Herman Leo Frieden

Military

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: Ninth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 17th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-747698
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 17th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-817628
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 17th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-760120
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
  • Nicknames: Flossie's Fury
  • Unit: 17th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Union, Iowa 28 April 1921

Enlisted

Peoria, Illinois 9 December 1941

Died

Carquieranne, France. 20 August 1944 The two sergeants would not be flying with their regular crew. Piloted by Lt. Joseph Albury with Lt. Joseph Casey in the right seat, Flossie's Fury would be the lead ship in their formation. Lt. Edgar Hawthorne was the bombardier, and Sgt. Francis Pesta manned the twin .50s in the tail. Five-Zero also had navigator Lt. Paul Marshall and cameraman Sgt. Herman Frieden on board. Instead of the usual six-man crew, eight men were crammed in. Like many of the other combat crew that day, McCluskey had had bad vibes at the briefing, and when they drew their flight equipment, he had opted to take extra flak jackets; heavily leaded front and back, each weighed almost 20 pounds. A jacket usually hung from the shoulders like an umpire's chest protector, but the crew often took extras and strategically placed them under or over whichever other parts of their anatomy they most wanted to protect Leaving the IP, Lt. Albury rolled Flossie's Fury onto the target heading at 1427 hours. In the nose, Lt. Hawthorne crouched over his Norden bombsight and got the cross-hairs centered on the target. The bomber was now being "flown" by Hawthorne. Each of his slight course corrections to stay on target moved the needle of the pilot's directional indicator on Albury's instrument panel. Smoothly working the throttles and controls, Albury kept the needle centered and maintained an airspeed of 185mph. Lose 200 feet," Hawthorne commanded on the intercom. "Lose 300; lose another 100." At 12,400 feet, Hawthorne called, "Good; hold it. I got it pegged." The formation was flying the last part of the bomb run straight and level and as sitting ducks. The flak was as briefed: heavy, intense and accurate, and there was an acrid smell as they flew through the roiling black smoke from the 88mm and 105mm bursts. The seconds dragged, but then the big plane shuddered as the two huge bombs dropped out of the bomb bay. "Bombs away! Let's get the hell out of here," Hawthorne shouted, and Albury broke hard right. "There was heavy flak on the bomb run," Moscovis recalled. "You could feel the bombs go out, and I thought we were safe. But just as we started our break, we got two direct hits."

Buried

Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial Draguignan, Departement du Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France PLOT Block B Row 9 Grave 13