Frank Burgmeier

Military
media-21191.jpeg UPL 21191 Lt. Frank Burgmeier Laon/Athies Airfiled around December 16, 1944. Lt. Foster took this photograph of his good friend and tent buddy, "Burgmeier", just before Lt. Foster left Laon to head home. Lt. Burgmeier still needed one more mission. The two had shared a tent in perfect accord since arriving at Lessay in August. Although both attended Syracuse University immediately following their return to the States, both earning their degrees (Frank-Jounalism and Walt-Accounting) in three years, they never saw each other again. They reconnected through correspondence in 2008. Putting their war lives behind them was difficult as they tried to adjust to civilian, peacetime life. LT. Foster had a new bride and expectant mother to support, and Frank was tring to become reacquainted with his bride, Tedi.

Their existence had been a struggle for survival in Laon during a bitterly cold winter with meager supplies and scavenged wood for heaitng fuel. . Much of their time was spent cutting wood , preparing for scrubbed mostly missions or training other officers in a hectic schedule. The food at Laon was lousy---they cut up turnips and onions acquirred locally to give it flavor. The two shared the unique, dry and very funny 456th sense of humor,. They had a great deal of respect for each other, both having carried the burden of significant responsibility flying box leads after they had become experienced and proven their leadership. As leads, both were required to serve as "floaters" and flew with most of the lead pilots, who were highly skilled. Both flew several missions with with Helton and Stirling.

The Foster/Burgmeier tent was always set up next to the Guldemond tent and the Lt. Robert Smith's tent. At Laon, Frank and Walt had a tent mate named Sam, who apparently never said much, preferring to read quietly on his own. Their pets, Pat and Oscar were a source of love and warmth during a cold, wet winter. Walter E Foster collection

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Object Number - UPL 21191 - Lt. Frank Burgmeier Laon/Athies Airfiled around December 16, 1944. Lt. Foster took this photograph of his good friend and tent buddy, "Burgmeier", ...

Lt. Burgmeier grew up in Upstate New York. He married his wife, Tedi, in July 1943, just days before he left for his tour of duty as a navigator for the 323rd Bombardment Group. He kept a diary, which has been invaluable to historians studying the 323rd BG and 456th Bombardment Squadron.



Lt. Burgmeier flew his first combat mission from Earls Colne Airfield on Wednesday, December 22, 1943 to Cornette with Lt. John D. Helton, most likely in WT-B "The Gremlin II" Serial No. 41-31708.



On June 6, 1944, Lt. Burgmeier-Navigator flew the 323rd's first mission of the day with Capt. John Bull Stirling-Pilot and Lt. W. R. Hutchins-Bombardier in a Flight Lead to a German coastal battery on Utah Beach. It was his 39th combat mission. Lt. Burgmeier wrote Chapter One of Marauder: Memoir of a B-26 Pilot in Europe During World War II by Louis S. Rehr with Carlton R. Rehr. It is an excellent account of his D-Day mission. Frank also was interviewed by the local television news station on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.



On August 25, 1944, Lt. Burgmeier landed on French soil for the first time at an airfield near Lessay. Lt. Burgmeier and Lt. Walt Foster set up a tent, which they shared with another officer. During the remainder of their stay in France, Lts. Burgmeier and Foster were close friends and tent mates along with their pets, PFC. Pat(ricin), a mutt, and PFC. Oscar, a Jack Russell Terrier, who, along with the sense of humor that was typical of the 456th combat crews, kept their morale up and kept them warm during a bitterly cold winter.



On Sunday, August 27, 1944, Lt. Burgmeier flew as GEE Navigator with the Barker crew (Lt. Col. Robert O. Barker-Pilot, Lt. Al Allision-Navigator, Lt. Walt Foster-Bombarider) from Lessay, France to a Rouen Bridge. (GEE Navigation was a form of navigation using radar.) This was Lt. Burgmeier's 54th combat mission. Footage of this mission is at National Arhives in College Park, Maryland. It was the first combat mission flown by the 9th AF off of French soil.



On November 19, 1944, Lt. Burgmeier, with Capt. Louis Rehr-Pilot and Lt. Victor Jacobs-Bombardier, flew in a Box Lead to a heavily defended area in Germany, the Merzig Strong Points. For this mission, the Reher crew was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.



On December 16, 1944, Lt. Foster left for home, leaving Lt. Burgmeier to sweat out the one additional mission he needed to complet his 65 missions for a complete tour of duty. Tensions were high, as the Battle of the Bulge had just broken out only a few miles from Laon/Athies Airfield. The ground shook from artillery mortars exploding nearby. The 323rd prepared for an emergency evacuation, not knowing if they would make it out. The weather kept the 323rd grounded until December 23, 1944, when the they flew to the Eller Bridge in Germany.



The mission to the Eller Bridge was one of the roughest flown by the 323rd, and Lt. Burgmeier, flying once again with the Rehr crew, was very fortunate to have returned form it alive. Another B-26 BG had preceded the 323rd to the target area without the fighter escort that was to have acompanied them, and lost many aircraft to fighter attacks. The 323rd did have fighter cover and still lost six aircraft (one over the target and five back at base), three officers and three enlisted men were killed on that mission.



Shortly after December 27, 1944, Lt. Burgmeier was flown back to England where he spent New Year's Eve. In early Janiuary, he boarded the New Amsterdam and headed home to his wife, Tedi---his reason for fighting.



"Reflecting on my departure from my wartime buddies----it was a period of withdrawl for me. My close tent buddies, my crew and the entire squadron had been my family for over a year----a year filled with memorable events that are still sharp in my memory. I felt that I had come into my own in a position of responsibility where I had won mutual respect. I went home with mixed emotions facing my new bride whom I had only been with a couple of nights before we were shipped out. I was entering into this new phase of life almost with the same trepidation that I launched iinto combat. I was very perplexed in this period as I had expected a great exhultaiton when I hit the States but arrived here in a somewhat dulled and confused state. The flight surgeons recognized this and I was sent to a luxurious rest camp at Lake Lure in the North Carolina Mountains where I gradually statrted to come around thanks to my patient and understading wife--- and I statrted to feel human again. "



-Combat War Diary, Lt. Frank Burgmeier



Lts. Burgmeier and Foster finally reconnected in 2008, after nearly 65 years. Lt. Burgmeier and Tedi had three children. He still lives in Upstate New York with his faithful companion, Sparky, where he runs a public relaitons firm.









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Units served with

Private First Class Barbara O'Brien of the Womens Army Corps, paints the nose of a B-26 Marauder (YU-Y. serial number 41-34982) nicknamed "Jolly Roger" of the 323rd Bomb Group. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publcation 4 Dec 1943.' [stamp] and '295589.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'W.A.C.S. on duty at a Bomber Station. Associated Press Photo shows:- Pfc: Barbara O'Brien painting the Jolly Roger on the nose of a Marauder with the crew looking on.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 456th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 456th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: pilot - B-26 Marauder
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 456th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-678576
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
Lieutenant "John Bull" Sterling of the 322nd Bomb Group in the cockpit of his B-26 Marauder nicknamed "John Bull" Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Not to be published 24 Jul 1943.' [stamp] and '276112.'[Censor no. ] Printed caption on reverse: 'Passed by the Censor- no 2761. Marauder is now operating from this country. Fastest Medium Bomber in use is now operating from this country. It has just been disclosed that the American Medium Bomber, the B-26 Marauder, which already has done
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 456th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: B-26 Marauder Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
  • Nicknames: The Gremlin II
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Squadron 456th Bomb Squadron

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Frank Burgmeier: Gallery (10 items)