| Allgemein | |
|---|---|
| Hersteller: | Boeing |
| Produktionsblock: | , B-17G-80-BO: 43-38074 bis 43-38273 |
| Einsatzgeschichte | |
|---|---|
| Bomber-Gruppe: | , 91st Bomb Group |
| Bomber-Staffel: | , 322nd Bomb Squadron |
| RCL | LG-P |
| MACR | 10146 |
| Schicksal: |
, Abschuss durch Feindflugzeug (02 November 1944) |
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Geschichte der
B-17 43-38212 / Gal O‘ My Dreams
Delivered Cheyenne 8/7/44; Kearney 17/7/44; Grenier 3/8/44; Presque Is 7/8/44; Assigned 322BS/91BG [LG-P] Bassingbourn 18/8/44; Missing in Action {11m} Merseburg 2/11/44 with Tom Burne, Navigator: Lou Renoult, Bombardier: Francis Golubski, Radio Operator: Harry Hansen,Tail gunner: Albt Rosa (5 Killed in Action); Co-pilot: John Keckler, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Harry Wellington, Ball turret gunner: Willis Pierce, Waist gunner: Bob Sponsel (4 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft shot out intercom and set bomb bay on fire, crashed Gross Oesingen, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 10146. GAL O‘ MY DREAMS.
Informationen können Korrekturen und Ergänzungen auf Grundlage von Jings Recherchen enthalten.
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Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 19. Mai 2017 aktualisiert
19. September 2021 access_time 8:33
I am a nephew of 1LT Louis C. Renoult, the Navigator. I would like to get in touch with the children/ grandchildren/ nieces/ nephews, etc of the other crew members. I look forward to sharing information about these courageous, superb men!
18. Mai 2022 access_time 19:02
Hi Mark. My father, John A. Koehler was Louis‘ cousin. Louis‘ mother, Alma Koehler Renoult, was my dad’s aunt. I have info on the last flight of the Gal o‘ my Dreams that I got from the National Archives. I’d be happy to share. I have also been looking for any nose art or photos of the plane, with no success. Look forward to hearing from you. Don
27. Juni 2022 access_time 5:46
Buck,
Actually, Alma was my aunt-vy-marriage. She was married to Ben Dyer, my dad’s older half-brother. I’m retired US Army and a Permanently & Totally Disabled combat vet myself. I also have a Ph.D. in Military History. I’m doing this as a „labor of love“ for Aunt Alma and her 3 daughters, my dear 1st cousins Roberta, Becky and Clara. I’ve got a LOT of info but there’s always more. I’m fluent in German, so via the town administration in Gross Oesingen I was put in tough with a gentleman who witnessed the emergency landing (not a crash, per se) and everything that followed afterward. Lou was thrown through the nose on intact and died of Skull fractures. Fortunately, his body didn’t burn, as did Burne, Golubski and Hansen (who was killed in the air by enemy fire.) The bodies were buried with due honors by the Luftwaffe in the MOST prestigious spots in the town Cemetery. At the moment, I’m drawing up Award Citations for Lou, the pilot, Tom Burne, and John Keckler, the co-pilot. Tom and Lou, especially, deserve AT LEAST awards of the Silver Star for their heroism after the plane was hit. Plus, they were entitled to at least Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medals with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, plus the other service/ campaign medals. All Mrs Renoult (Alma and Lou’s mother, who I knew well) ever received was his Purple Heart.
My email is tombguard206@gmail.com
Regards,
Mark L Arnold, Ph.D.
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Ret.)
28. Juni 2022 access_time 2:54
Don,
I’ve been searching for the crew photo as well. My cousin Roberta (Alma Renoult Dyer’s eldest daughter) has a daughter who’s acting as custodian for everything connected with Lou. Roberta mentioned to me that her daughter has a crew photo. I’m hoping to get a copy soon.
I have a photo of Lou in uniform I got via some of my military contacts, but that’s all. BUT. The family got back Lou’s regulation full-size navigator’s wings. I have the pair of 2/3 size wings the guys back then often wore and that Lou was wearing under his flight suit on the last mission. When the Luftwaffe officer and his people showed up within minutes of the plane coming down, the plane was burning fiercely. The only person he saw at the time was Lou, and the Engineer/Top Turret Gunner TSGT Harry Wellington, who’d also stayed with the plane and survived the crash with only a broken ankle and some bruises. The Luftwaffe officer and one of his NCOs searched Lou before removing his body. The gentleman who wrote me was right there, so the Oberleutnant (1LT) took off Lou’s „unofficial“ wings and gave him to the boy as reward for observing, reporting, and securing the site until the Luftwaffe guys got there. He mailed them to me. I’ll send them on to my cousins, but am enjoying having them on my desk while I’m engaged in this research project.
ANOTHER THING I’d always heard of but hadn’t researched was how well the POWs were handled, including being examined and treated immediately at a nearby Luftwaffe hospital. Allied Air personnel were handled SOLELY by the Luftwaffe, per Göring’s policy. They were treated in full compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Also the burials of Lou, Burne, Golubski and Hanson were done with military honors and they were initially interred in Row 1, plots 1-4, in the town Cemetery. Your great-aunt, Mrs Alma Renoult, and her husband Robert had Lou’s body returned and he’s buried with his parents and older brother, Robert in Calvary Cemetery in Memphis. Lou and Alma’s older brother Robert, Jr died young in 1939 of some illness (I forget offhand what it was.) As a teenager I attended Mrs Alma Renoult’s funeral and burial. I remember it clearly. As I said earlier, she was always very kind and loving to me, and in return I loved her dearly. Our side of the family (Dyer/ Arnold) was always and still is VERY close even though we don’t see one another too often anymore. Typical Southern family, where your 1st cousins are almost like siblings, and our children are like nieces and nephews to our generation. I’ll take a pic of the wings Lou was wearing when he died and shoot it to you. Did you post your email??
Regards,
Mark
28. Juni 2022 access_time 17:22
Don and Buck,
I thought I’d mention that „Gal O‘ My Dreams“ wasn’t the crew’s „regular“ plane. In fact, the final mission was the only one they flew in her. They flew 10 missions in plane #083 of the 322nd. On the other 10 or 12 missions they flew various ships. So the „nose art“ we’ve been curious about probably didn’t have any particular connection to the guys we’re interested in.
If you have a chance, there’s a documentary on YouTube called „The Cold Blue“ in which a veteran mentioned that crew’s didn’t always fly the same plane. It’s also well worth watching to learn about the B-17 bombing war.
-Mark
28. Juni 2022 access_time 17:24
Crews not crew’s. I hate autocorrect.
28. Mai 2022 access_time 4:24
Hi Mark and Don. Albert Rosa – the tail gunner – was my great uncle. I have a copy of the MACR. Happy to share any info.
27. Juni 2022 access_time 5:58
Albert was severely wounded when the plane was attacked. I’ve read the debriefing done after the survivors were returned from POW Camp. John Keckler, the co-pilot, was sent back to help the wounded and try to extinguish the fire. Rosa came out badly hurt (probably hit in the femoral artery) with no oxygen. Keckler got him on oxygen, tried to treat his wound, got his chute on him and got him out of the plane. He was found and was dead. Others suspected he’d been killed, but it’s very likely he simply bled out before he hit the ground or was found. From personal experience I know that severed femoral artery wounds kill very quickly.
I’d love to get in touch. These were a great group of guys I feel I’ve gotten to know during my research. I’m considering writing a book about this one small crew and their story. They represent thousands of others in the 91st BG.
One thing I’m missing is their CREW PHOTO. One WAS taken, but I’m ha ing difficulty finding one.
Regards,
Mark L Arnold, Ph.D.
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Ret.)
28. Juni 2022 access_time 3:06
Buck,
Do you have access to any photos? Letters Albert wrote home? Any of that? ALSO- As I mentioned earlier, the crew each had earned the Air Medal w/ 3 OLC and the Distinguished Flying Cross by the time they went down according to the criteria In effect at the time. Plus all the other WWII Campaign and Service medals they were entitled to but never got. Louis Renoult’s mother, for example, only got his posthumous Purple Heart. None of the others. I’m involved in getting those awarded. I’m the process I’ll be tracking down the nearest-related people for each guy on the crew — whether KIA or POW. It’s the RIGHT thing to do and as a shot-up old Army Infantry/ Ranger/ Special Forces vet it’s personal for me.
My email is tombguard206@gmail.com
Regards,
Mark
03. Juli 2022 access_time 2:28
Buck,
Do you have any information about your Uncle Albert’s body being repatriated to the States after the war, or if he was moved to a US Cemetery in Europe? The government gave families the choice after the war. John Keckler, as I mentioned previously, got Albert out of the plane before the other guys jumped, so he was initially buried (with full military honors, by the way) at the nearest community Cemetery to where he came down rather than with the other 4 still in the plane (1 already dead, 3 killed on impact) when it hit the ground.
27. Juni 2022 access_time 6:03
Don,
The Alma I referred to was Louis‘ sister. My aunt by marriage. Her mother, Mrs Alma Renoult, lived with Aunt Alma and Uncle Ben all through my childhood, and I loved her dearly. As I said, this is a „labor of love“ for my 3 cousins, Roberta, Becky and Clara… I guess they’re YOUR cousins as well!
03. April 2025 access_time 3:25
Hi , I’m Robert Sponsel’s grandson (He was the left waist gunner on the mission per John Keckler who wrote about what happened to them) he was injured by a 20 mm cannon shell in the left arm , a tourniquet was placed and morphine given by staff sgt Willis Pierce who then bailed him out on a static line . I was told a totally different story regarding how they were treated on the ground. Perhaps the fog of war but it was not kind or respectful. The part I do know was true is that my grandfather was initially treated by a local doctor and then turned over to the German forces whom amputated his left arm above the elbow three times before it was done correctly, the first two without anesthesia . He then spent the rest of the war in various prison camps being fed too little and patrolled by dogs in such a way that he came back terrified of German shepherd dogs. Every meal he ate for many years was divided into four parcels…. three were placed in the refrigerator for later as he was not sure if he would be fed tomorrow or the next three days . He lived a long and successful life but on the day he passed away he was delirious in his bed and flashed back to the day he was shot down and my Mother who is still alive sat on the end of the bed and landed the plane for him. I do know he received all his medals that were then given to a museum, I believe he sent his flight jacket to the Keckler family in Indiana ,and sent his mission diary to the museum as well. Last bit of trivia is that the Ken Burns film about WW2 in color has an episode on the Bassingbourn airstrip with color movie footage of his entire crew in front of a different plane ….. Made my moms day when I saw that and sent it to her .
21. Oktober 2025 access_time 4:48
David,
That’s all the sort of information I’m interested in. And true: the Stalag- Luft Camps the Luftwaffe operated for Allied Airmen weren’t exactly „cozy.“ The ones for NCOs were less- comfortable than the ones for Commissioned Officers (a Geneva Convention thing.) AND, when they went down on 2 Nov 44, Germany was in its final 6 months. They had MASSIVE problems feeding their own troops and civilians. But, they STILL allowed airmen POWs to get their Red Cross packages most of the time, didn’t really ABUSE the POWs, IN GENERAL. They also followed the Geneva Convention condition of sending brief cards to their families, saying they were ok and POWs. The Luftwaffe ALSO send lists thru the Red Cross with lists of airmen who were POWs, KIAs, etc. which were sent on to the Air Force, the Group, and Squadron the men belonged to. Which GREATLY helped the morale of their buddies still flying.
And BELIEVE ME: Another couple of cousins were ground rroops: Infantry ans Armor NCOs wounded and captured. THEIR treatment was MUCH less „humane“ than the airmen“s were. Not viciously BRUTAL, but still pretty rough.
But ANY anecdotes, reminisces, etc would be greatly appreciated. Even wartine or postwar photos, if you could; naturally YOU would be achnowledged as the source of the photos or informations.
Thanks and God Bless!