Vernon J Kramer
Military
Grandson of Vernon, Andrew J. Kramer
Object Number - UPL 14342 - Vernon J. Kramer (HQ)
Shot down by fighters on a mission to Erkner, Berlin on 8 Mar 1944, B-17G #42-31214 "Return Engagement" crashed near Borstel.
Missing Aircraft and Crew Report #3085
Originally Assigned plane: B-17G "Lucy Pou"
Prisoner of War (POW)
Note from Vern's grandson Andrew: As his damaged bomber went down, Vern and crew tried to exit by the hatch behind the cockpit, but the door was jammed. Thinking quickly, the men scrambled to the bomb bay with their parachutes. Vern's harness got caught on one of the bombs, and like an angel on his shoulder, a fellow crew member, Lt. John Mulligan pulled his harness off of the bomb, freeing him. When he reached the ground, it wasn't long before he was greeted by a German girl that gave the thirsty airman a drink of puddle water from her shoe. He was then picked up by German soldiers and taken to a POW camp.
Connections
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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-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Return Engagement
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 560th Bomb Squadron
Missions
![A bomber crew of the 381st Bomb Group return to base after a mission in their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-31761) nicknamed "Rotherhithe's Revenge". Image stamped on reverse: 'Sunday Pictorial for Censor.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 10 Mar 1944.' [stamp] and '310673.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'BACK FROM BERLIN. Scenes this week at a Bomber station of the U.S. Air Force , somewhere in England. The crew of the Flying Fortress "Rotherhithe's Revenge", a British subscribed ship](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-380068.jpg.webp?itok=3h76SN3N)
- Date: 8 March 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Rock Hill, Missouri, USA | 1 September 1922 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Germany | 8 March 1944 | |
|
Died |
Des Peres, MO, USA | 15 June 2008 | Died of ALS after long fought battle with the disease. |
|
Enlisted |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3085 / MACR 3085, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
