Assigned to 704BS, 446BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 8-Jun-44 in B-24 42-109830 'Daisy Mae Skraggs. ' Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5482



“On June 8, 1944, our bomber group, the 446th B 24 Liberator group, due to overcast weather did not attack its initial target, the Laval airstrip and dropped its bombs on the Granville station, through a cloudy sky, making the results random and invisible. Our squadron was attacked by 15 x Me 109 fighters. Immediately after leaving our objective around 10:30 am, the plane was strafed and fire immediately broke out in the fuselage. Engines 1 and 2 were hit. He was winning so quickly that we risked exploding at any time and I gave the order to quit.



Sergeant Leedy Lewis was killed in flight. He had just called from his upper turret, "Captain!" "I had one !!", Before being cut down by a burst of 20 mm. But, to my knowledge, everyone else jumped despite the fact that we were over the ocean.



"Daisy" exploded shortly after we left and the pieces fell on the Isle of Chausey which, to my astonishment, presented itself to my gaze just below. Five members of the crew, including myself, were rescued and recovered by fishermen from Île Chausey. Despite the searches, the others could not be found at the time. Sergeant Griffith, for example, was one of the first to jump and he was not injured. I think, having fallen too far out to sea, he drowned along with Allaman, Nace and Sawyer. Leedy's body was found in the wreckage of the plane and we buried him on the island. Later, after the war, the US authorities came to look for him and he is now buried in the Saint-James military cemetery ”.



Awards: AM (2OLC), PH (OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.