Norman V Pero

Military

B-17G #42-31672 'Buckeye Boomerang II' left formation on the return from a mission to Frankfurt, GR on 20 Mar 1944 and exploded and crashed SW of Dieppe, FR. Some of the crew baled out. Edited by Suzanne Siebert removed the fact he was a POW he was not he was an allied airforce evader (see his Escape & Evasion Report). Following his return to the UK, he was on an Air Transport Command - Foreign Transport and arrived back in Washington DC on August 26, 1944--see the document in his family tree on Ancestry.com

Connections

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Units served with

401st Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

91st Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

42-31672

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Buckeye, Boomerang II
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 401st Bomb Squadron

Places

Bassingbourn

Site type: Airfield

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Rochester, New York, USA	22 September 1921
Other Escape & Evasion following the crash of his plane	Germany	20 March 1944 - 31 July 1944	Sgt. Pero came down in 21 March 1944 a short distance north of Auffay (France). He walked to the outskirts of Auffay where he met a man who spoke English. The man said that he had been an interpreter during the last war. He was middle-aged, of heavy build, cleanshaven and about 5'9" tall. This helper took him to a friend's farm and put him in a hayloft, where his heated flying suit was removed by the Frenchmen. From there he was taken on foot to an interpreter's house in Auffay. The interpreter gave him a civilian sweater and kept him there for the night. He was then taken by train to Rouen the next morning. There they went to a local cafe, which was the headquarters of an organisation, where the interpreter left him. The cafe owner was a short man with a moustache, of medium build, about 45 years old, who owned a Ford truck. At sundown, the cafe owner took him to a house in Rouen which was owned by an older man and his wife. The next night he was taken to a warehouse belonging to a man with a wooden leg. From there he was taken to the house of Ralf Henning, 10 Rue de Poisson. Hennig's sister took care of Sgt. Pero for 6 or 7 days. He was told by these people that he would be returned to the UK by plane. Henning took him by train from Rouen to Formerie and then on foot to Vergenet where he was left at a farmhouse where he stayed 7 days with the farmer and his family. He believes their name was Luc. After 7 days a young man, about 21 years old, who seemed to be the head of the organisation (black curly hair, 5'11", medium build, carried a gun), came to give Pero an identity card for Paris, ration stamps and cigarettes. They took bicycles to Bois de Puits where they spent the night in a farmhouse. Next day the organisation leader gave Pero a gun and took him by motorcycle to Le Caule, where he stayed in a butcher's house for one day. Here he met Sgt. Elliott another American Air Force evader. Sgts Pero and Elliott were taken to Mortemer by motorcycle and then to Neufchatel by horse and buggy. They spent the night at a lumber camp where they were questioned as to their identity by a one-legged man who treated them very kindly. Next day they went by bicycle to Bully where they stayed at the house of a Mme. Dumont for 10 days. Sgt. Faulkner, another American Air Force evader, joined them here. Another helper Jean Macron came from Paris and took all three evaders to Paris by train. Macron took them to his house for two days and made up identity cards for them; their previous cards were not suitable. Pero and Elliott were further delayed due to not having any more photos. Faulkner was taken to the coast by Macron and returned to the UK by boat. The next day the two sergeants had their photos taken at a department store. Also, on this day, they met Capt. Raymond, a U.S. Intelligence Officer and were taken to the house of Mme. Germaine, where they stayed for about 23 days. They received new identity cards there and left with a guide named Lucie to Toulouse by rail. They picked up new guides from time to time en route to Toulouse. Here they spent 22 days at the house of Joseph Corraze, at 30 Rue Dinetard. Guides took them by train to Montrejeau and then by bicycle to the Pyrenees where they were met by other guides including 2 Belgian Resistance men and a British officer (Tobias Biallosterski). They immediately set out to cross the mountains. The crossing took 7 days as they were delayed by the poor health of one of the Belgians. In Spain, they stayed hidden in a cave for two days while waiting to contact a driver. From there they started for Barcelona by automobile but were arrested by police at Graus where they declared themselves to be escaped prisoners of war. They spent the night in jail and were questioned the next morning as to name, rank and serial number. They gave their actual ranks. They were also asked how much money they had. They were kept there for two days. They were fingerprinted, and through a Red Cross representative, they contacted the British Vice-Consul at Zaragoza. The Vice-Consul told them that under no circumstances should they declare themselves to be airmen. From here they went to Madrid where they remained for four weeks, then moved to Gibraltar. At Gibraltar, they were questioned by a British IO who asked them for all details of their trip, including helpers, etc. From here they returned to the UK where they arrived on the 31st of July.

Event

Location

Date

Description

Born

Rochester, New York, USA

22 September 1921

Other

Escape & Evasion following the crash of his plane

Germany

20 March 1944 - 31 July 1944

Sgt. Pero came down in 21 March 1944 a short distance north of Auffay (France). He walked to the outskirts of Auffay where he met a man who spoke English. The man said that he had been an interpreter during the last war. He was middle-aged, of heavy build, cleanshaven and about 5'9" tall. This helper took him to a friend's farm and put him in a hayloft, where his heated flying suit was removed by the Frenchmen. From there he was taken on foot to an interpreter's house in Auffay. The interpreter gave him a civilian sweater and kept him there for the night. He was then taken by train to Rouen the next morning. There they went to a local cafe, which was the headquarters of an organisation, where the interpreter left him. The cafe owner was a short man with a moustache, of medium build, about 45 years old, who owned a Ford truck. At sundown, the cafe owner took him to a house in Rouen which was owned by an older man and his wife. The next night he was taken to a warehouse belonging to a man with a wooden leg. From there he was taken to the house of Ralf Henning, 10 Rue de Poisson. Hennig's sister took care of Sgt. Pero for 6 or 7 days. He was told by these people that he would be returned to the UK by plane. Henning took him by train from Rouen to Formerie and then on foot to Vergenet where he was left at a farmhouse where he stayed 7 days with the farmer and his family. He believes their name was Luc. After 7 days a young man, about 21 years old, who seemed to be the head of the organisation (black curly hair, 5'11", medium build, carried a gun), came to give Pero an identity card for Paris, ration stamps and cigarettes. They took bicycles to Bois de Puits where they spent the night in a farmhouse. Next day the organisation leader gave Pero a gun and took him by motorcycle to Le Caule, where he stayed in a butcher's house for one day. Here he met Sgt. Elliott another American Air Force evader. Sgts Pero and Elliott were taken to Mortemer by motorcycle and then to Neufchatel by horse and buggy. They spent the night at a lumber camp where they were questioned as to their identity by a one-legged man who treated them very kindly. Next day they went by bicycle to Bully where they stayed at the house of a Mme. Dumont for 10 days. Sgt. Faulkner, another American Air Force evader, joined them here. Another helper Jean Macron came from Paris and took all three evaders to Paris by train. Macron took them to his house for two days and made up identity cards for them; their previous cards were not suitable. Pero and Elliott were further delayed due to not having any more photos. Faulkner was taken to the coast by Macron and returned to the UK by boat. The next day the two sergeants had their photos taken at a department store. Also, on this day, they met Capt. Raymond, a U.S. Intelligence Officer and were taken to the house of Mme. Germaine, where they stayed for about 23 days. They received new identity cards there and left with a guide named Lucie to Toulouse by rail. They picked up new guides from time to time en route to Toulouse. Here they spent 22 days at the house of Joseph Corraze, at 30 Rue Dinetard. Guides took them by train to Montrejeau and then by bicycle to the Pyrenees where they were met by other guides including 2 Belgian Resistance men and a British officer (Tobias Biallosterski). They immediately set out to cross the mountains. The crossing took 7 days as they were delayed by the poor health of one of the Belgians. In Spain, they stayed hidden in a cave for two days while waiting to contact a driver. From there they started for Barcelona by automobile but were arrested by police at Graus where they declared themselves to be escaped prisoners of war. They spent the night in jail and were questioned the next morning as to name, rank and serial number. They gave their actual ranks. They were also asked how much money they had. They were kept there for two days. They were fingerprinted, and through a Red Cross representative, they contacted the British Vice-Consul at Zaragoza. The Vice-Consul told them that under no circumstances should they declare themselves to be airmen. From here they went to Madrid where they remained for four weeks, then moved to Gibraltar. At Gibraltar, they were questioned by a British IO who asked them for all details of their trip, including helpers, etc. From here they returned to the UK where they arrived on the 31st of July.

Revisions

Date6 Jul 2020 19:40:51

ContributorSuzanne Siebert

Changes

Sources

Transcribed by Willem Mugge and Suzanne Siebert: The above account of Sgt PERO was taken from a difficult report in the airman's own hand. It is his Escape and Evasion report from August 1944. We have the document should anyone like to see it or if we could upload it somewhere--not sure if that possibility exists.

Date27 Sep 2014 18:20:42

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3411 / MACR 3411, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database