Orval Roscoe Reeder
Military
Object Number - UPL 16004 - Orval Roscoe Reeder - 93rd BG, 329th BS, Tail gunner, B-24 42-95258
Shot down at Madgeburg on 9/11/44 in B-24 #42-95258, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
1942 USAAF Serial Numbers
2-95023/95288
Ford B-24H-25-FO Liberator - c/n 1788/2053
Pilot: First Lieutenant or Lt. Jr. Grade ROY J. FULCO
95258 (93rd BG, 329th BS) lost Sep 11, 1944. MACR 8838
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Division
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Combat organisation
- 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-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: What a Sack
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 329th Bomb Squadron
Missions
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Lorraine, Illinois | 15 March 1924 | |
|
Enlisted |
Peoria, IL, USA | 16 April 1943 | Term of enlistment - Value 5 Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Magdeburg, Germany | 11 September 1944 | Stalag Luft IV - Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16. **According to his pilot, Roy J. Fulco, "...Roy entered service in February of 1943, reporting for pre-flight training at Randolph Field in San Antonio. He took primary and basic flight schools in El Reno, Oklahoma, and Winfield, Kansas, and twin-engine training at Pampa, Texas. After earning his commission on December 5, 1943, Roy received orders for B-24 school in Liberal, Kansas, with additional training in Colorado Springs and Lincoln, Nebraska. From there he flew overseas in late July of 1944. Roy served briefly with the 312th Bombardment Squadron, and then was switched to the 329th at Hardwick, England. Roy was flying his ninth mission when flak hit his plane. He bailed out over Magdeburg, Germany. "Black smoke was just everywhere outside, and then you could tell it was close when you could see red, the fire on the inside," he recalls of flak. Roy says he's unsure "whether I panicked or whether I made a decision." The crew bailed out. All were captured. Placed in solitary confinement for "two or three days," he was then moved to an interrogation center at Wetzlar and then to Stalag Luft One at Barth, Germany. "You were hungry and dirty most of the time," he recalls of his time as a prisoner. He describes food given them as scraps. "If it hadn't been for the Red Cross, I don't think I would have made it," he says. "We would get one parcel a week per man. It was enough food to sustain you for a week," he recalls. Food from his captors consisted of potatoes, turnips, and "dehydrated vegetables that they used for horse feed." Once a month they were given four ounces of "some kind of meat and barley." The prisoners called the heavy bread they were issued, "thunder bread." Roy lost about forty pounds, from 158 to 117. Some prisoners kept hidden parts for a radio. They would put them together, pick up the BBC, and learn the latest news. They then dismantled the radio and spread the news on small handwritten notes. Roy states that guards were strict, but he never saw them beat a prisoner. The men traded cigarettes with guards, mainly for food. They knew the Russians were advancing west towards Berlin. Two days after the guard fled, around May 1, 1945, the Russians arrived with food. On May 13 B-17s took the men to Camp Lucky Strike in France. He recalls going to Paris, checking into a hotel, and flushing the toilet "just to hear it rattle." He sailed home, arriving near his birthday...." |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Magdeburg, Germany | 11 September 1944 | Orval was shot down on 09/11/1944 over Germany. It is unknown at this time how long he was a prisoner of war, however, the family story goes that for almost 2 years his parent did not know if he was alive or dead. Then one day when his mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner, her son, Orval, walked through the door. The letter from the war department informing his parents that he had been found in a POW camp and was on his way home arrived approximately 1 week later. |
|
Enlisted |
Mission 623 Hanover, Germany | 11 September 1944 | HANNOVER (Opportunistic) Description ENGINE FACTORY Aircraft type Not yet known Notes 2nd Bomb Division was made up of 44th BG, 92nd BG, 93rd BG, 385th BG, 389th BG, 445th BG, 453rd BG, 458th BG, 466th BG, 467th BG, 489th BG, 491 BG, 492nd BG. 446th Bomb Group stands down. |
|
Died |
Peoria, IL, USA | 26 December 1969 | Orval died at the young age of 45 years old on December 26, 1969 from a massive heart attack. By his side was his beloved son, Mark. Orval left behind a wife, one son, and six daughters. Just a few short months later his son, Mark, was drafted into the Army and continued to carry his fathers torch by proudly protecting and defending our country. |
Revisions
Roy Fulco obit
Mission 623
Per official records
Snapper as nickname per his son, Mark Orval Reeder on May 31, 2020
Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Changed the label for the MIA event to POW.
Official NARA mission records
Susie Reeder - Daughter of Orval - found on his original Discharge papers
USAAF report
Reeder Family history
Reeder family history
American air museum
The mightyeighth.org
http://www.mightyeighth.org/Library/PDFs/8thAFBomb%20&FighterGroups.pdf
1942 USAAF Serial Numbers
The US National Archives & Records Administration
Reeder personal family history - per Amber Breitzman (granddaughter of O. R. Reeder)
The U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
Personal Reeder Family History Records
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8838 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
