Elmer J Barndt

Military

Crashed near Aachen Germany on 10/14/44 in B-24 'Miss Judy' #42-52507, Prisoner of War (POW).



Joe graduated from Quakertown High School in June of 1943 and shortly thereafter enlisted in the Army Air Corp at the age of 17. He, like thousands of other had no intention of being an aerial gunner, but if you can shoot, that's where they sent you. After basic training he was in gunnery "school" in Florida where he must have excelled as he became his instructor's shooter for several contests which undoubtedly won money for the Sarge and at least one leave pass that Dad used to rail to Pa and then to Massachusetts to visit a young lady. (not my mother whom he had dated, but was no longer dating at time of enlistment.).



Joe was deployed to England where he was stationed at Rackheath airfield and assigned to the Miss Judy, a B-24H Liberator, and served as a waist gunner on the crew of Lt. Donald Hudson. The Miss Judy had been in service since the formation of the squadron and was occasionally flown by alternate crews during Joe's time at Rackheath, as the planes mission log will confirm. Joe's missions were a mixed bag and frequently did not encounter enemy aircraft, but heavy flak on many missions.



I (Mike) did not learn much of my fathers experience until I was 32 as he kept much to himself for many years. He did state that he or they were responsible for one downed German fighter. I will attempt to confirm that in the future. That they did encounter some fighter resistance correlates with details of coming back to base with interior shell damage to the lines and cables for the rear rudder and stabilizer which caused much concern among crew members in the main section of the plane. This was confirmed when I met Dom Cerrito at a EX-POW meeting in Hazelton PA and stories were emotionally exchanged. Life in between missions was much the same for Joe as all airmen.



Dad related how the bomb loads varied as per mission and that he and John, the other waist gunner, had at least once thrown extra (one hundred lb. incendiaries I guess) bombs out the side. I know that the waist gunners duties were several and that Joe and John were the two youngest or "kids" on the crew. Obviously the mission that was to have profound and tragic effects on Joe and the crew was the mission to Cologne on Oct. 14, 1944. After flying through heavy flak en route and making a successful bomb run the crew again encountered heavy flak on the return trip where the Miss Judy suffered damage to the wing and probably some part of the stabilizers. I have have always thought it was the right wing, but which ever, a fire started in the wing and was slowly spreading while the whole aircraft had begun to vibrate or shake as time elapsed. There is a picture of the "187" liberator from the 789th en route to Cologne taken just hours before the Miss Judy was hit. The "187" flew 100 successful missions, yet this appears to be its only public archive picture. My wife and I believe this to be more than a coincidence as I have rejoined this history adventure to assist the museum. As detailed in the Miss Judy biographical, when the crew thought they had made it across allied lines they began to exit the aircraft with John and Joe jumping just before Lt. Hudson.



Dad told how he did not pull his ripcord until he could distinguish the different sizes of buildings, etc. because they had been told to do that to help eliminate the possibility of being strafed by enemy fighters. With tears streaming down his cheeks my father recalled how he realized that people on the ground were shooting at him and that he was screaming he was an American and to stop shooting. As he neared the ground he saw the swastikas and crosses and that they were Germans firing. He landed and was quickly surrounded and placed under arrest by a German major. There was a German Mobile command unit close by. The major frisked Joe and quickly took all of the Camels from his pockets and in a strange gesture that he always remembered, replaced them with German non-tobacco substitutes. He was then placed on a truck with the rest of the crew as they were captured. Lt. Hudson was hit and died at landing. There exists a reference that he was shot in a tree, but not retold by Joe in those circumstances. I will try to verify one way or the other and make a correction accordingly. The crew was turned over to Luftwaffe soldiers who started their trip to Stalag Luft IV. There exists a book on the camp so I will not get detailed here as Joe did nothing spectacular in POW camp, but did serve as a barber for some number of fellow prisoners.



One event that is mentionable was that of Christmas 1944 when after receiving much cherished Red Cross packages at camp, the guards "shook down" the barracks supposedly looking for contraband, etc. Of course they ruined much of that which was sent in the packages.



In the spring of 1945 Joe and the other eight crew members were placed on the now famous allied airmen march to the west to hopefully be used as trade by the Germans to achieve an armistice with the western allies to allow the Germans to transfer troops, etc. to the eastern front.



It was on the march that Dad's tale becomes exciting and perilous. While the food at Stalag Luft IV was poor in quality, variety, and quantity, the conditions on the march were a little worse. Dad did say that the Germans did not eat much better as food was in short supply everywhere at the end of the war. It was on this forced march on or about April 14th that Joe stepped away to relieve himself and realizing that he was not being closely watched decided to melt away into a thicket. Getting away unnoticed he made his way to a nearby farm and hid upstairs in the barn. Unfortunately as he hid in the loose hay mow three English airmen who had also escaped entered the barn. They were not very quiet and were discovered by the farmer who went and brought German soldiers. After arresting the Brits, they proceeded to search the barn. Again with tears Joe detailed how he was in the hay tight against the wall of the barn breathless and afraid. As the young German was reaching into the hay he eventually touched Joe and yelled einer noch, one more. All four airmen were placed back on the march.



The next day Joe again was able escape in pretty much the same manner as the day before. This time he was able to make it where in several days he encountered elements of the British army where he remained for several weeks until he could be reunited with American troops. Several weeks later he was turned over to units of the 6th armored division where he continued the process of returning to the 8th Air Force. Among the artifacts brought home and kept after the war is the shirt of the 6th armored division given to Joe to wear when re-united with American troops. Upon returning stateside and during an examination for pain in his armpit it was discovered that he had Hodgkin's disease and may not survive 1946. Fortunately for us, Dad was one of the lucky ones who went into self remission and beat the cancer. Joseph's tale has much more to tell, but space here requires a pause. Needless to say that many hunters in our home town who knew Joe Barndt to be one of the best pheasant shooters around never knew where that "perfect lead" came from. Our family also understood why Mom never served turnips or cabbage for supper, aside from New Years sauerkraut.

 

Connections

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Units served with

Unofficial emblem of the 467th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Miss Judy
  • Unit: 467th Bomb Group 789th Bomb Squadron

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Quakertown, Pennsylvania 29 August 1925

Based

Returned (RTD)

France 14 October 1944

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Tychowo, Poland 14 October 1944 Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16

Revisions

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Contributorjmoore43
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Capitalized the words "Waist Gunner" in the "Role/job" field.

 

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Added a POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added an association to Stalag Luft 4 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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mIchael J Barndt

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Michael J Barndt

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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Michael J Barndt

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Michael J Barndt

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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Michael J Barndt

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Michael J Barndt

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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Material provided by Michael J. Barndt, son of E. Joseph Barndt

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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Son of Elmer Joseph Barndt

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ContributorMJBARNDT
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My fathers last name was misspelled in the listing of the crew of the Miss Judy.

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ContributorAAM
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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 9489 / MACR 9489 & Watts book p 157 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database