Hugh Lawrence Lamborn
Military
Object Number - UPL 16088
Assigned to 836BS, 487BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ludwigshafen 5-Nov-44 in B-17G 43-37858; flak, crashed Wittlich, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 10324.
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, American Campaign, EAME.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-2061129
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14170333 / T-127474
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39556835
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34403159 / O-824562
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39145725
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 838th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Lavenham/Alpheton Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Laketown, Utah, USA | 25 May 1925 | Son of Lawrence Dickenson and Nancy Josephine [Henderson] Lamborn. |
|
Enlisted |
Salt Lake City, UT | 24 March 1943 | After enlistment, Hugh reported December 28, 1943 to Fort Douglas, Utah for processing. By early 1944 he was sent to Buckley Field, Colorado for basic training. It was determined he would become an aerial gunner and from Buckley Field he proceeded to the Las Vegas Army Gunnery School for training. Finally he was sent to Gulfport Army Airfield, Mississippi where he was assigned to his permanent crew. Once flight training was completed the crew was sent to Hunter Field, Georgia for staging and there the plane which was presented them for the trans-Atlantic flight was the 5,000th plane processed through United Airline's Modification Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They proceeded to Europe by way of New York, then Greenland, finally touching down in Wales. |
|
Based |
Lavenham | 2 October 1944 - 5 November 1944 | After arriving in Europe, Hugh and his crew were assigned to the 487th Bomb Group stationed in Lavenham, England. As members of the 838th Squadron, they flew their first mission on October 22. On their fifth mission, which took place on November 5, the crew was hit by flak and forced to bail out over Germany. All were captured. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Tychowo, Poland - Stalag Luft IV | 5 November 1944 | Upon capture, Hugh was transported to and detained at Stalag Luft IV in Gross Tychow, Poland. As the Russians pushed westward and brought the front closer to the camp, Hugh, along with many other prisoners were forced to march deeper into Germany in what was dubbed the "Shoe Leather Express." This brutal march began in frigid January of 1945 and nearly 200 miles later Hugh found himself at Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany where he would spend the remainder of the war. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany - Stalag Luft I | 8 February 1945 - 2 May 1945 | Hugh was a POW at Stalag Luft I from February of 1945 until the camp was liberated by the Russians on May 2, 1945. He along with the rest of the prisoners were airlifted from the camp from May 12 - 14 largely in American B-17's and flown to Camp Lucky Strike in France which was used as a staging area before embarking upon liberty ships back to the United States. While a prisoner here, Hugh was able to participate in LDS church services to break the monotony and regain a small piece of home. Many of these meetings were recorded by American Allen Dahl Young, a P-51 pilot: https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/6444/6093 |
|
Died |
Salt Lake City, UT | 18 March 1967 | |
|
Buried |
Laketown, Rich County, Utah, USA | 23 March 1967 | Laketown Cemetery |
Revisions
Updated the location of the "Buried" event per info in the event.
Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia;
- Unit Roster;
- MACR 10324
The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H) by Ivo de Jong
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
Lamborn Family Collection
http://www.487thbg.org/
WWII Army Enlistment Records
http://www.merkki.com/
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
Lamborn Family Collection
The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol
MACR 10324
MACR 10324 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
