Earl L Zimmerman
MilitaryFlew missions with 389th BG from 9 July 1943 to 25 April 1945.
Was interned in Turkey while on TDY to 9th AF for the Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40744 on 8/1/43.
Earlier June 25, 1943 on a training mission, B24 42-40774 collided with another aircraft. He was award an Air Medal and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35370265
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner / Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Marion, Indiana | 24 December 1923 | |
|
Other War Experiences from Journals |
1 August 1943 | Concerning the Ploesti Mission "One incident occurred on the way in to the target in Robert Schwellinger's plane; the pilot (Harold James) asked the flight engineer for a fuel estimate when they were entering Rumania; the engineer checked the gauges and reported privately to the radioman Earl Zimmerman that they had already burned up too much gas to return to base. 'Don't tell the pilot until we get off target,' Zimmerman said. 'He has enough worries.' It was later suspected that leaking fuel tanks contributed to the fuel shortage. ... On Robert Schwellinger's plane, after bombing their target, they formed up with another plane which had heavy battle damage and signaled that it was heading for Turkey. The engineer notified the pilots of the precarious fuel state, and the two craft set out to Turkey together. Radioman Earl Zimmerman notified Benghazi that the crew was heading for Turkey. Once over Turkish territory, two Turkish P-40s flew alongside and signaled for the bomber to drop its landing gear as an indication of surrender, which they did. 'James landed on a fighter strip and burned his brakes out on the short run. His crew was surrounded by soldiers with fixed bayonets. A Turkish officer arrived, gave the Americans a smiling hello, and knocked the nearest soldier flat on the ground. Turkish officers got into the plane, berserk with curiosity. They pulled rip cords on the parachutes, emptied first aid kits, and unrolled the bandages. They even squeezed the ointment from the tubes,' Zimmerman remembered." Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016). | |
|
Died |
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. | 20 June 2012 | Died in Indianapolis, Indiana. Interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. |
|
Other Biography |
20 June 2012 | Born in Marion, Indiana, he entered the Air Corps and served in the 565th BS. He was the radioman on the Ploesti mission, where his plane had to divert to Turkey owing to a fuel leak. After the war, he married June Mary (1929-2006), described as his "English Rose". "June was born in Cambridge, England, but it was in Norwich, England, that she met and married a handsome young American flier, Earl Zimmerman. They were married in the Norwich Cathedral on March 24, 1945. She joined Earl in America after a challenging voyage to New York on the Vulgate, a bride ship." In his own words: "After the war ended, I left the service, but reenlisted a short time later, reporting to Roswell Army Air field (RAAF), New Mexico, in or about March 1947. There I served in the base radio shack as a high-speed code transmission radio operator. In early 1949, I was transferred to the Office of Special Investigations and assigned to District 17 headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque." In 1999, he gave a sworn affidavit of what he knew of the famous "flying saucer" claims made with respect to the Roswell field. As to hobbies, he was known to his family and friends for his creations in wood and glass. "Of all of his accomplishments, he wanted to be remembered by his friends as one who did his crossword puzzles in ink and sometime in Turkish!" He died in 2012 at the age of 89. Obituary in the Indianapolis Star. July 1, 2012; obituary of June Mary Zimmerman, The Indianapolis Star on Apr. 29, 2006. AFFIDAVIT OF EARL L. ZIMMERMAN, Nov. 2, 1993. | |
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Other A Humorous Incident |
"I am sound asleep, someone touches me and whispers in my ear, 'Zimmerman, you're to fly the Green Dragon on the weather mission.' At 2 a.m. it's better than hearing the C.Q. slide his jeep to a halt and charge into the hut, turn on the lights and yell, 'grab your socks etc... all combat men up and at em'. After getting my flimsies, I cycle to the Dragon hardstand and find a skeleton crew plus two nurses in flight gear. We take off, fly to the coast of France and upon returning find we are in the midst of an air raid. I send a message 'Clear base area 13,000 feet' to let the ack ack lads know we are on their side. The two nurses on the flight deck are taking in all of the excitement, sweeping search lights, and tracers flying every direction. One of the nurses touches me on the shoulder, I remove my headphones and she whispers, 'where is the potty'. Slowly I turn and indicate our forward relief tube behind the pilot's seat. Although she is wearing an oxygen mask I see panic in her eyes. After a few minutes she asks, 'how do you use it'. Well gentlemen, the training manual does not cover this situation and so I call the pilot on intercom and explain the problem. He advises me to 'handle' the situation. About this time the whispering nurse starts to do a slow Cherokee war dance on the flight deck and I decide it's time to take hold of the situation. I deftly maneuver both gals to the waist area and point out our aft tube, wish them good luck and depart. Making my way forward I pause on the catwalk and an old English ditty comes to mind. 'My son, my son, it must be done, so out of the window went his bum'. I think to myself, no, she really wouldn't try that. Not at twenty below zero and 200 miles per hour. Later on that morning while in the Ready Room having a cuppa, I overheard a snatch of conversation between our Flight Surgeon Capt. Franz and our pilot. Capt. Franz mentions something about proper appendage." |
Revisions
* Engraved on Earl Leonard Zimmerman headstone in Arlington National Cemetery as [Master Sergeant].
* Plot: Section 36A, Site 635
* Was listed as last rank held on retirement in 1964.
* And on his obituary. June 20, 2012.
Richard Dieterle, from "HETHEL HIGHLIGHTS," by Earl L. Zimmerman (389th), Second Air Division Association Journal and published in the September, 1981.
Richard Dieterle, obituary of June Mary Zimmerman, The Indianapolis Star on Apr. 29, 2006.
Richard Dieterle, from AFFIDAVIT OF EARL L. ZIMMERMAN, Nov. 2, 1993.
Richard Dieterle, from his obituary in the Indianapolis Star. July 1, 2012.
Richard Dieterle, added links to the Ploesti mission and the Berca base in Libya whence it was flow.
Richard Dieterle — the Ploesti Plane List (https://www.freewebs.com/balloffireiii/ploestiplanelist.htm) shows that "Heaven Can Wait" (42-40370) was aborted for the Ploesti mission, and that plane 42-40744, under the command of Harold James, had no known nickname. The Ploesti incident involving Sgt. Zimmerman was quoted from Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self MACR 243, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 165 & Page 450 in the book 2ND AIR DIVISIONby Turner Publishing Company, 1998 edition (D790.A2S45)