John Ingbert Snede

Military
Hand coloured portrait of Sergeant John Ingbert Snede, 303rd Bomb Group c.1944. HU 141111 HU 141111 Hand coloured portrait of Sergeant John Ingbert Snede, 303rd Bomb Group c.1944. IWM collections

Object Number - HU 141111 - Hand coloured portrait of Sergeant John Ingbert Snede, 303rd Bomb Group c.1944.

John Ingbert Snede (1925-2012) from Saint Paul Minnesota, enlisted in the US Army Air Forces in June 1943. He was assigned to the 303rd Bomb Group at Molesworth in early June 1944, and took part in five combat missions. Snede’s B-17 Flying Fortress 42-31200 ‘Old Crow’ was shot down on a mission to Juvincourt on 28 June 1944, he was initially sheltered in Bucy-les-Pierrepont by a farmer, Rene Baillie who reunited him with he crewmate Albert Willard. They were then sheltered by Leroy Labrousse near Machecourt, then moved to Tavaux -et-Pontséricourt in July 1944 where they stayed with Pierre and Odette Maujean for about a month; before the resistance eventually helped them to reach Allied lines on 28 August 1944. 

On the afternoon of 30 August 1944, Odette Maujean was murdered by German forces. Snede learnt of what had happened in Tavaux in a letter from a member of the US 3rd Armoured Division in February 1945,and wrongly inferred his presence a month before had been the cause of the violence and held the misplaced belief for the best part of 50 years that he was responsible for Odette’s death. 

Following the war, Snede worked for Northwest Orient Airlines, becoming a pilot in 1963. In 1995, Snede reconnected with Rene Baillie, and along with Albert Willard visited him in France. He also connected with Aliette Meaujean, Odette’s daughter in 1997

 

Shot down on his fifth mission on 28 June 1944 in B-17 Flying Fortress 42-31200 nicknamed "Old Crow" during a mission over Juvincourt. Snede's aircraft was hit by flak, and caught fire. He successfully baled out, landing a ploughed field, where a French civilian advised him to hide in a thornbush until dark. Snede convened with Albert Willard the following day and the pair were sheltered by the French resistance until 28 August 1944, when they were liberated by the First Army.

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Units served with

People

Bomber crew portrait with B-17 Flying Fortress (GN-V, serial number 42-31200) nicknamed "Old Crow" of the  303rd Bomb Group
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Bomber crew portrait with B-17 Flying Fortress (GN-V, serial number 42-31200) nicknamed "Old Crow" of the  303rd Bomb Group
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator

Aircraft

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota 3 June 1925

Evaded

28 June 1944 - 28 August 1944

Died

27 April 2012

Revisions

Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources

Updates to biography based off information in the typescript recollections of John Ingbert Snede, written May 1995, and held in IWM's collection.

Date
Changes
Sources
Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources
Date
Changes
Sources

8th AF News, September 2000; Hell's Angels Newsletter May 2001 MACR 6740 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia;
http://www.303rdbg.com/rost-rs.html#S;
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93697951/john-ingbert-snede

Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources

Information provided by Donald Snede, son, Escape and Evasion Reports for John I Snede and Albert Willard at NARA, MACR 6740,

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

MACR 6740 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

John Ingbert Snede: Gallery (4 items)