Thomas Sutters served as a pilot with the 570th Bomb Squadron of the 390th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Framlingham, England. On 5 February 1944, Sutters was flying a mission to Romilly-sur-Seine, France, when the number one engine on B-17F #42-3329 'Skippy' ran away and caught fire. The crew baled out, with Sutters last to leave the aircraft, and the aircraft crashed at Saleshurst, Sussex. The crew safely returned to dury.



On 13 April 1944, Sutters was Killed in Action when he was hit by flak over Augsburg, Germany, in B-17G #42-31971 'Twenty-one or Bust'. He is buried in Cambridge American Cemetery.



Crewman Joe Collector was interviewed in 2012. Here is an excerpt from the article in The Virginian Pilot:

'He doesn't often speak about what happened April 13, 1944, though. It was his 26th combat flight, a bombing mission over a manufacturing plant in Augsburg, Germany. A burst from an anti-aircraft gun hit the plane as it crossed over the target.'



'The pilot, Lt. Thomas J. Sutters - "a man I respected beyond measure," Collector said - was hit in the leg with shrapnel. The crew chief climbed down from the upper turret and was applying a tourniquet to his leg when another blast struck the plane. The crew chief's foot was blown off; the pilot was killed.'



'The Skippy sputtered back to Parham Airfield with just two engines. Afterward, the plane was decommissioned, and the crew buried their pilot.'



Captain John S Blonsick, whose father was a friend of Sutters, has written up an account of Tommy's life and how the airmen's sacrifice has impacted his life: http://www.framlingham.co.uk/Lt_Tho_J_Sutters_USAF.htm

Awards: AM (3OLC, PH, EAME.