Howard Koeppen's tale
November 27, 2008
The below information was gathered by Donald Koeppen, local World War II veteran Capt. Howard Koeppen's brother. Donald gathered information about Howard's life and death. In this article, Donald describes how Howard's life ended while fighting for his country. He also described how he gathered this information.
A Journey to Remember - a Trip to Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 2007.
Written by Donald Koeppen, younger brother of Captain Howard Koeppen of Walworth who was shot down and killed in a B-17 bomber over Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 1943. He was 26 years old and flying his 17th mission. Don Koeppen lives in Stevensville, Montana, and is now 85 years old.
Howard was the pilot on the plane Mary Jane II along with nine crew members. Mary Jane I had been retired and replaced, due to extreme battle damage, at an earlier date. The name came from an association with a young lady, Mary Jane Craig, from Waco, Texas whom Howard had met during a phase of his pilot training. He trained at Bakersfield, California, Waco, Texas, and Sebring, Florida. After he graduated from Sebring, and received his wings and commission, he was assigned to train in B-17s, the Flying Fortresses. Eventually he was ordered to the Midwest where he was given his crew. From that staging area, they flew to Bangor, Maine, then to England via the Great Circle Route. In England they were stationed at a city called Kimbolton and assigned to the 379th Bomber Group.
Howard and his crew members were shot down during the memorable Schweinfurt - Regansburg raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories on August 17, 1943. Sixty percent of the planes on that raid were lost. Prior to the crash, Polemsky, the tail gunner, who was a replacement and not a regular member of the crew, was shot and killed. When the plane became unmanageable and started to lose altitude, Howard ordered the crew to bail out. He stayed with the plane and continued to fly it while the crew members jumped. Two engines were out, one was on fire, half of the tail was missing, and the plane was in a flat spin. This information was related to my son David and me by Becky Watson Custer, daughter of Robert Watkins, the ball turret gunner, who was the last out of the plane and had told her about his ordeal. All of the crew were taken prisoner immediately after they reached the ground.
Howard's nephew who is my son, David Koeppen of Boise, Idaho, recently decided to search the Internet for any surviving crew members. He found all were deceased; however, in the search he was contacted by Mrs. Custer. It seems that her father, after the war was over, was involved in the reunions of the 379th Bomber Group, and after his death she took over and is currently the assistant secretary of that organization. Mrs. Custer and David decided to pursue the crash further to try to find answers to questions that remained. The Internet provided them with the name of a correspondent of a newspaper located in a town, Gerolzhofen, just a few miles from Abenheim where the plane had crashed. This gentleman's name was Norbert Vollman and he spoke very good English. He became very interested and provided them with old pictures that had been taken of the plane crash as well as names of witnesses to the crash. The pictures showed the detached tail and the wing and fuselage minus the cockpit area and the engines. Interestingly, one picture showed a mother and three small children standing on the wing of the plane. The tallest boy in the picture was seven years old at the time. During our visit to Abenheim, we met this man, who stayed with our group throughout our stay. He is now seventy-one years old.
After many emails with Mr. Vollman, he encouraged us to visit the village and meet with the people who witnessed the plane crash. We decided to make the trip, but before leaving Mrs. Custer had obtained the name of a young man from Woodland, Texas, Chris Baxter, whose grandfather was a navigator on a plane that flew in the lead position of Howard's flight of six planes, all of whom were shot down. This particular plane, flown by the pilot, after all the crew had jumped, crashlanded in a field in a small village a few miles from Abenheim. We visited this town, were welcomed by the Mayor, and were shown by an eyewitness exactly where the plane came to rest. The pilot was uninjured, jumped out and ran to a nearby railroad station where he was taken prisoner by the railroad agent. All the rest of the crew were also taken prisoner, however Baxter's grandfather ran for three days before he was caught. Baxter joined Becky, David, and me on our trip. We left on the 10th of August so we would be sure to be in Abenheim on the 17th - the 64th anniversary of the air raid.
I flew from Missoula to Salt Lake City where I met David. From there we flew to Frankfort. In Frankfort, we met Becky and Chris. Perhaps of interest, when talking to Chris, I found that he had married a girl from Fontana that he had met in college. He told me her mother still resided in Fontana in close proximity to the Abbey. After I returned from Germany, I had occasion to visit Walworth so I took some time to try to locate Chris's mother-in-law. I didn't know her last name but thought someone might know a lady who had a daughter in Texas whose name was Angie. No one was home at the house I thought might be the one so I went to the Police Dept. Nothing there, but I was directed to a lady who ran a small store in the vicinity. She couldn't help me either, but it wasn't a total loss as she was the sister of a girl with whom I had gone to high school. She also had bowled on a team with my sister. Quite a coincidence! As my time was limited, I had to leave. The next time I visit Fontana, I will get the mother's name from Chris and pay her a visit.
In Frankfort, we rented a car and drove to Gerolzhofen where we met Norbert and his family. We had dinner together and spent the night there at an Inn. Norbert was leaving for Florida the next day so he referred us to Mr. Edwin Hess, a local historian. We left Gerolzhofen and drove to Worms, about 8 miles from Abenheim, where we stayed overnight. The next day we were met by Mr. Hess. He was very interested in the battle and made sure we visited the right sites and met the most knowledgeable people. He took us to Abenheim, a nice village of 1700 people, where we met with the Mayor and 14 other people-his staff and all of the eyewitnesses to the crash of Howard's plane. He served wine at 10:30 in the morning, gave us a tour of his building, and provided us with a bottle of wine to take home. Abenheim is surrounded with grape vines and wine is a major product in that area.
We met Gerda Michael, who is now 80 years old and still rides her bicycle. She was 16 at the time of the crash and was working in the fields with her horse and wagon. She heard the plane exploding and saw plane parts and my brother's body fall only a few yards from her. Her horse was spooked, and she had difficulty controlling it. She also saw two parachutes come down about a quarter mile from her. One person was Mrs. Custer's father and the other was Eugene Shattuck of Pearson, Wisconsin. Howard had written us about Shattuck, as Pearson is only about 20 miles from Lily, Wisconsin, where the Koeppen's had owned a cottage for many years. Shattuck had his left hand nearly blown off while he was still in the plane. Watkins helped him put on his chute and then pushed him out the door and then followed. They landed quite close together. Meanwhile Gerda had taken her horse and wagon to where they landed and provided Shattuck a ride to a doctor in the village, while Watkins walked along behind to the village where he was taken prisoner.
One of the first people on the scene was a German Army tank commander who was in Abenheim home on leave. He was asked by Shattuck to cut off his hand which was remaining by a thread of skin. He didn't want to do this-nor did Watkins-so Watkins gave his knife to Shattuck who made the cut himself.
There were three individuals who were working in the fields and vineyards who saw the plane go overhead, heard the explosion, saw the descending parachutes, and the pursuing German fighter planes. These people were all at the Mayor's welcoming, and we got to visit with them at length.
Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and had even employed a translator to help us talk to those who didn't speak English. In addition, Gerda's son spoke fairly good English. After the welcoming we were taken to the cemetery where Howard and Polemsky had been buried. The bodies had been exhumed and transferred to another German cemetery at Bensheim. From there the bodies were transferred to a permanent cemetery in St. Avold, France. Four years later, my folks were notified they could either leave his body there or have it returned home. They chose the latter, and he now resides in the family plot in Walworth. We know nothing about what happened to Polemsky, the tail gunner.
After the visit to the Abenheim cemetery, we were taken to the actual crash site which was no farther than ½ mile from Gerda's home. Gerda pointed out where she was at the time the plane debris and my brother came down, where two parachutes came down, where the tail section and Polemsky was, and where the wing and fuselage came to rest. After that, Mr. Hess took us to his home and gave Dave and me a .50 caliber shell and a piece of hydraulic hose that he had found at the crash site several years later.
From the site we were driven back to the village, still accompanied by all the witnesses. At that time the local fire department was having a fundraiser picnic and the Mayor saw to it that we were introduced and wined and dined.
We left for Worms and the next day we drove to Schweinfurt for a tour of that city. Mr. Hess had arranged that a retired pastor would show us the railroad marshaling yards, the ball-bearing plants, and a local cemetery where many people killed in the raid were buried. We also saw a memorial established by the 379th Bomber Group to honor both the Americans and Germans. It was adjacent to a 4-story concrete bomb shelter that still stands. We then returned to Abenheim, as we had been invited to Gerda's for morning wine and snacks. There we were met by a news reporter and a television cameraman. Again we visited the crash site and the event was explained to the media. After they had taken their pictures, we returned to the village for lunch at a winery owned by Helmut Boxheimer, one of the witnesses who owned the winery. From the winery we were taken to a Festival and Carnival. We participated in a parade, with a band, and then back to the Carnival proper where we were introduced to those people in attendance and provided with dinner.
After dinner we left our companions and retired to Gerda's home where we visited and viewed pictures. She also gave us a bottle of wine to take home. Then, back to Worms, Frankfort, and home. We had a most enjoyable trip that clarified and laid to rest all of the unanswered questions we had regarding the flight.
A final note. The German officer pilot, who was given credit for downing the plane, ran out of gas and had to land in a nearby field. He got a ride on a motorcycle into Abenheim where the crew was being held in front of some very irate Germans. He stopped the display and proclaimed that the American Airmen were good people and were only doing what their government had told them to do-just as he was doing what his government had told him. He was only 19 years old and was later killed in an air battle over northern Germany.
November 27, 2008
The below information was gathered by Donald Koeppen, local World War II veteran Capt. Howard Koeppen's brother. Donald gathered information about Howard's life and death. In this article, Donald describes how Howard's life ended while fighting for his country. He also described how he gathered this information.
A Journey to Remember - a Trip to Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 2007.
Written by Donald Koeppen, younger brother of Captain Howard Koeppen of Walworth who was shot down and killed in a B-17 bomber over Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 1943. He was 26 years old and flying his 17th mission. Don Koeppen lives in Stevensville, Montana, and is now 85 years old.
Howard was the pilot on the plane Mary Jane II along with nine crew members. Mary Jane I had been retired and replaced, due to extreme battle damage, at an earlier date. The name came from an association with a young lady, Mary Jane Craig, from Waco, Texas whom Howard had met during a phase of his pilot training. He trained at Bakersfield, California, Waco, Texas, and Sebring, Florida. After he graduated from Sebring, and received his wings and commission, he was assigned to train in B-17s, the Flying Fortresses. Eventually he was ordered to the Midwest where he was given his crew. From that staging area, they flew to Bangor, Maine, then to England via the Great Circle Route. In England they were stationed at a city called Kimbolton and assigned to the 379th Bomber Group.
Howard and his crew members were shot down during the memorable Schweinfurt - Regansburg raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories on August 17, 1943. Sixty percent of the planes on that raid were lost. Prior to the crash, Polemsky, the tail gunner, who was a replacement and not a regular member of the crew, was shot and killed. When the plane became unmanageable and started to lose altitude, Howard ordered the crew to bail out. He stayed with the plane and continued to fly it while the crew members jumped. Two engines were out, one was on fire, half of the tail was missing, and the plane was in a flat spin. This information was related to my son David and me by Becky Watson Custer, daughter of Robert Watkins, the ball turret gunner, who was the last out of the plane and had told her about his ordeal. All of the crew were taken prisoner immediately after they reached the ground.
Howard's nephew who is my son, David Koeppen of Boise, Idaho, recently decided to search the Internet for any surviving crew members. He found all were deceased; however, in the search he was contacted by Mrs. Custer. It seems that her father, after the war was over, was involved in the reunions of the 379th Bomber Group, and after his death she took over and is currently the assistant secretary of that organization. Mrs. Custer and David decided to pursue the crash further to try to find answers to questions that remained. The Internet provided them with the name of a correspondent of a newspaper located in a town, Gerolzhofen, just a few miles from Abenheim where the plane had crashed. This gentleman's name was Norbert Vollman and he spoke very good English. He became very interested and provided them with old pictures that had been taken of the plane crash as well as names of witnesses to the crash. The pictures showed the detached tail and the wing and fuselage minus the cockpit area and the engines. Interestingly, one picture showed a mother and three small children standing on the wing of the plane. The tallest boy in the picture was seven years old at the time. During our visit to Abenheim, we met this man, who stayed with our group throughout our stay. He is now seventy-one years old.
After many emails with Mr. Vollman, he encouraged us to visit the village and meet with the people who witnessed the plane crash. We decided to make the trip, but before leaving Mrs. Custer had obtained the name of a young man from Woodland, Texas, Chris Baxter, whose grandfather was a navigator on a plane that flew in the lead position of Howard's flight of six planes, all of whom were shot down. This particular plane, flown by the pilot, after all the crew had jumped, crashlanded in a field in a small village a few miles from Abenheim. We visited this town, were welcomed by the Mayor, and were shown by an eyewitness exactly where the plane came to rest. The pilot was uninjured, jumped out and ran to a nearby railroad station where he was taken prisoner by the railroad agent. All the rest of the crew were also taken prisoner, however Baxter's grandfather ran for three days before he was caught. Baxter joined Becky, David, and me on our trip. We left on the 10th of August so we would be sure to be in Abenheim on the 17th - the 64th anniversary of the air raid.
I flew from Missoula to Salt Lake City where I met David. From there we flew to Frankfort. In Frankfort, we met Becky and Chris. Perhaps of interest, when talking to Chris, I found that he had married a girl from Fontana that he had met in college. He told me her mother still resided in Fontana in close proximity to the Abbey. After I returned from Germany, I had occasion to visit Walworth so I took some time to try to locate Chris's mother-in-law. I didn't know her last name but thought someone might know a lady who had a daughter in Texas whose name was Angie. No one was home at the house I thought might be the one so I went to the Police Dept. Nothing there, but I was directed to a lady who ran a small store in the vicinity. She couldn't help me either, but it wasn't a total loss as she was the sister of a girl with whom I had gone to high school. She also had bowled on a team with my sister. Quite a coincidence! As my time was limited, I had to leave. The next time I visit Fontana, I will get the mother's name from Chris and pay her a visit.
In Frankfort, we rented a car and drove to Gerolzhofen where we met Norbert and his family. We had dinner together and spent the night there at an Inn. Norbert was leaving for Florida the next day so he referred us to Mr. Edwin Hess, a local historian. We left Gerolzhofen and drove to Worms, about 8 miles from Abenheim, where we stayed overnight. The next day we were met by Mr. Hess. He was very interested in the battle and made sure we visited the right sites and met the most knowledgeable people. He took us to Abenheim, a nice village of 1700 people, where we met with the Mayor and 14 other people-his staff and all of the eyewitnesses to the crash of Howard's plane. He served wine at 10:30 in the morning, gave us a tour of his building, and provided us with a bottle of wine to take home. Abenheim is surrounded with grape vines and wine is a major product in that area.
We met Gerda Michael, who is now 80 years old and still rides her bicycle. She was 16 at the time of the crash and was working in the fields with her horse and wagon. She heard the plane exploding and saw plane parts and my brother's body fall only a few yards from her. Her horse was spooked, and she had difficulty controlling it. She also saw two parachutes come down about a quarter mile from her. One person was Mrs. Custer's father and the other was Eugene Shattuck of Pearson, Wisconsin. Howard had written us about Shattuck, as Pearson is only about 20 miles from Lily, Wisconsin, where the Koeppen's had owned a cottage for many years. Shattuck had his left hand nearly blown off while he was still in the plane. Watkins helped him put on his chute and then pushed him out the door and then followed. They landed quite close together. Meanwhile Gerda had taken her horse and wagon to where they landed and provided Shattuck a ride to a doctor in the village, while Watkins walked along behind to the village where he was taken prisoner.
One of the first people on the scene was a German Army tank commander who was in Abenheim home on leave. He was asked by Shattuck to cut off his hand which was remaining by a thread of skin. He didn't want to do this-nor did Watkins-so Watkins gave his knife to Shattuck who made the cut himself.
There were three individuals who were working in the fields and vineyards who saw the plane go overhead, heard the explosion, saw the descending parachutes, and the pursuing German fighter planes. These people were all at the Mayor's welcoming, and we got to visit with them at length.
Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and had even employed a translator to help us talk to those who didn't speak English. In addition, Gerda's son spoke fairly good English. After the welcoming we were taken to the cemetery where Howard and Polemsky had been buried. The bodies had been exhumed and transferred to another German cemetery at Bensheim. From there the bodies were transferred to a permanent cemetery in St. Avold, France. Four years later, my folks were notified they could either leave his body there or have it returned home. They chose the latter, and he now resides in the family plot in Walworth. We know nothing about what happened to Polemsky, the tail gunner.
After the visit to the Abenheim cemetery, we were taken to the actual crash site which was no farther than ½ mile from Gerda's home. Gerda pointed out where she was at the time the plane debris and my brother came down, where two parachutes came down, where the tail section and Polemsky was, and where the wing and fuselage came to rest. After that, Mr. Hess took us to his home and gave Dave and me a .50 caliber shell and a piece of hydraulic hose that he had found at the crash site several years later.
From the site we were driven back to the village, still accompanied by all the witnesses. At that time the local fire department was having a fundraiser picnic and the Mayor saw to it that we were introduced and wined and dined.
We left for Worms and the next day we drove to Schweinfurt for a tour of that city. Mr. Hess had arranged that a retired pastor would show us the railroad marshaling yards, the ball-bearing plants, and a local cemetery where many people killed in the raid were buried. We also saw a memorial established by the 379th Bomber Group to honor both the Americans and Germans. It was adjacent to a 4-story concrete bomb shelter that still stands. We then returned to Abenheim, as we had been invited to Gerda's for morning wine and snacks. There we were met by a news reporter and a television cameraman. Again we visited the crash site and the event was explained to the media. After they had taken their pictures, we returned to the village for lunch at a winery owned by Helmut Boxheimer, one of the witnesses who owned the winery. From the winery we were taken to a Festival and Carnival. We participated in a parade, with a band, and then back to the Carnival proper where we were introduced to those people in attendance and provided with dinner.
After dinner we left our companions and retired to Gerda's home where we visited and viewed pictures. She also gave us a bottle of wine to take home. Then, back to Worms, Frankfort, and home. We had a most enjoyable trip that clarified and laid to rest all of the unanswered questions we had regarding the flight.
A final note. The German officer pilot, who was given credit for downing the plane, ran out of gas and had to land in a nearby field. He got a ride on a motorcycle into Abenheim where the crew was being held in front of some very irate Germans. He stopped the display and proclaimed that the American Airmen were good people and were only doing what their government had told them to do-just as he was doing what his government had told him. He was only 19 years old and was later killed in an air battle over northern Germany.
Howard Koeppen's tale
November 27, 2008
The below information was gathered by Donald Koeppen, local World War II veteran Capt. Howard Koeppen's brother. Donald gathered information about Howard's life and death. In this article, Donald describes how Howard's life ended while fighting for his country. He also described how he gathered this information.
A Journey to Remember - a Trip to Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 2007.
Written by Donald Koeppen, younger brother of Captain Howard Koeppen of Walworth who was shot down and killed in a B-17 bomber over Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 1943. He was 26 years old and flying his 17th mission. Don Koeppen lives in Stevensville, Montana, and is now 85 years old.
Howard was the pilot on the plane Mary Jane II along with nine crew members. Mary Jane I had been retired and replaced, due to extreme battle damage, at an earlier date. The name came from an association with a young lady, Mary Jane Craig, from Waco, Texas whom Howard had met during a phase of his pilot training. He trained at Bakersfield, California, Waco, Texas, and Sebring, Florida. After he graduated from Sebring, and received his wings and commission, he was assigned to train in B-17s, the Flying Fortresses. Eventually he was ordered to the Midwest where he was given his crew. From that staging area, they flew to Bangor, Maine, then to England via the Great Circle Route. In England they were stationed at a city called Kimbolton and assigned to the 379th Bomber Group.
Howard and his crew members were shot down during the memorable Schweinfurt - Regansburg raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories on August 17, 1943. Sixty percent of the planes on that raid were lost. Prior to the crash, Polemsky, the tail gunner, who was a replacement and not a regular member of the crew, was shot and killed. When the plane became unmanageable and started to lose altitude, Howard ordered the crew to bail out. He stayed with the plane and continued to fly it while the crew members jumped. Two engines were out, one was on fire, half of the tail was missing, and the plane was in a flat spin. This information was related to my son David and me by Becky Watson Custer, daughter of Robert Watkins, the ball turret gunner, who was the last out of the plane and had told her about his ordeal. All of the crew were taken prisoner immediately after they reached the ground.
Howard's nephew who is my son, David Koeppen of Boise, Idaho, recently decided to search the Internet for any surviving crew members. He found all were deceased; however, in the search he was contacted by Mrs. Custer. It seems that her father, after the war was over, was involved in the reunions of the 379th Bomber Group, and after his death she took over and is currently the assistant secretary of that organization. Mrs. Custer and David decided to pursue the crash further to try to find answers to questions that remained. The Internet provided them with the name of a correspondent of a newspaper located in a town, Gerolzhofen, just a few miles from Abenheim where the plane had crashed. This gentleman's name was Norbert Vollman and he spoke very good English. He became very interested and provided them with old pictures that had been taken of the plane crash as well as names of witnesses to the crash. The pictures showed the detached tail and the wing and fuselage minus the cockpit area and the engines. Interestingly, one picture showed a mother and three small children standing on the wing of the plane. The tallest boy in the picture was seven years old at the time. During our visit to Abenheim, we met this man, who stayed with our group throughout our stay. He is now seventy-one years old.
After many emails with Mr. Vollman, he encouraged us to visit the village and meet with the people who witnessed the plane crash. We decided to make the trip, but before leaving Mrs. Custer had obtained the name of a young man from Woodland, Texas, Chris Baxter, whose grandfather was a navigator on a plane that flew in the lead position of Howard's flight of six planes, all of whom were shot down. This particular plane, flown by the pilot, after all the crew had jumped, crashlanded in a field in a small village a few miles from Abenheim. We visited this town, were welcomed by the Mayor, and were shown by an eyewitness exactly where the plane came to rest. The pilot was uninjured, jumped out and ran to a nearby railroad station where he was taken prisoner by the railroad agent. All the rest of the crew were also taken prisoner, however Baxter's grandfather ran for three days before he was caught. Baxter joined Becky, David, and me on our trip. We left on the 10th of August so we would be sure to be in Abenheim on the 17th - the 64th anniversary of the air raid.
I flew from Missoula to Salt Lake City where I met David. From there we flew to Frankfort. In Frankfort, we met Becky and Chris. Perhaps of interest, when talking to Chris, I found that he had married a girl from Fontana that he had met in college. He told me her mother still resided in Fontana in close proximity to the Abbey. After I returned from Germany, I had occasion to visit Walworth so I took some time to try to locate Chris's mother-in-law. I didn't know her last name but thought someone might know a lady who had a daughter in Texas whose name was Angie. No one was home at the house I thought might be the one so I went to the Police Dept. Nothing there, but I was directed to a lady who ran a small store in the vicinity. She couldn't help me either, but it wasn't a total loss as she was the sister of a girl with whom I had gone to high school. She also had bowled on a team with my sister. Quite a coincidence! As my time was limited, I had to leave. The next time I visit Fontana, I will get the mother's name from Chris and pay her a visit.
In Frankfort, we rented a car and drove to Gerolzhofen where we met Norbert and his family. We had dinner together and spent the night there at an Inn. Norbert was leaving for Florida the next day so he referred us to Mr. Edwin Hess, a local historian. We left Gerolzhofen and drove to Worms, about 8 miles from Abenheim, where we stayed overnight. The next day we were met by Mr. Hess. He was very interested in the battle and made sure we visited the right sites and met the most knowledgeable people. He took us to Abenheim, a nice village of 1700 people, where we met with the Mayor and 14 other people-his staff and all of the eyewitnesses to the crash of Howard's plane. He served wine at 10:30 in the morning, gave us a tour of his building, and provided us with a bottle of wine to take home. Abenheim is surrounded with grape vines and wine is a major product in that area.
We met Gerda Michael, who is now 80 years old and still rides her bicycle. She was 16 at the time of the crash and was working in the fields with her horse and wagon. She heard the plane exploding and saw plane parts and my brother's body fall only a few yards from her. Her horse was spooked, and she had difficulty controlling it. She also saw two parachutes come down about a quarter mile from her. One person was Mrs. Custer's father and the other was Eugene Shattuck of Pearson, Wisconsin. Howard had written us about Shattuck, as Pearson is only about 20 miles from Lily, Wisconsin, where the Koeppen's had owned a cottage for many years. Shattuck had his left hand nearly blown off while he was still in the plane. Watkins helped him put on his chute and then pushed him out the door and then followed. They landed quite close together. Meanwhile Gerda had taken her horse and wagon to where they landed and provided Shattuck a ride to a doctor in the village, while Watkins walked along behind to the village where he was taken prisoner.
One of the first people on the scene was a German Army tank commander who was in Abenheim home on leave. He was asked by Shattuck to cut off his hand which was remaining by a thread of skin. He didn't want to do this-nor did Watkins-so Watkins gave his knife to Shattuck who made the cut himself.
There were three individuals who were working in the fields and vineyards who saw the plane go overhead, heard the explosion, saw the descending parachutes, and the pursuing German fighter planes. These people were all at the Mayor's welcoming, and we got to visit with them at length.
Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and had even employed a translator to help us talk to those who didn't speak English. In addition, Gerda's son spoke fairly good English. After the welcoming we were taken to the cemetery where Howard and Polemsky had been buried. The bodies had been exhumed and transferred to another German cemetery at Bensheim. From there the bodies were transferred to a permanent cemetery in St. Avold, France. Four years later, my folks were notified they could either leave his body there or have it returned home. They chose the latter, and he now resides in the family plot in Walworth. We know nothing about what happened to Polemsky, the tail gunner.
After the visit to the Abenheim cemetery, we were taken to the actual crash site which was no farther than ½ mile from Gerda's home. Gerda pointed out where she was at the time the plane debris and my brother came down, where two parachutes came down, where the tail section and Polemsky was, and where the wing and fuselage came to rest. After that, Mr. Hess took us to his home and gave Dave and me a .50 caliber shell and a piece of hydraulic hose that he had found at the crash site several years later.
From the site we were driven back to the village, still accompanied by all the witnesses. At that time the local fire department was having a fundraiser picnic and the Mayor saw to it that we were introduced and wined and dined.
We left for Worms and the next day we drove to Schweinfurt for a tour of that city. Mr. Hess had arranged that a retired pastor would show us the railroad marshaling yards, the ball-bearing plants, and a local cemetery where many people killed in the raid were buried. We also saw a memorial established by the 379th Bomber Group to honor both the Americans and Germans. It was adjacent to a 4-story concrete bomb shelter that still stands. We then returned to Abenheim, as we had been invited to Gerda's for morning wine and snacks. There we were met by a news reporter and a television cameraman. Again we visited the crash site and the event was explained to the media. After they had taken their pictures, we returned to the village for lunch at a winery owned by Helmut Boxheimer, one of the witnesses who owned the winery. From the winery we were taken to a Festival and Carnival. We participated in a parade, with a band, and then back to the Carnival proper where we were introduced to those people in attendance and provided with dinner.
After dinner we left our companions and retired to Gerda's home where we visited and viewed pictures. She also gave us a bottle of wine to take home. Then, back to Worms, Frankfort, and home. We had a most enjoyable trip that clarified and laid to rest all of the unanswered questions we had regarding the flight.
A final note. The German officer pilot, who was given credit for downing the plane, ran out of gas and had to land in a nearby field. He got a ride on a motorcycle into Abenheim where the crew was being held in front of some very irate Germans. He stopped the display and proclaimed that the American Airmen were good people and were only doing what their government had told them to do-just as he was doing what his government had told him. He was only 19 years old and was later killed in an air battle over northern Germany.
November 27, 2008
The below information was gathered by Donald Koeppen, local World War II veteran Capt. Howard Koeppen's brother. Donald gathered information about Howard's life and death. In this article, Donald describes how Howard's life ended while fighting for his country. He also described how he gathered this information.
A Journey to Remember - a Trip to Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 2007.
Written by Donald Koeppen, younger brother of Captain Howard Koeppen of Walworth who was shot down and killed in a B-17 bomber over Abenheim, Germany on August 17, 1943. He was 26 years old and flying his 17th mission. Don Koeppen lives in Stevensville, Montana, and is now 85 years old.
Howard was the pilot on the plane Mary Jane II along with nine crew members. Mary Jane I had been retired and replaced, due to extreme battle damage, at an earlier date. The name came from an association with a young lady, Mary Jane Craig, from Waco, Texas whom Howard had met during a phase of his pilot training. He trained at Bakersfield, California, Waco, Texas, and Sebring, Florida. After he graduated from Sebring, and received his wings and commission, he was assigned to train in B-17s, the Flying Fortresses. Eventually he was ordered to the Midwest where he was given his crew. From that staging area, they flew to Bangor, Maine, then to England via the Great Circle Route. In England they were stationed at a city called Kimbolton and assigned to the 379th Bomber Group.
Howard and his crew members were shot down during the memorable Schweinfurt - Regansburg raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories on August 17, 1943. Sixty percent of the planes on that raid were lost. Prior to the crash, Polemsky, the tail gunner, who was a replacement and not a regular member of the crew, was shot and killed. When the plane became unmanageable and started to lose altitude, Howard ordered the crew to bail out. He stayed with the plane and continued to fly it while the crew members jumped. Two engines were out, one was on fire, half of the tail was missing, and the plane was in a flat spin. This information was related to my son David and me by Becky Watson Custer, daughter of Robert Watkins, the ball turret gunner, who was the last out of the plane and had told her about his ordeal. All of the crew were taken prisoner immediately after they reached the ground.
Howard's nephew who is my son, David Koeppen of Boise, Idaho, recently decided to search the Internet for any surviving crew members. He found all were deceased; however, in the search he was contacted by Mrs. Custer. It seems that her father, after the war was over, was involved in the reunions of the 379th Bomber Group, and after his death she took over and is currently the assistant secretary of that organization. Mrs. Custer and David decided to pursue the crash further to try to find answers to questions that remained. The Internet provided them with the name of a correspondent of a newspaper located in a town, Gerolzhofen, just a few miles from Abenheim where the plane had crashed. This gentleman's name was Norbert Vollman and he spoke very good English. He became very interested and provided them with old pictures that had been taken of the plane crash as well as names of witnesses to the crash. The pictures showed the detached tail and the wing and fuselage minus the cockpit area and the engines. Interestingly, one picture showed a mother and three small children standing on the wing of the plane. The tallest boy in the picture was seven years old at the time. During our visit to Abenheim, we met this man, who stayed with our group throughout our stay. He is now seventy-one years old.
After many emails with Mr. Vollman, he encouraged us to visit the village and meet with the people who witnessed the plane crash. We decided to make the trip, but before leaving Mrs. Custer had obtained the name of a young man from Woodland, Texas, Chris Baxter, whose grandfather was a navigator on a plane that flew in the lead position of Howard's flight of six planes, all of whom were shot down. This particular plane, flown by the pilot, after all the crew had jumped, crashlanded in a field in a small village a few miles from Abenheim. We visited this town, were welcomed by the Mayor, and were shown by an eyewitness exactly where the plane came to rest. The pilot was uninjured, jumped out and ran to a nearby railroad station where he was taken prisoner by the railroad agent. All the rest of the crew were also taken prisoner, however Baxter's grandfather ran for three days before he was caught. Baxter joined Becky, David, and me on our trip. We left on the 10th of August so we would be sure to be in Abenheim on the 17th - the 64th anniversary of the air raid.
I flew from Missoula to Salt Lake City where I met David. From there we flew to Frankfort. In Frankfort, we met Becky and Chris. Perhaps of interest, when talking to Chris, I found that he had married a girl from Fontana that he had met in college. He told me her mother still resided in Fontana in close proximity to the Abbey. After I returned from Germany, I had occasion to visit Walworth so I took some time to try to locate Chris's mother-in-law. I didn't know her last name but thought someone might know a lady who had a daughter in Texas whose name was Angie. No one was home at the house I thought might be the one so I went to the Police Dept. Nothing there, but I was directed to a lady who ran a small store in the vicinity. She couldn't help me either, but it wasn't a total loss as she was the sister of a girl with whom I had gone to high school. She also had bowled on a team with my sister. Quite a coincidence! As my time was limited, I had to leave. The next time I visit Fontana, I will get the mother's name from Chris and pay her a visit.
In Frankfort, we rented a car and drove to Gerolzhofen where we met Norbert and his family. We had dinner together and spent the night there at an Inn. Norbert was leaving for Florida the next day so he referred us to Mr. Edwin Hess, a local historian. We left Gerolzhofen and drove to Worms, about 8 miles from Abenheim, where we stayed overnight. The next day we were met by Mr. Hess. He was very interested in the battle and made sure we visited the right sites and met the most knowledgeable people. He took us to Abenheim, a nice village of 1700 people, where we met with the Mayor and 14 other people-his staff and all of the eyewitnesses to the crash of Howard's plane. He served wine at 10:30 in the morning, gave us a tour of his building, and provided us with a bottle of wine to take home. Abenheim is surrounded with grape vines and wine is a major product in that area.
We met Gerda Michael, who is now 80 years old and still rides her bicycle. She was 16 at the time of the crash and was working in the fields with her horse and wagon. She heard the plane exploding and saw plane parts and my brother's body fall only a few yards from her. Her horse was spooked, and she had difficulty controlling it. She also saw two parachutes come down about a quarter mile from her. One person was Mrs. Custer's father and the other was Eugene Shattuck of Pearson, Wisconsin. Howard had written us about Shattuck, as Pearson is only about 20 miles from Lily, Wisconsin, where the Koeppen's had owned a cottage for many years. Shattuck had his left hand nearly blown off while he was still in the plane. Watkins helped him put on his chute and then pushed him out the door and then followed. They landed quite close together. Meanwhile Gerda had taken her horse and wagon to where they landed and provided Shattuck a ride to a doctor in the village, while Watkins walked along behind to the village where he was taken prisoner.
One of the first people on the scene was a German Army tank commander who was in Abenheim home on leave. He was asked by Shattuck to cut off his hand which was remaining by a thread of skin. He didn't want to do this-nor did Watkins-so Watkins gave his knife to Shattuck who made the cut himself.
There were three individuals who were working in the fields and vineyards who saw the plane go overhead, heard the explosion, saw the descending parachutes, and the pursuing German fighter planes. These people were all at the Mayor's welcoming, and we got to visit with them at length.
Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and had even employed a translator to help us talk to those who didn't speak English. In addition, Gerda's son spoke fairly good English. After the welcoming we were taken to the cemetery where Howard and Polemsky had been buried. The bodies had been exhumed and transferred to another German cemetery at Bensheim. From there the bodies were transferred to a permanent cemetery in St. Avold, France. Four years later, my folks were notified they could either leave his body there or have it returned home. They chose the latter, and he now resides in the family plot in Walworth. We know nothing about what happened to Polemsky, the tail gunner.
After the visit to the Abenheim cemetery, we were taken to the actual crash site which was no farther than ½ mile from Gerda's home. Gerda pointed out where she was at the time the plane debris and my brother came down, where two parachutes came down, where the tail section and Polemsky was, and where the wing and fuselage came to rest. After that, Mr. Hess took us to his home and gave Dave and me a .50 caliber shell and a piece of hydraulic hose that he had found at the crash site several years later.
From the site we were driven back to the village, still accompanied by all the witnesses. At that time the local fire department was having a fundraiser picnic and the Mayor saw to it that we were introduced and wined and dined.
We left for Worms and the next day we drove to Schweinfurt for a tour of that city. Mr. Hess had arranged that a retired pastor would show us the railroad marshaling yards, the ball-bearing plants, and a local cemetery where many people killed in the raid were buried. We also saw a memorial established by the 379th Bomber Group to honor both the Americans and Germans. It was adjacent to a 4-story concrete bomb shelter that still stands. We then returned to Abenheim, as we had been invited to Gerda's for morning wine and snacks. There we were met by a news reporter and a television cameraman. Again we visited the crash site and the event was explained to the media. After they had taken their pictures, we returned to the village for lunch at a winery owned by Helmut Boxheimer, one of the witnesses who owned the winery. From the winery we were taken to a Festival and Carnival. We participated in a parade, with a band, and then back to the Carnival proper where we were introduced to those people in attendance and provided with dinner.
After dinner we left our companions and retired to Gerda's home where we visited and viewed pictures. She also gave us a bottle of wine to take home. Then, back to Worms, Frankfort, and home. We had a most enjoyable trip that clarified and laid to rest all of the unanswered questions we had regarding the flight.
A final note. The German officer pilot, who was given credit for downing the plane, ran out of gas and had to land in a nearby field. He got a ride on a motorcycle into Abenheim where the crew was being held in front of some very irate Germans. He stopped the display and proclaimed that the American Airmen were good people and were only doing what their government had told them to do-just as he was doing what his government had told him. He was only 19 years old and was later killed in an air battle over northern Germany.
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