Ernest Britt Jackson, left standing, with crew in front of the Wampus Cat B-17.
The late Newton County resident Britt Jackson spent 15 months as a prisoner of war in the infamous Stalag 17 during World War II. Known by many Americans as the setting for the hit TV sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," Stalag 17 was certainly not a situation comedy to the airmen imprisoned there.
#Jackson died in 2009, but his wife, Mary, heard all the stories.
#"Britt told me the men almost froze to death. Food was scarce, usually a rutabaga per day. Britt hated rutabagas ever since."
#Jackson enlisted in the Army Air Corps in September 1942. He attended airplane mechanics school and later training on B-17 Flying Fortresses.
#After gunnery school, Jackson was sent to Thurleigh, England, with the 8th AF, 306th Bomb Group, 423rd Squadron and mostly flew on the B-17 "Wampus Cat." Jackson served as flight engineer and top turret gunner.
#"We didn't know what was going on or what Britt was doing since our mail was heavily censored, but we knew the men on those B-17s over Europe had it pretty rough," said Mary, who was Jackson's hometown sweetheart and future wife.
#Pretty rough meant a German fighter's 20mm shells ripping through the fuselage, blasting off a wing, or blowing off the nose canopy. B-17s receiving direct hits from flak (German anti-aircraft fire) would often explode into massive fireballs, taking a crew of nine or 10 down with them.
Read more here: http://www.rockdalecitizen.com
No comments:
Post a Comment