WIX Archives
Re: Truly amazing B-17 story
Posted by gary wagner on Thu Feb 05, 2004 01:14:55 PM
In reply top Re: Truly amazing B-17 story posted by Paul Patist on Wed Feb 04, 2004 04:59:50 PM
: : Not sure of the source, I got it by e-mail.
: :
: : >12 August 2003
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Piggyback Hero
: :
: : >by Ralph Kinney Bennett
:
:
:
: : >
: :
: : >Tomorrow morning they'll lay the remains of Glenn Rojoh
: n
: : to rest in the
: :
: : >Peace Lutheran Cemetery in the little town of Greenock,
: P
: : a., just
: :
: : >southeast of Pittsburgh. He was 81, and had been in the
: a
: : ir conditioning
: :
: : >and plumbing business in nearby McKeesport. If you had
: se
: : en him on the
: :
: : >street he would probably have looked to you like so man
: y
: : other graying,
: :
: : >bespectacled old World War II veterans whose names appe
: ar
: : so often now
: :
: : >on obituary pages.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >But like so many of them, though he seldom talked about
: i
: : t, he could
: :
: : >have told you one hell of a story. He won the Distingui
: sh
: : ed Flying Cross
: :
: : >and the Purple Heart all in one fell swoop in the skies
: o
: : ver Germany on
: :
: : >December 31, 1944.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Fell swoop indeed.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Capt. Glenn Rojohn, of the 8th Air Force's 100th Bomb G
: ro
: : up, was flying
: :
: : >his B-17G Flying Fortress bomber on a raid over Hamburg
: .
: : His formation
: :
: : >had braved heavy flak to drop their bombs, then turned
: 18
: : 0 degrees to
: :
: : >head out over the North Sea.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >They had finally turned northwest, headed back to Engla
: nd
: : , when they
: :
: : >were jumped by German fighters at 22,000 feet. The Mess
: er
: : schmitt Me-109s
: :
: : >pressed their attack so closely that Capt. Rojohn could
: s
: : ee the faces of
: :
: : >the German pilots.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >He and other pilots fought to remain in formation so th
: ey
: : could use each
: :
: : >other's guns to defend the group. Rojohn saw a B-17 ahe
: ad
: : of him burst
: :
: : >into flames and slide sickeningly toward the earth. He
: gu
: : nned his ship
: :
: : >forward to fill in the gap.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >He felt a huge impact. The big bomber shuddered, felt s
: ud
: : denly very
: :
: : >heavy and began losing altitude. Rojohn grasped almost
: im
: : mediately that
: :
: : >he had collided with another plane. A B-17 below him, p
: il
: : oted by Lt.
: :
: : >William G. McNab, had slammed the top of its fuselage i
: nt
: : o the bottom of
: :
: : >Rojohn's. The top turret gun of McNab's plane was now l
: oc
: : ked in the
: :
: : >belly of Rojohn's plane and the ball turret in the bell
: y
: : of Rojohn's had
: :
: : >smashed through the top of McNab's. The two bombers wer
: e
: : almost
: :
: : >perfectly aligned - the tail of the lower plane was sli
: gh
: : tly to the left
: :
: : >of Rojohn's tailpiece. They were stuck together, as a c
: re
: : wman later
: :
: : >recalled, "like mating dragon flies."
: :
: : >
: :
: : >No one will ever know exactly how it happened. Perhaps
: bo
: : th pilots had
: :
: : >moved instinctively to fill the same gap in formation.
: Pe
: : rhaps McNab's
: :
: : >plane had hit an air pocket.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Three of the engines on the bottom plane were still run
: ni
: : ng, as were all
: :
: : >four of Rojohn's. The fourth engine on the lower bomber
: w
: : as on fire and
: :
: : >the flames were spreading to the rest of the aircraft.
: Th
: : e two were
: :
: : >losing altitude quickly. Rojohn tried several times to
: gu
: : n his engines
: :
: : >and break free of the other plane. The two were inextri
: ca
: : bly locked
: :
: : >together. Fearing a fire, Rojohn cuts his engines and r
: an
: : g the bailout
: :
: : >bell. If his crew had any chance of parachuting, he had
: t
: : o keep the
: :
: : >plane under control somehow.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >The ball turret, hanging below the belly of the B-17, w
: as
: : considered by
: :
: : >many to be a death trap - the worst station on the bomb
: er
: : . In this case,
: :
: : >both ball turrets figured in a swift and terrible drama
: o
: : f life and
: :
: : >death.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Staff Sgt. Edward L. Woodall, Jr., in the ball turret o
: f
: : the lower
: :
: : >bomber, had felt the impact of the collision above him
: an
: : d saw shards of
: :
: : >metal drop past him. Worse, he realized both electrical
: a
: : nd hydraulic
: :
: : >power was gone.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Remembering escape drills, he grabbed the handcrank, re
: le
: : ased the clutch
: :
: : >and cranked the turret and its guns until they were str
: ai
: : ght down, then
: :
: : >turned and climbed out the back of the turret up into t
: he
: : fuselage.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Once inside the plane's belly Woodall saw a chilling si
: gh
: : t, the ball
: :
: : >turret of the other bomber protruding through the top o
: f
: : the fuselage.
: :
: : >In that turret, hopelessly trapped, was Staff Sgt. Jose
: ph
: : Russo. Several
: :
: : >crewmembers on Rojohn's plane tried frantically to cran
: k
: : Russo's turret
: :
: : >around so he could escape. But, jammed into the fuselag
: e
: : of the lower
: :
: : >plane, the turret would not budge.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Aware of his plight, but possibly unaware that his voic
: e
: : was going out
: :
: : >over the intercom of his plane, Sgt. Russo began reciti
: ng
: : his Hail
: :
: : >Marys.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Up in the cockpit, Capt. Rojohn and his copilot, 2nd Lt
: .
: : William G.
: :
: : >Leek, Jr., had propped their feet against the instrumen
: t
: : panel so they
: :
: : >could pull back on their controls with all their streng
: th
: : , trying to
: :
: : >prevent their plane from going into a spinning dive tha
: t
: : would prevent
: :
: : >the crew from jumping out.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Capt. Rojohn motioned left and the two managed to wheel
: t
: : he grotesque,
: :
: : >collision-born hybrid of a plane back toward the German
: c
: : oast. Leek felt
: :
: : >like he was intruding on Sgt. Russo as his prayers crac
: kl
: : ed over the
: :
: : >radio, so he pulled off his flying helmet with its earp
: ho
: : nes.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Rojohn, immediately grasping that crew could not exit f
: ro
: : m the bottom of
: :
: : >his plane, ordered his top turret gunner and his radio
: op
: : erator, Tech
: :
: : >Sgts. Orville Elkin and Edward G. Neuhaus, to make thei
: r
: : way to the back
: :
: : >of the fuselage and out the waist door behind the left
: wi
: : ng.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Then he got his navigator, 2nd Lt. Robert Washington, a
: nd
: : his
: :
: : >bombardier, Sgt. James Shirley to follow them. As Rojoh
: n
: : and Leek
: :
: : >somehow held the plane steady, these four men, as well
: as
: : waist gunner
: :
: : >Sgt. Roy Little and tail gunner Staff Sgt. Francis Chas
: e
: : were able to
: :
: : >bail out.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Now the plane locked below them was aflame. Fire poured
: o
: : ver Rojohn's
: :
: : >left wing. He could feel the heat from the plane below
: an
: : d hear the
: :
: : >sound of .50 caliber machine-gun ammunition "cooking of
: f"
: : in the flames.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Capt. Rojohn ordered Lieut. Leek to bail out. Leek knew
: t
: : hat without him
: :
: : >helping keep the controls back, the plane would drop in
: a
: : flaming spiral
: :
: : >and the centrifugal force would prevent Rojohn from bai
: li
: : ng. He refused
: :
: : >the order.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Meanwhile, German soldiers and civilians on the ground
: th
: : at afternoon
: :
: : >looked up in wonder. Some of them thought they were see
: in
: : g a new Allied
: :
: : >secret weapon - a strange eight-engined double bomber.
: Bu
: : t antiaircraft
: :
: : >gunners on the North Sea coastal island of Wangerooge h
: ad
: : seen the
: :
: : >collision. A German battery captain wrote in his logboo
: k
: : at 12:47 p.m.:
: :
: : >"Two fortresses collided in a formation in the NE. The
: pl
: : anes flew
: :
: : >hooked together and flew 20 miles south. The two planes
: w
: : ere unable to
: :
: : >fight anymore. The crash could be awaited so I stopped
: th
: : e firing at
: :
: : >these two planes."
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Suspended in his parachute in the cold December sky, Bo
: b
: : Washington
: :
: : >watched with deadly fascination as the mated bombers, t
: ra
: : iling black
: :
: : >smoke, fell to earth about three miles away, their down
: wa
: : rd trip ending
: :
: : >in an ugly boiling blossom of fire.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >In the cockpit Rojohn and Leek held grimly to the contr
: ol
: : s trying to
: :
: : >ride a falling rock. Leek tersely recalled, "The ground
: c
: : ame up faster
: :
: : >and faster. Praying was allowed. We gave it one last ef
: fo
: : rt and slammed
: :
: : >into the ground."
: :
: : >
: :
: : >The McNab plane on the bottom exploded, vaulting the ot
: he
: : r B-17 upward
: :
: : >and forward. It hit the ground and slid along until its
: l
: : eft wing
: :
: : >slammed through a wooden building and the smoldering ma
: ss
: : of aluminum
: :
: : >came to a stop.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Rojohn and Leek were still seated in their cockpit. The
: n
: : ose of the
: :
: : >plane was relatively intact, but everything from the B-
: 17
: : 's massive
: :
: : >wings back was destroyed. They looked at each other inc
: re
: : dulously.
: :
: : >Neither was badly injured.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Movies have nothing on reality. Still perhaps in shock,
: L
: : eek crawled out
: :
: : >through a huge hole behind the cockpit, felt for the fa
: mi
: : liar pack in
: :
: : >his uniform pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He place
: d
: : it in his mouth
: :
: : >and was about to light it. Then he noticed a young Germ
: an
: : soldier
: :
: : >pointing a rifle at him. The soldier looked scared and
: an
: : noyed. He
: :
: : >grabbed the cigarette out of Leek's mouth and pointed d
: ow
: : n to the
: :
: : >gasoline pouring out over the wing from a ruptured fuel
: t
: : ank.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Two of the six men who parachuted from Rojohn's plane d
: id
: : not survive
: :
: : >the jump. But the other four and, amazingly, four men f
: ro
: : m the other
: :
: : >bomber, including ball turret gunner Woodall, survived.
: A
: : ll were taken
: :
: : >prisoner. Several of them were interrogated at length b
: y
: : the Germans
: :
: : >until they were satisfied that what had crashed was not
: a
: : new American
: :
: : >secret weapon.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Rojohn, typically, didn't talk much about his Distingui
: sh
: : ed Flying
: :
: : >Cross. Of Leek, he said, "In all fairness to my copilot
: ,
: : he's the
: :
: : >reason I'm alive today."
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Like so many veterans, Rojohn got back to life unsentim
: en
: : tally after the
: :
: : >war, marrying and raising a son and daughter. For many
: ye
: : ars, though, he
: :
: : >tried to link back up with Leek, going through governme
: nt
: : records to try
: :
: : >to track him down. It took him 40 years, but in 1986, h
: e
: : found the
: :
: : >number of Leek's mother, in Washington State.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Yes, her son Bill was visiting from California. Would R
: oj
: : ohn like to
: :
: : >speak with him? Two old men on a phone line, trying to
: pi
: : ck up some
: :
: : >familiar timbre of youth in each other's voice. One can
: i
: : magine that
: :
: : >first conversation between the two men who had shared t
: ha
: : t wild ride in
: :
: : >the cockpit of a B-17.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >A year later, the two were reunited at a reunion of the
: 1
: : 00th Bomb Group
: :
: : >in Long Beach, Calif. Bill Leek died the following year
: .
: :
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Glenn Rojohn was the last survivor of the remarkable pi
: gg
: : yback flight.
: :
: : >He was like thousands upon thousands of men -- soda jer
: ks
: : and
: :
: : >lumberjacks, teachers and dentists, students and lawyer
: s
: : and service
: :
: : >station attendants and store clerks and farm boys -- wh
: o
: : in the prime of
: :
: : >their lives went to war in World War II. They sometimes
: d
: : id incredible
: :
: : >things, endured awful things, and for the most part mos
: t
: : of them pretty
: :
: : >much kept it to themselves and just faded back into the
: f
: : abric of
: :
: : >civilian life.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Capt. Glenn Rojohn, AAF, died last Saturday after a lon
: g
: : siege of
: :
: : >illness. But he apparently faced that final battle with
: t
: : he same grim
: :
: : >aplomb he displayed that remarkable day over Germany so
: l
: : ong ago.
: :
: : >
: :
: : >Let us be thankful for such men.
:
:
: More on this subject on the 100th BG Website!
: http://www.100thbg.com/mainpages/history/history2/collisio
: n.htm
:
:
: Paul
:
:
Thank you for posting this story, it goes without saying that we should go out of our way to say thanks to these unsung heroes any chance we get......