Willard G Spangler
Military"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Prisoner of War (POW) Shot down by flak and crashed near Pierrelay in B-17 Fourth Term 42-97171
He was manager of a telephone company before entering the AAF in February 1943, trained as a pilot and joined the Group at Knettishall in April 1944. On his 13th mission August 2nd the plane took several hits and he was knocked out. When he came to he discovered that the rest of the crew had bailed out except the bombardier who was trapped. He managed to land the plane, was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag Luft 111. At the camp they got very little food - Red Cross parcels were not distributed - and when released he weighed just 96 pounds.
He was afterwards Postmaster at Everly for 30 years.
DFC; Air Medal and cluster
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: 4th Term
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Big Cabin, Oklahoma, USA | ||
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
68-100 Zagan, Poland | 2 August 1944 | |
Everly, IA 51338, USA |
Revisions
"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7745 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database