Flew 5:30 (approximately) on this one. No one knows the exact time. We carried 12 500 lb. G.P.’s.

No flak anyplace. The target was a munitions plant which was completely demolished. Our s42-94931quadron was jumped by fighters and a Me-109 jumped us. [Sgt. Robert] Perkins our tailgunner opened up on him as did a couple of ships in the formation. The Me-109 hit us and then did a somersault over us. I saw the pilot slumped over in the cockpit and the props were bent into the fuselage of the [German] ship. He exploded a few seconds later. When he hit us he knocked off our right stabilizer and elevator and ripped the fuselage from the tail almost up to the right waist window.

When the fighter hit us we dropped about 2000-3000 feet and this happened on the bomb run about a minute from the MPI. I looked up and saw the formation directly above us and call[ed] up [2nd Lt. Robert] Winger & told him to move over to the right, which he did as fast as he could with the controls he had left. [2nd Lt. Walter] Parker then called up and gave Winger a heading back to our lines. I called up Winger twice to ask him if I should drop the bombs. When he didn’t answer I dropped the bombs and after I called bombs away Winger, turned on the course that Parker gave him. Winger knew right after that, that he wouldn’t be able to land it & he called up & told us that we would jump as soon as we got far enough into friendly territory. On our way toward the lines we almost went over Hanover but lucky enough we missed it. On our way I got out of out of my turret and took off my felt shoes & my heated boots and put on my GI shoes. I grabbed my baseball hat and stuffed it inside my jacket. I put my sunglasses in my left knee pocket with my escape kit and made sure it was zipped up & then I put my cigarettes & lighter in my right knee pocket with my knife and made sure that was zipped up. We got about 70 miles inside our lines and Parker called up Winger and said we could jump anytime now.

Right after that Perkins called up and said “tailgunner bailing out”. About two minutes later the two waist gunners bailed out, then the radio operator & engineer then the navigator and me & then the co-pilot and pilot. I jumped from the nose wheel hatch and waited just long enough to slow up a little before I pulled the rip cord. We jumped from 10000 ft at a 170 MPH air speed. There was a hell of a jerk when the chute opened. I jumped with my oxygen mask on. When the chute opened the end of my hose hit me an awful whack in the jaw. Didn’t hurt me though. I didn’t have any sensation of falling at all. Just before we jumped [T/sgt. Wilbur] Lewis called up and said you can straighten by putting one arm out so when I jumped I waited just long enough to slow up a little then I put out my left arm and pulled the rip cord. It really was peaceful up there & I had a feeling of being helpless. Coming down I felt like I wasn’t moving at all, actually it took 15-20 min. to get down. I landed in a fresh plowed field and didn’t hit hard at all.

From the Belgian[s?] that came out to meet me I found out that there were some Yank soldiers in a village nearby. I started for the village but a jeep came out to meet me. Before I landed I had an idea where some of the other chutes landed. I landed near Alken, Belgium. We took off with the jeep and went about a half mile and we found Parker and [Sgt. Ray] Cote. We then went looking to see if we could find anyone else. We had just turned back when a kid in a field waved at us & we went over and found out that one of the boys were at a chateau nearby. When we got there we found Lewis and also a lot of liquor. We all proceeded to get pretty tight & then went back to the post. We stayed that afternoon with the 786 Engineers[7] (really great bunch of guys). That night we went to St. Truiden to the airfield where everyone was except Perkins. We stayed there that night & the next morning went to B-58 (10 kilometers from Brussels). We ate and then picked up some chutes and then went to B-75 where we got on a Limey C-47 & came to Honington England we then went by truck to our base. Perkins showed up a day later.

We flew 1-8 number eight in the lead squadron.