Jack Woodrow Dieterle

Military
media-36969.jpeg UPL 36969 Major Jack Woodrow Dieterle, pilot of the B-24D, The Little Gramper, on Operation Tidal Wave, Squadron Leader (Captain) of the 566th Bomb Squadron, and the Deputy Group Leader (Major), 389th Bomb Group. 1 Aug 43. Richard L. Dieterle

Letters to home - Jack W. Dieterle

Object Number - UPL 36969 - Major Jack Woodrow Dieterle, pilot of the B-24D, The Little Gramper, on Operation Tidal Wave, Squadron Leader (Captain) of the 566th Bomb Squadron,...

After completing his training as a bomber pilot at Biggs Field in Texas, Major Jack Deiterle's 566th Bomb Squadron in the 389th Bomb Group, was established at Hethel Field in Norwich early in 1943. Dieterle was a command pilot on the B-24D, The Little Gramper, and deputy element leader behind Phillip Ardery in the 566th Bomb Squadron, on the Ploesti bombing mission. Maj. Dieterle successfully bombed his target, the Steaua Romana refinery, north of Ploesti, and bombed it so successfully that the next day a British photo plane could not locate or make out the refinery. His ship was the sole survivor of his three plane element during the Ploesti mission. Soon after the mission, Major Dieterle was promoted to Commanding Officer (CO) of the 566th Squadron.

After returning to the U.K, with the 8th Air Force, after the Ploesti mission, while bombing near Caen on his 26th and final mission, he was shot down by anti aircraft flak. He was the last to bail out of his plane, and was rescued by the British before he could fall into the hands of the Germans and returned to service (RTS). He became a career Air Force officer, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. He died in 1985.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 389th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15045876 / 0-325990
  • Highest Rank: Major General
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - The Little Gramper
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 491st Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron 852nd Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron

Missions

  • Date: 6 June 1944
  • Official Description:

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Berka, al Birkah

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Detroit, Michigan 26 May 1917 His father was Don E. Dieterle, an officer in the Army during WWI. His siblings were Vaughn, Bob, Betty, and Peg. His mother was Ruby Jane Potts, the daughter of Elijah Potts, an inventor. They moved when he was not yet in high school to Toledo, Ohio, which he considered his home town. His middle name, "Woodrow," was in honor of President Woodrow Wilson. His interest in technology and aircraft made him a natural for the Army Air Force.

Other

War Letters to His Aunts

27 June 1943 Dear Charlotte, Jean, Daisy & Virginia Well in spite of everything here I am in "dear old England". This is the last place I wanted to go but as long as I'm here I'll give 'em the works. I flew the North Atlantic and had a very pleasant crossing. I should like to write about the flight but the censors say it is taboo. I am now assigned to the United States Army Eighth Air Force so if you read about the planes I fly being of this air force you'll probably know what I had been doing. The longer we are all away the better we appreciate the good old U.S.A. I'll write a long letter sometime this year if I ever get in the mood. So long for now, Love, Jack

Other

Missions (while attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command)

9 July 1943 - 19 July 1943 9 July 1943 — B-24's bomb airfields at Maleme, Crete, and Comiso and Taormina, Sicily. P-40's escort bombers over Castelvetrano, and Milo Airfields. This pre-invasion air bombardment of Sicily provides air superiority over the enemy. The 389ᵀᴴ was attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command. 11 July 1943 — B-24's hit airfields at Vibo Valentia, Sicily and Reggio di Calabria, Italy. P-40's escort bombers and provide beach cover as invasion forces push inland in Sicily. The 389ᵀᴴ was attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command. 12 July 1943 — In Italy, B-24's attack the harbor, ferry slip, and marshaling yard at Reggio di Calabria, and the ferry slip and railroad yards at Villa San Giovanni. The 389ᵀᴴ was attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command. 14 July 1943 — In Sicily, B-24's and Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers hit railroad, marshaling yard, harbor, and oil storage facilities at Messina. Jack Dieterle recalled that they were trying interdict the German retreat from Sicily and that it was the heaviest AA bombardment that he had ever seen. His plane, the Little Gramper brought up the rear of the mission. They were attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command. 16 July 1943 — B-24's attack Bari Airfield, Italy; enemy fighters attack persistently and 3 B-24's are shot down; they claim 11 fighters destroyed in combat. The 389ᵀᴴ was attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command. 19 July 1943 — 100+ B-24's attack the Littoria, Italy marshaling yards and nearby airfield. On the return flight railroads at Orlando, Sicily and Anzio, Italy are bombed. The 389ᵀᴴ was attached to the IXᵀᴴ Bomber Command.

Other

War Letters to His Aunts

22 July 1943 Dear Charlotte, Jean, Daisy & Virginia Well I guess General Sherman was right when he said, "If I owned Texas and Hell I would rent out Texas and live in Hell" — but wait, that's the wrong quotation — the one I mean is when he said, "War is hell", I believe, but in any event we all heartily agree with both his quotations. One thing I must tell you all is that if you find numerous mistakes in this letter you must overlook them because paper is such a scarce item around here — such as a substitute for "Northern tissue" and stuff like that there. I imagine by now you having all heard I am stationed now in Africa after a short time in England. We are living the so called "rugged life" in this beautiful land? so often referred to as the asshole of creation. [missing pages 2-3] [4] are usually quite a bit larger than you may see in the States. It would amuse you all no end if you could see us looking through our beds, each nite, with a flashlight and then again through all our clothes and shoes each time we put them on — always on the alert for the unexpected. We had quite an exciting time today for this is the day we can draw our weeks ration from our make shift P. X. The ration this week was a lot better than last for we or rather I got a small can of Heinz Pork and Beans and also a can of pears to nibble on in my spare time. The only other items for sale were toilet articles. It was kind of tough on the fellows who smoke for we were unable to get cigarettes this week. Even tho' I don't smoke I always buy a ration of cigarettes so as I can give them to the [5] men on my crew when their supply runs out. We never get candy or sweets down here but then fighting from an advanced base is like that and I imagine is the same the world over. Believe me the longer your away from the good old U.S.A. the better you appreciate it. Well now let's see — yes I have been under fire and have successfully completed several very exciting missions into and over enemy territory. So far no one on my crew has been injured and the plane has only about 12 holes in it from anti aircraft fire — nothing really serious as yet. Boy we don't have to be forced to wear our steel helmets when we go in over a target and have to fly through a barrage of bursting flak. On one mission the element following ours said they couldn't see us for the intensity of enemy fire around us. On this same mission the ship ahead of me received a direct hit from a heavy caliber shell and had two gas tanks streaming gas out [6] behind him and was really in bad shape, however, he was lucky and did manage to get his ship into an allied airfield. The fellow on our left was not so lucky he was so badly shot up he crashed into the sea but we did see six chutes open of the ten. In spite of all this our losses are not bad at all compared with what we hand out to the enemy. I was also one of the many ships to give Rome a working over a few days ago. My ship had a very good mission (not to brag) for we were given the credit for the best precision bombing accomplished by my entire group and too we had good aerial pictures to prove our statements. In fact we had such good pictures they were sent to Hq's of Ninth Air Force. We gave the military installations around the city a good pasting but we were very careful not to hit any of the many cultural and historic treasures in and about the city — and I know for we were the last flight to go over the target. [7] Somehow or other two days have elapsed since I finished page six but so what. My gawd! whatta day, I just returned from a session with the dentist — he also has his office in a tent and is completely equipped with every modern inconvenience. I would rather face the enemy ten times than have to go through the dental mill again — however I guess I'll live. The mail situation here is in horrible condition — that is there just isn't any. It seems mosts of it is sitting up in England. The only mail I have received since I left the States are two "V" mail letters from Dad. Most of us prefer to receive air mail letters as they arrive quickest and are more of a letter than "V" mail. Of course if I don't receive any more than I write it won't make any difference whether the post office uses air mail or the pony express. You know we have three cans of Carnation condensed milk setting right in the middle of our damn tent, in fact they have been there even since we put the tent up — just why we are [8] hoarding these cans of milk none of us know for we can get all the can milk we want at the mess hall. This problem is slowly driving us nuts — you might write to the "Dr. Anthony" program and ask him what we should do. We had a U.S.O. show last night and you have to hand it to those people for the entertainment they can put out under very adverse conditions. They had an accordion player, a dancer, a singer and an M.C. You should have heard the all male audience when they saw the first white women since they had left England — it would chill your very bones. Oh yes, they also had a magician and about the only thing I can say about him was he would have been a great hit if he would have made himself disappear? Well whenever you read about the "Liberator bombers" operating from the middle east you can figure I'll probably be on the duty work. Watch the papers for big doin' soon. So long for now let me hear from you all for I imagine my mail will catch up with me some day. Love, Jack

Other

War Experiences from Books

1 August 1943 The following Romanian sources mention him in connection with the Ploesti raid. Ioan Grigorescu, Bine ați venit în infern! (Nemira, 1995) 127, 384 — 127 — McClain si sergentul Russell Hayes, toti trei fácând parte din “Scorpionii cerului”, erau originari din oraselul Waterloo, Iowa, ume evocator. Hayes, tunaar la fereastra stanga a Liberatorului pilotat de Jack Dieterle, traieste si acum la Waterloo, unde este comerciant, tata a sapte copii. = McClain and Sergeant Russell Hayes, all three of them part of the “Sky Scorpions", were from Waterloo, Iowa, evocative name. Hayes, gunner at the left-side window of the Liberator piloted by Jack Dieterle, now lives in Waterloo, where he is a trader, father of seven children. 384 — Si totusi, câtiva dintre pilotii Grupului 389 aveau stagii de zbo stul de îndelungate. Thomas Campbell, copilotul lui Jack Dieterle, ecutase treizeci si cinci ce misiuni cu bombardierul Daisey Mae, iar = Still, some of the 389 Group pilots had long-term training. Thomas Campbell, Jack Dieterle's co-pilot, had thirty-five missions with the bomber “Daisey Mae”, and … Victor Dumitru, Ținta roșie: rafinăria "Steaua Româna" Câmpina, 1 august 1943 : documente, argumente, mărturii (Editura Fundației Culturale Libra, 2004) 66 — 66 — Prima tripleta a celui de-al 4-lea val alcatuita din bombardierele: “The little Gramper” - pilotat de Jack Dieterle; “Boomerang” - pilotat de Melvin Neff si “Sand witch” - pilotat de Robert Horton - a ajuns deasupra tintei cu doua avioane lovite de tirul AAA. (Anexa 9 - Avionul lui Robert Horton inainte de prabusire în albia raului …). = The first triad of the 4th wave made up of the bombers: "Little Gramper" - piloted by Jack Dieterle; "Boomerang" - piloted by Melvin Neff, and "Sand Witch" - piloted by Robert Horton - got over the target with two aircraft hit by AA shooting. (Appendix 9 - Robert Horton's plane before crashing into the riverbed ...).

Other

War Experiences from Journals

1 August 1943 Concerning the attack on Steaua Romana in the Ploesti raid — "Jack Dieterle entered the combat area in a three plane formation under the lead of element leader Melvin Neef flying a B-24 called 'The Boomerang,' and witnessed the demise of his wingman 'Sand Witch' flown by squadron mate Robert Horton. 'I saw Lieutenant Morton just after he had passed over the target and dropped his bombs,' he wrote in a letter that night. 'His ship caught fire from one of the explosions and it looked to me as though he was going to try and crash land beyond the town. Upon landing on what looked like a beach, Lt. Morton's exploded and burned. I failed to see anyone leave the ship after it crashed and burned.' One man escaped from the burning bomber and was captured. ... Jack Dieterle's plane “The Little Gramper” also had an engine shot out over Steaua Romana, but made it back all the way to Libya." Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).

Enlisted

1 August 1943 Jack Dieterle's Account of the Crash of Horton's Plane "I saw Lieutenant Morton [Horton] just after he had passed over the target and dropped his bombs. His ship caught fire from one of the explosions and it looked to me as though he was going to try and crash land beyond the town. Upon landing on what looked like a beach, Lt. Morton's exploded and burned. I failed to see anyone leave the ship after it crashed and burned."

Other

War Letters to His Aunts

12 September 1943 England 9-12-43 Dear Charlotte, Jean, Daisy & Virginia also Sandra: Sorry I haven't written sooner but it seems I am still a busy little beaver. I've forgotten when and what I wrote to you last so if I repeat myself — so what. Well let's see — the last big raid I flew on was into the Rumanian oil fields where we wiped out the Ploesti oil refineries. I am enclosing a souvenir copy of the "Stars and Stripes" which gives the "poop" on the raid and also a letter given us by the Commanding General of our Air Forces. The pictures in the paper are not very good reprints but even so you can get some idea of what it looked like around the targets. The pictures only show the damage we did with the incendiaries we dropped for the demolition bombs were of the delayed action type (so we wouldn't blow ourselves up) and hadn't exploded as yet. Our intelligence reports said there were [2] bombs going off in the target as late as three days after the attack. My "group" so utterly destroyed our target that a "mosquito" sent over the second day after the raid to take photographs was unable to find our target. We came into the attack at 200 feet and would have been lower if it hadn't been for the tall chimleys. We used speed bomb sights and very neatly hit every thing we went after. This attack with "heavy" bombardment planes was unprecedented in air history and was successful in achieving the destruction of the target. We gave them "hell" but we also took punishment ourselves. I was the only ship to get back out of my flight and on the way back I didn't think I was going to make it into my home base because of my dwindling gas supply. I thought I was going to have to make a landing in the sea but as luck would have it I set my ship down on the old home grounds [3] with sputtering engines, crew intact, and but one machine gun bullet in my number one engine to show for my efforts in the raid. I lost many good friends on this raid and believe me the country owes something to those kids. I can say, with pride, that it was a tough raid, well done. The day after the Ploesti raid my crew was given a short leave which we spent in a fairly modern city, in Palestine, called Tel Aviv. While in Palestine I visited the holy lands and saw the Dead sea, river Jordan, Wilderness of Judea, Plains of Jericho, the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem the famous "Wailing Wall". In the city of Bethlehem I visited the Church of the Nativity and saw the manger, the birthplace of Christ. In the old city of Jerusalem I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre wherein the tomb of Christ is and also the spot where Christ was crucified. It was all very interesting even [4] I am now back in England and again attached to the Eighth Air Force. While in Africa I was with the Ninth Air Force. We're now giving the Germans a "work out" over their own playing grounds. —— I gather from the opposition we meet that they don't like it. What with the loses we have suffered and the new men coming in our squadron underwent a reorganization. I am now the Operations officer and no long have a crew of my own. I don't fly as often as when I did have my own crew but I do fly missions with the new crews acting as instructor pilot. Back to the paper work, phooey! I am rather "burnt up" for I took my crew through several very tough missions with out anyone being hurt and what happens the first time [5] they fly with their new pilot — the bombadier gets hit by a good sized piece of "flak". He is going to be okay tho'. The anti-aircraft fire is very accurate in this combat theatre and it sometimes scares the hell out of you when pieces of a shell go singing past your head. But so it goes — it could be worse? Boy the weather here is certainly the opposite of the ever present sunshine of the desert. It's wet and damp practically all the time and we have to watch our step to prevent colds. I have, I believe, received all your letters finally. Thanks a lot. I always like to hear how the poor civilians are making out. The latest "poop" I get from Bob is that he is still in Africa and is coming along okay after a touch of malaria. I was probably fairly close to him at sometime or another for [6] while in Africa I was in Maraketh, Oran, Tripoli, Bengazi, and Cairo as well as points east and north. I am in pretty good shape — lost about 15 pounds while in the desert but this was mostly around the waist line where I could stand it. Well I'll sign off for now and I'll make every effort towards writing again this year? So as the "Wogs" would say, "Sabida George" (Si-eat-ta). Jack P. S. Explanation 1. Wogs —— Arabs, dirty natives, Egyptian gentlemen, people in general, and etc. 2. Sabida (arabic) —— greetings, so long, scram, get the hell out of here, and stuff like that.

Other

War Letters to His Aunts

15 January 1944 England January 15, 1944 To the Averys, Smiths, Barnes, Potts, MacPhersons and anyone else that wants to get in on it. Well I suppose I should start out with an aplogy for not writing more often – but what's the good in it? I would only be lying so we'll just act like nothing even happened. If I ever got ambitious and wrote more than one letter a month there would be no need to fly I'll I say at half mast. All of which is neither here nor there so I'll get on with my tales of the rough and tough E. T. O. Believe me, kiddies, when I say flying at 25000 feet in the winter time over Europe is no picnic. Tempertures of from 40° to 60° — C. are the usual thing and we have the cold to combat as well as the enemy. Of course we are getting the upper hand all the way around so really haven't any real complaints. Speaking of the cold temperatures reminds me of the last raid I was on over Bremen, Germany. It was [2] colder than the proverbial cats ---- and we were having a helluva time keeping warm. I had on an electric flying suit complete with gloves and boots but the damn thing wasn't working just right. In order to keep my hands and feet from freezing I had to turn the reastat to full high and when I did this the part of the suit covering my posterior (?) got very very hot. Well to make a long story short I literally burned my fanny off! However, the Doc's say that with a little ointment in the right place I'll recover. I am getting on very well what with being the command pilot and leading our group on its last mission. I hope to get a chance to lead the wing and then the entire division on a raid before I finish my tour of operations. I take great delight in giving the Germans what they deserve. I've seen too many good friends go down and I no longer feel like a disinterested party. [3] You should see the great fleets of bombers and fighters we put over the continent now —— you would just have to see it to appreciate it. Most of our raids are now escorted by our own fighters and the "little guys" do a bang up job too! Lord knows how many bombers they have saved. The Nazi air force is by no means "licked" as yet and we do not have an easy time of it in spite of our fighter escort. Some of the great air battles are a sight to see —— it really scares [the] hell out of you sometimes. The enemy fighters are one thing but the "flak" that's another! There is nothing you can do about the flak but fly right into the stuff if it is at your target. Boy oh Boy, the barrages they throw up are a terror — I think they have thrown everything but Aunt Hattees three legged cat at us already. The German is a tough customer when fighting over his own home. I do not feel or have the optomistic attitude which is reflected by the American newspapers and radio. From what I have seen I do not believe the Nazis are due to "crack" for sometime [4] yet. Of course we are winning and will continue to do so but there is a lot of hard fighting ahead and we're going to have many of our men killed before we finally win out. I lost one of my best friends a few days ago. He happened to be the boy (only 21) that I trained as my co-pilot and who flew with me on my first five raids as well as Ploesti. We were returning from a raid on a French air field in Southern France when the plane he was flying in received a direct hit, by a heavy anti-aircraft shell, and blew up. It spoiled an otherwise very successful raid. It's a dirty game! I haven't heard from Bob for sometime but even so I figure he is okay even tho' he is right in the middle of one tough battle. His outfit is certainly making a name for itself. In spite of the fact that I never wrote and thanked you all for your very fine gifts I did appreciate them very much. When you stop to consider that our weekly ration over here hardly would cover a small two cent stamp you can [5] readily see that anything to eat is very much appreciated. (I did not eat the clothes pins but rather used them for fire wood). Jean the bible was very nice and I promise that the day I see "the light" (?) I'll put in some fast work on it. Sandra's chocolate bar arrived okay but in a very broken condition. The fruit cake I got from the Potts was neatly done in by my boys at the office, pretty good too. The Christmas cards were all very nice too —— I used them to start fires with when i didn't have any paper. There is a bunch of G.I.'s outside of my room now making a lot of noize. They are in the process of "bailing out" the local bomb shelter. We have had so much rain lately that the damn thing [is] flooded. It would have been funny as hell if we would have had an air raid that night. Those of us that couldn't swim would have been "up the creek". Well, folks, I guess I have covered all the "poop" so I'll sign off for now with a promise to write again in another two or three months. Love to all Jack P.S. God! but war is horrible ! For last night I am tortured with sweet dreams of hot buttered popcorn" — with salt.

Other

War Experiences from Books

8 May 1944 From Philip Ardery's book, Bomber Pilot — [168] “The way the mission was planned, I [Philip Ardery] would fly in a pathfinder airplane to be brought in by a special pathfinder crew a few hours before briefing. We were leery about allowing our group, and as in this case our whole combat wing of three groups, to be led by a strange crew. The deputy command pilot was Major Jack Dieterle, a new squadron commander. Jack was a tall, dark-eyed young fellow from Toledo, Ohio, and one of the excellent younger leaders. He was flying with one of the best lead crews we had. According to the plan, if the target did happen to be clear, my plane would shift places with Jack’s in sufficient time before reaching the target to allow him to make an unhampered visual bombing run. After bombing we would shift back and I would lead the wing home. … [168-171] [They take off for a ball bearing plant on the southern outskirts of Berlin on 8 March 1944. As they approach the target the weather proved to be clear.] I called Jack Dieterle, my deputy leader, to ask him if he had himself properly spotted. He replied that he did. I told him it was evident the bombing would be visual and ordered him to prepare [172] to shift places with me so that his crew could lead on the bomb run. He acknowledged. Soon we turned due east again preparatory to doubling back to the left on our bomb run. I shifted the lead temporarily to Dieterle. … Just about that moment I got a call from Dieterle. “My navigator says he isn’t sure where we are,” he said. “What position do you make us?” Hastily consulting with my navigator I reported to him that we were just about directly on course to our target, after having gone a little farther east and south than briefed. We could look out to the right front and see the vast, sprawling city of Berlin through the quartz-like air. Ahead and slightly to our right was [173] a towering column of smoke. I watched it intermittently until suddenly it occurred to me that the navigator in Dieterle’s ship apparently still hadn’t found himself. He was just slightly south of the proper course and nearing the bomb release line. But as yet the bomb bay doors of the ship had not opened. It was apparent the navigator still had not spotted the target. I looked for the ball bearing factory, and like a flash it occurred to me: that column of smoke, which I could now see was an inky black cloud covering a large area, was what was left of our target. … now the factory was a completely leveled, flaming, smoking mass. The bombs of at least eight hundred heavy bombers had hit an area as big as a few city blocks. “That black smoke is the target,” I shouted over the radio. “I know it,” came back the reply. “We’re past where we could make a good run on it now. If we hit it we’ll have to circle to take a second run. What are your orders?” … “Turn right and we’ll fly over the center of town and make the delivery,” I yelled. … In a few minutes we were within range of the outer circle of the heavy guns guarding Berlin. The first few [174] score of bursts were surprisingly low. Then they crept up on us. … A couple of bombers I could see were already heavily hit. But being in the airplane next to the lead, I couldn’t see far enough back into our disordered formation to gauge well the overall effect of this devastating fire. We kept flying over heavily built-up areas. Why didn’t the bombardier in Dieterle’s ship let go? We know now we were only bombing the city, and one place was about as good as another. What were they holding their bombs for? I called Dieterle. “Why the hell don’t you let them go? We’ll be past the city in another hour of this kind of flying.” “Sorry, the bombardier wants to bomb the railroad yards. Bomb line almost here.” A few seconds later the bombs were away from the lead ship and in quick succession from every other ship of the gangling formation. … The flak was all around us, and we could see the sheets of flame in the explosion of many shell bursts. The ships kicked around in the air like canoes in a Lake Superior storm. I took over the flying of our plane for a moment. I put on enough power to pull ahead a little and slid to the left and under Dieterle, then dropped down a hundred feet or so and headed straight west waggling my wings furiously. Then I pulled off some power and slowed up. Many of the pilots by this time had doubtless become confused as to who was leading. But immediately Dieterle pulled upon my right wing. I kept waggling my wings for a moment, and held a reduced power setting. Soon the others began forming on me in a good, tight formation. About that time we saw the edge of the field of flak just ahead. We flew through the last black bursts and out into the clear, clean air beyond. … [175] Many airplanes showed gaping holes; many had feathered propellers marking dead engines. Some were smoking as if they were about to burst into flames, and a couple had gone down. I called the aircraft in the formation and told them I would use as little power as possible so the cripples could stay with me, and I would let down slowly to 15,000 feet for those whose oxygen lines were out. … [175-179] [A couple of planes that had fallen behind were shot down by the Luftwaffe. Ardery’s ship crash landed with a flat tire. He met Colonel Arnold and General Timberlake in the control tower. They were monitoring the landing of the formation.] Finally, the last one expected in had landed, and then the general, Colonel Arnold, and I piled in the general’s big Packard and drove to the wing headquarters to go over the results of the mission. Dieterle and this navigator and bombardier joined us there. With those three aiding me I tried to piece together the way things went. The mission was considered a great success. The bombers ahead of us were credited with 100 percent destruction of the ball bearing factory. Thus our scattering of bombs on Berlin resulted in more damage than we could have expected had we bombed the bomb craters of units ahead of us. The Air Force lost thirty-eight bombers and sixteen fighters on the mission, and that was less than expected."

Other

Marriage

Orlando, Florida 27 January 1945 Married Margaret Louise Lewis, the daughter of an Army Warrant Officer and veteran of the Spanish-American War; and Mary Corrilla Morrison, the daughter of a Baptist preacher and veteran of the Civil War who memorized the entire Bible on having it recited to him. After the death of Jack Dieterle in 1985, Margaret Dieterle married an airline pilot. She died in 2005.

Died

6 Carmen Court, Novato, California 9 October 1985 Died at home of a massive heart attack. He was overweight and had diabetes.

Other

General Biography

He was a rather wild kid, and later in life conveniently "forgot" all the details of his childhood. He used to play hooky from school in order to go out to the airport and watch the planes take off and land. Otherwise, he used to disassemble and reassemble clocks, radios, and other complex technologies of the day. He was an indifferent student at Scott High School in Toledo. However, he was an excellent athlete, and gained an athletic scholarship to Ohio State University in 1936. He won numerous medals in track and field. In trials before the Olympics in 1936, he finished second to Jesse Owens. However, he never mentioned that, but considered his most memorable moment to have been at an All Ohio meet in which he faced off against Jesse in the high hurdles. Jack tripped over the second hurdle and was left in the dust. Owens went on to become famous as a star in the 1936 Olympics. After graduating, Jack tried to help his family with a series of insignificant jobs which were hard to obtain during the Depression. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he advanced in his training to flying B-24 Liberator bombers. He was a member of 566ᵀᴴ Squadron of the 389ᵀᴴ Bomb Group. They were stationed briefly at Hethel Field in Norwich, England, but about 10 days later, on 3 July 1943, they were sent to Benghazi, Libya, to work with the 9ᵀᴴ Bomber Command. After the raid on Ploesti, he was promoted to Operations Officer, in which capacity he went on missions with new crews to train them in. He was made Commanding Officer of the 566ᵀᴴ Squadron, from February 28 to June 28, 1944. He flew 26 missions during the war, on the last one of which he was shot down, but survived with a concussion. He decided to make a career in the Air Force. His first task was deputy group commander for the experimental guided missile group at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He was sent (in 1948 ?) to Columbus, Ohio, where he got a BS in Business Administration and Industrial Management. By then, he had had two children, Richard “Dick” Dieterle (b. 1945) and Diane (b. 1949). The family spent about a year in Denver Colorado, after which he served a brief tour at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shrevesport, Louisiana. His next assignment was as a Professor of Air Science at Penn State University from 1950-54. In 1955, he served briefly as Base Commander at Osan Air Base in Korea. By then he had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He had, however, also gradually gained weight. When reassigned to Barksdale AFB again, this time in order to fly B-47 jet bombers, his weight problem got him grounded. He was “kicked upstairs” to become Base Installations Engineer and Fire Marshall. After a year in his next assignment, Dayton, Ohio, the family accompanied him to Ankara, Turkey, where he became Deputy Chief of Staff for Engineering in the U. S. military aid program in Turkey. From there the family moved to Hamilton AFB in Marin County, not far from San Francisco, California. He bought a house in Novato nearby, and eventually retired there, where he died in 1985 from complications stemming from his weight problem. As his ashes were scattered in Muir Woods among the redwood trees, unexpectedly, a “missing man” formation of fighter jets appeared overhead. A family friend, Capt. George Cole, had alerted the Air Force to his last rites. The Combat Wing at Hamilton AFB had not forgotten that their laurels rested upon the terrible sacrifice that such men had made in WWII.

Other

War Experiences from Books

This incident is from Robert H. Sweatt's memoir in Larry Smith, Trouble (New York: Page Publishing, Inc., 2018). “One day, Lacy got orders to go to San Antonio for second phase training, and a Captain Dieterle took over as pilot for my crew. I [Robert H. Sweatt] flew with Dieterle maybe one or two practice missions, but there was an almost-immediate tension between us, so several of us in the crew started looking for another pilot. Then some of my friends told em there was another pilot, named Wilhite, who needed a gunner. I talked with him, and we hit it off immediately. He was a likable fellow, and several of us were transferred to Wilhite’s crew within a few days. … Chapter 9. There was a tail gunner from Chicago on the crew of the Oklahoman whose nickname was the Greek. His real name was George Triantafillos, and he was a staff sergeant. He really like to go to the pubs, and he could never get enough passes to satisfy that desire, so he would steal passes, and he got very good at doing that. So he would share them with others. … One night, I got back to the base around 1:00 a.m., and I had one of the stolen passes that wasn’t signed. I didn’t want Wilhite to get in trouble, so I signed the pass with Captain Dieterle’s name. (Yes, the same Captain Dieterle who was my pilot after Lacy. He had also been assigned to Hethel Air Base.) But I messed up. Dieterle was leader of the 566th squadron, and the stolen pass was from the 567th squadron. I guess I had been drinking too much beer, and it never dawned on me at that time. About a week later, a runner came through the barracks to find me. “Sweatt! Report to Captain Dieterle’s office immediately!” I had forgotten about the pass and didn’t know what this was about, but it became clear pretty quickly. When I got there, he started yelling at me. “Sweatt, you have embarrassed me in front of this whole group! I’m going to bust you and kick you out!” At that point, I let our past history get my anger up, and I said something to the effect that I want to transfer to a B-17 group anyway. He got even angrier and pointed outside his office and said, “You go out there and sit down, PRIVATE! I’m going to call your pilot and talk to him.” When Wilhite arrived, he shook his finger at me before going into Dieterle’s office. I could hear them talking but couldn’t understand the words. Wilhite even laughed a few times. When he came out, Wilhite was shaking his head, and Dieterle yelled at me to get back in there. Dieterle was still mad, but he started out saying, “Well, your pilot still wants you on his crew, so I’m going to raise you back up to a buck sergeant so you can fly. But don’t you EVER sign my name to another pass! YOU UNDERSTAND, SWEATT?” The time sitting outside Dieterle’s office had allowed me to reflect and realize that I wanted to stay with my crew, so I was relieved that was the decision, and I answered, “Yes, sir!” Wilhite never mentioned the incident again, and of course, neither did I.

Other

War Experiences Told to His Son

He rarely talked about the war except when a television series called “Air Power” was showing, on which occasion he gave a running commentary. He once mentioned that he had seen a man shorn to pieces by a propellor blade in Benghazi, rather similar to the Movie “Catch 22.” He heartily agreed with the premise of that movie that if you hate war and want to get out on a section 8 (mental illness), you will be told that you’re perfectly normal; and if you really are crazy, then you will not want to get out and will never file a section 8. He frequently used the expression “section 8” as a synonym for “crazy.” He also like to say, “number ten,” oriental pidgin for “very bad,” a habit he no doubt picked up in Korea. He commented upon training in the desert for the Ploesti raid by flying 200 feet off the ground, where they at least had the feeling of danger mitigated by occasionally terrorizing camel riders. When they were briefed on the upcoming raid on Ploesti, they were told not to worry about the dirigible balloons with heavy cables attached to them, and that they should simply cut them with their wings. When asked what those balloons were for, the briefing officer replied, “They’re designed to cut wings off.” During the raid itself, he said that it was the only time that he had ever had anti-aircraft fire directed down at him (from batteries on top of ridges above valleys). He said, for some reason that he could not remember, that he and the plane to his right, that of Lt. Horton, switched positions. Horton’s plane was severely shot up and crashed. His crew was lost except for one man. The element leader, Lt. Neef, was also shot down. Had he not switched positions, he himself would almost certainly have been shot down and likely killed. Later in life he had an interesting encounter on the streets of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was stationed at Barksdale AFB. Much to his surprise he ran across someone whom he thought to have been killed at Ploesti. When he last saw the man’s plane, it was about to “pancake” in an open field. This man, who by exclusion would seem to have been Lt. Neef, said that he was able to skid on the belly of the plane without cracking up. As they struggled out of the ship, a hoard of Romanians rushed towards them with pitchforks. Realizing that the peasants thought that they were Russians, he yelled, “Amerkansky!” (not realizing that Romanian is a Romance language). At that point the mob dropped their aggressive demeanor and gave them a hearty welcome. He once commented that the heaviest flak barrage he had ever seen was over the Straits of Messina, as the Germans were trying to cover their retreat from Sicily. He was the last plane in the Bomb Group and was tasked with giving the initial report on the effectiveness of the bombing run. After a time, it became clear that the Luftwaffe especially targeted planes that were in ragged formations, no doubt on the supposition that the sloppiness might extend to the gunnery as well. So my father countered this by having his squadron go aloft and practice tight formation flying. While they were thus engaged, he would take off in a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft and dive through the formation like an attacking fighter plane. This way they would become inured to the distraction of fighter attack and keep their formations tight and effective. He vividly recalled how German fighters pressed their attack so hard that they would occasionally roll over the nose of his aircraft so that you could clearly see the pilot. After having completed his required 25 missions, he was entitled to be free of further combat. However, one day another pilot asked him for a favor. He desperately needed to see his girl friend in London, but had been scheduled that day for a mission. Could he fly that for him? So my father said that he would. At that time, the British were trying to break out of Caen, where the German had them hemmed in with heavy Panzer support. The mission was to bomb in support of the British push. After having dropped his bombs, he started to head back to England, but before he could get beyond the Axis controlled area, his plane was hit multiple times by anti-aircraft fire. The plane fell into a gradual descent which could not be reversed, so he ordered everyone to bail out. After the crew had done so, he walked out on to a wing and jumped. Having had no experience in parachuting, he somehow got tangled up in the chute’s cords, and did not land on his feet. He apparently landed somewhere in no man’s land, where several British soldiers rushed up. He had suffered a concussion and other minor injuries. The first man there said, “You’re alright, mate!” He was sent to a British hospital, which seems not to have suited him, as he complained at not having been sent to an American unit. During the course of the war he had lost only two crew members. One was a gunner, and the other was his copilot. They were flying a mission when a piece of flak punctured the windshield. Without a sound, his copilot simply slumped over dead. The missions were extremely stressful. He remarked more than once that every time he went up, "it was like they were holding a gun to my head."

Other

Biography from Journals

"First Lieutenant Jack W. Dieterle grew up at 2138 Maplewood in the Old West End and was part of the Scott High School class of 1935. Jack was an exceptional athlete and the 1934-35 Scott track squad went undefeated in 13 contests. He then attended the Ohio State University on a track scholarship, where he was a track teammate of someone you might have heard of: the great Jesse Owens. He was working as a laborer when he enlisted in the Army on January 20, 1942 at Toledo, graduated from flight school at Roswell, New Mexico in September 1942, and was pilot of a ship he christened 'The Little Gramper'. ... Jack Dieterle chose to make the military his career: he would rotate back to England with the group and fly his new B-24 christened the “City of Toledo” through the rest of his tour, being promoted to 566th BS squadron commander in May 1944 and continuing to serve in the Air Force until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel. Jack Dieterle died in Novato, California in 1985." Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).

Revisions

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Details added to biography, wording changes. - Kickapoo

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Letters to home - Major Jack W. Dieterle

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COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE-WORLD WAR II, s.v. "566th BOMBARDMENT,” ed. Mauer Mauer (Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, and Office of Air Force History, Headquarters, USAF, 1982) p. 664a.

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My father was commander of the 566th Squadron from March 1944 to July 1944. From " 389th BG Squadron Aircraft Timeline," http://www.389thbg.com/389thbg_sqn_timeline.pdf

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ContributorDieterle
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Richard Dieterle, correcting typos, spelling, and phrasing. Adding a new recollection.

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Richard Dieterle. Adding awards and revising biographical information.

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Richard Dieterle, from papers in the possession of Dan Masters.

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Richard Dieterle, from papers in the possession of Dan Masters.

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Richard Dieterle, from papers in the possession of Dan Masters.

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Richard Dieterle, from papers in the possession of Dan Masters.

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Richard Dieterle, adding more material from Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).

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Richard Dieterle. Passage quoted from, Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).

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Richard Dieterle, biographical entry taken from: Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).

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ContributorDieterle
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Richard Dieterle, correcting a date and a number of typos.

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Richard Dieterle.

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Richard Dieterle, correcting a typo and rephrasing an earlier contribution.

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Richard Dieterle.

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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 168-179.

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Richard Dieterle.

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Richard Dieterle, correcting a sentence.

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389th Bomb Group website > 389th BG Squadron Aircraft Timeline (http://www.389thbg.com/389thbg_sqn_timeline.pdf). Letter of Jack Dieterle to his aunts dated 12 September 1943.

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Formation plan of the 566th Bomb Squadron. Testimony to Richard Dieterle.

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Ploesti formation plan, 389th Bomb Group.

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Bomber Crewmen Who Flew on Tidal Wave (Lincoln: Nebraska Printing Center, 2002). http://fliphtml5.com/sxwk/nhsh/basic/

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Bomber Crewmen Who Flew on Tidal Wave (Lincoln: Nebraska Printing Center, 2002). http://fliphtml5.com/sxwk/nhsh/basic/

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A letter dated 15 January 1943 says that he was on the mission in which his former co-pilot, Thomas G. Baum, was killed. This was the mission of 5 December 1943.

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ContributorDieterle
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Bomber Crewmen Who Flew on Tidal Wave (Lincoln: Nebraska Printing Center, 2002). http://fliphtml5.com/sxwk/nhsh/basic/

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Richard Dieterle (son).

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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 168-179. The passage was redacted by Richard Dieterle.

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Ioan Grigorescu, Bine ați venit în infern! (Nemira, 1995) 127, 384. Victor Dumitru, Ținta roșie: rafinăria "Steaua Româna" Câmpina, 1 august 1943 : documente, argumente, mărturii (Editura Fundației Culturale Libra, 2004) 66.

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Richard Dieterle

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ContributorDieterle
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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of Word War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1978) 170.

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Larry Smith, Trouble (New York: Page Publishing, Inc., 2018).

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard L. Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard L. Dieterle

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Testimony to his son, Richard L. Dieterle. Missions: USAAF Worldwide Operations Chronology (http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Jul.43.html); Wiki Warbirds > B-24D (The Little Gramper) 42-40722 (http://warbirds.wikia.com/wiki/B-24D_(The_Little_Gramper)_42-40722).

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Richard Dieterle

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Richard Dieterle.

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Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war.

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ContributorDieterle
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Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war.

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ContributorDieterle
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Richard L. Dieterle

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ContributorDieterle
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Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war.

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ContributorDieterle
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Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war.

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Source: Richard Lewis Dieterle, their son.

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Based in some measure upon personal acquaintance as his son (Richard Lewis Dieterle), but also upon letters written to his aunts during WWII, and on genealogical records.

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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 / Ploesti by Dugan & Stewart

Jack Woodrow Dieterle: Gallery (5 items)