42-31831 Banshee
Delivered Cheyenne 24/12/43; Houston 9/1/44; Lakeland 10/1/44; Morrison 16/2/44; Assigned 775BS/463BG Celone 18/2/44; Missing in Action Zagreb 6/4/44 with Mike (Harry) Wistock, Co-pilot: Verle Lewis, Navigator: Bill Ure, Bombardier: Jackson Kiefer, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bob Applebee, Radio Operator: Jack Robinson, Ball turret gunner: Chester Majewski, Waist gunner: Bernard Cummings, Waist gunner: Roy Coble, Tail gunner: Leon Ballard; Missing Air Crew Report 4098. BANSHEE.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Foggia Satellite #1, San Nicola-d'Arpi
Revisions
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid readability.
This is the rough draft, retrieved from the trash, of my father's letter to the reunion committee. All members did the same. It read:
Dear Friend,
About a month ago I received a letter from Michael Wistock, Pilot of the Banshee, and he told me that he located several members of the crew of the "Banshee".
I wrote back as soon as I could. As soon as he received the letter he called me on the phone. We had a long talk. We had 40 years to catch up on.
After we jumped out of the plane, while still in the air, we saw the Banshee crash to the ground. I remember a farmer on the ground with a pitch fork. I landed on the side of a hill. The next thing I did was bury my chute and run down the hill to the forest. I walked in the trees all day. When I came to a small town in the valley, I didn't want to go through it in the day time so I crawled into a near by haystack. I didn't wake up until next morning. Then I decided to walk around the town which I did. On the way out of town, I saw women all dressed up going to town. They didn't pay much attention to me. then a couple hours later a horse drawn wagon came by. They asked me to hitch a ride. So I got on. They offered me a drink of wine, I took a small sip but they motioned for me to take a big drink so I did. then I offered them cigarettes. Then they knew who I was. Then we rode on. Soon they stopped and one of them went over to a farm house and they brought back a farmer who could speak English. We talked for quite a spell. In the mean time the wagons went on their way. He took me to the underground. When I got to the underground, our radio operator Majewski was there and later we met Ballard, Tail gunner, who was wounded. they had him in a make shift Hospital. I was with the underground for 32 days before I was before I was picked up by a C47, and flown to Italy.
When I got back to Italy I spent 4 days with our outfit. Then I was flown back to the States. I met my wife in Kansas City and we were Married on January 25, 1946.