Charles R Busbee

Military

Felled by flak over Leipzig on 7 July 1944 in AC #42107218. Prisoner of War (POW) Barth Stalag Luft I 10 months. POW



Charles Busbee

Bombardier, 398th Bomb Group, Nuthampstead, England



On the morning of July 7, 1944, somewhere near Leipzig, Germany, German 155mm guns got the correct range/speed/altitude on Charles’s plane. The plane was hit, caught fire and the pilots lost control of the ship. The crew had to bail out, but Charles kept his wits and delayed the opening of his parachute to minimize being shot from the ground. When the chute opened, he found himself falling out of the sky over a German reforestation area. Because of the number of tree stumps in the area, he couldn't roll to absorb the shock, so the impact doubled him in half as his chest hit the ground between his knees.



He met up with his tail gunner who almost mistook him for the enemy. They evaded capture for five days moving about only at night. On the fifth day, a Luftwaffe corporal on leave in his home town, arrested Charles and his friend after not returning a proper greeting in German. They were eventually taken to the local jail and then on to an interrogation center. For ten months Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany was his home.



Thirteen days after the Russians liberated the POW camp, Charles outfit, the 398thBomb Group was assigned to fly POWs out. They ended up in a tent city appropriately named Camp Lucky Strike near Paris where thousands were waiting for transportation back to the states. Here they received medical care, new clothing and plenty to eat. Charles was told that they might be there weeks or even months waiting for a ride back to the states. One day a guy came in Charles' tent and said that there was limited space on a shuttle flight to England and if he hurried he could be taken. Charles’ made the flight to England and in a short time was on a ship to the USA.



Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 398th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 398th Bomb Group 600th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Germany 7 July 1944

Revisions

Date
Changes
Sources

Sources: Conversations with Charles as a member of the North Texas Chapter of the 8th Air Force Historical Society. Also information from an online eulogy on Charles by Joe Tokarz, NTNOA.
lda/22/16

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7221 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, MACR 7221