Frank S Bolen
Military
BACK ROW - LEFT TO RIGHT:
1st. Lt. David McCarty, Jr., Pilot (KIA); 1st Lt. Paul W. McElroy, Co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Frank Bolen, Bombardier (POW); 1st Lt. Donald L. Brazdzons, Navigator; S/Sgt. George W. Hawes, Radio Operator
FRONT ROW - LEFT TO RIGHT:
S/Sgt. Cecil Seekings, Togglier; S/Sgt. Charles Beebe, Waist Gunner; S/Sgt. Floyd Z. Dillon, Tail Gunner (KIA); Sgt. David Wolnowitz, Top Turret Gunner
OTHER CREW MEMBERS: 2nd Lt. Ernest I. Austin, Navigator
Many of the crew members were in "The Roxy Special" (43-38348) on 8 September 1944 when it was downed on a mission to Ludwigshaven, Germany.
Object Number - UPL 51083 - My Baby (42-107033) Lt. McCarty's Crew, 322nd Squadron, 91st BG BACK ROW - LEFT TO RIGHT: 1st. Lt. David McCarty, Jr., Pilot (KIA); 1st Lt. Paul...
Prisoner of War (POW). Crashed near Oggersheim on 9/8/44 in B-17 "Roxy's Special" #43-38348.
He evaded for a few days and even walked through a German town without being arrested. He got too cocky and tried it again but ran into two Luftwaffe guys bicycling with girls and they promptly arrested him and he ended up in Stalag Luft 1 for 9 months.
Frank managed to evade for seven days before he was captured. He was then put through all the usual interrogation procedures before being crammed onto a train with some hundred other American officers for five days and nights until they arrived at Stalag Luft 1 on the Baltic. He was held there for some nine months until effectively released by the Russians on 10th May 1945. Bolen has written up a detailed account of his life as a POW; a time during which his first child was born. Until February 1945 the Lutwaffe ran the camp 'fairly', then the Wermacht took over and life became much harder; no food parcels coming through and a much tougher regime.
Connections
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Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft

- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Roxy's Special
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Places

- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Shot Down |
Germany | 8 September 1944 | |
Other Prisoner of War |
Barth, Germany | 10 September 1944 - 10 May 1945 | Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang Prussia 54-12 |
Born |
Denison, Texas, USA |
Revisions
Added S/N and POW camp information from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.
Biography completed by historian Helen Millgate. Information sourced from newsletters of the 91st Bomb Group related to the service of Frank Bolen.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8807 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Wall of Valor form/ MACR 8807