars).
"Extract from Kenneth A Green's diary (courtesy of the 398th).
Mission: Ludwigshaven, Germany (again)
We did not have good results previously. We bombed the same chemical works at 26,000 feet. The temperature was –44 degrees. We encountered much heavier flak this time. It was very intense and deadly accurate. My buddy, Don Colbert, the tail gunner was killed instantly by flak. We had number four engine shot out, and the pilot feathered it. Then the number 2 engine failed, but the pilot could not feather it. We were losing altitude when our oxygen system was shot out. The pilot put the plane in a dive. We hooked-up to portable oxygen bottles. The pilot levelled the plane at 16,000 feet. The pilot had ordered us to bailout, but then number 2 engine picked up a little, and he was able to hold a little better altitude.
Then I went back to see if Colbert was all right, as he was not answering our interphone checks. I removed my parachute, oxygen mask, and flak suit. I then hurried thru the tail section. Colbert was dead when I got there. Lucas came back later, and tried to revive him by breaking the cap off an oxygen bottle and placing it in his mouth. He had no pulse, nor color. We did not want to give up on him, so we dragged him back to the waist and covered him. We had to get back to monitoring the tail guns in case of a rear attack by enemy fighters. We were lucky that no fighters appeared.
We limped back and crossed the English Channel, after we had taken a vote whether to go for home or land in France. We had lost the formation over the target. Good pilot Hastings brought the plane home on 2-1/2 engines, and with 150 flak holes. We had 5 Tokyo fuel ranks hit, but miraculously had the fuel to make it home. We bombed the target visually, and the Germans gunners also saw us visually. We all kissed the ground when we landed, except Don. This was a mission I hope to God that I never have to go through again."
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 398th Bomb Group 603rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34711237
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 398th Bomb Group 603rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-771335
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Manchester, NH | 10 February 1925 | Son of Alfred A and Mildred M [Cleveland] Green. |
Enlisted |
Charlestown MA | 15 February 1943 | Charlestown, Massachusetts |
Other Marriage |
Manchester, NH | 12 October 1946 | Married Vivian Mae Prentiss. |
Died |
Salem, MA | 7 September 2014 | |
Buried |
Greenlawn CemeterySalem, Essex County, MA | 10 September 2014 | Greenlawn Cemetery Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts |
Based |
Nuthampstead | Assigned to 603BS, 398BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
398th BG History Vol II and Vol III / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia