Sylvester J Marshall

Military

media-21045.jpeg UPL 21045 The original Robert D. Summerville crew.

In front, from left to right :
Pilot 2nd Lt Robert Summerville;
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Jean D. Vogt;
Navigator (unknown);
Bombardier 2nd Lt. Ralph E. Eisenach,

Standing, from left to right :
Right Waist Gunner S/Sgt Sylvester J. Marshall:
Radio Operator S/Sgt John H. McClanahan Jr;
Ball Turret Gunner Sgt Frank La Rocca;
Left Waist Gunner (unknown);
Engineer / Top Turret Gunner Sgt Alfred I. Holt;
Tail Gunner Sgt Thomas J. Harris.

[Note : the Navigator on the fateful 14 June 1944 mission, 2nd Lt Abraham Wiseman, is not on the photo and had substituted for Lt Summerville's regular Navigator.]

Corrected the identification of Sylvester Marshall. He is standing first on the left rather than fourth on the left.
Marshall was identified by his daughter Sylvia Marshall Durphey.

Object Number - UPL 21045 - The original Robert D. Summerville crew. In front, from left to right : Pilot 2nd Lt Robert Summerville; Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Jean D. Vogt;...

Sylvester Marshall served as a waist gunner with the 384th Bomb Group. On 14 June 1944, he was flying in B-17 #42-97188 when it was attacked by fighters. The aircraft crashed near Chateaudun. He was eventually taken as a Prisoner of War.

His daughter Sylvia remembers:
'He was never one to talk about his experiences during the war. He did tell us that he was originally rescued by the French underground and moved around to several locations. One of the persons sent to move him to another secure location turned out to be a German spy, who took him directly to a prison camp. He also stated that his group of prisoners was forced to march over 600 miles in an effort to keep them ahead of the Allies.'