Sandman", 98Th Bomb Group, 345Th Bomb Squadron, Pilot Lt
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The newphew of Uncle Pilot is in Italy. This story has its roots in 'Winter 1943. Only in May 2000 thanks to a witness Fodom / Livinallongo / Buchenstein I learned of the fall of an American four-engine bomber in Alta Badia, in the valley dell'Edelweiss, so called for the Refuge. The search begins Senior school, with repeated trips to Treviso, my city, in the fall that year I began to search. The first Elders were a bit 'secretive, but they offered me the following high availability. Thus emerged as a large group of witnesses of whom the most prominent and the oldest ever, 93 years, was Giarona Costamoling. Eventually I was able to record the stories consistent, generous and full of details for which are grateful to 35 men and women especially in Colfosco inhabitants. Incassai a single refusal. From the beginning I received a gift of the metal remains of the "U.S. bombing," a big by Paul Clara, but none could fully reveal its source. Floriano Alfreider even gave me part of a tire. One track, finally A first step in my research was provided by the verification performed willingly in the Book of the Dead by Clara Parish Corvara Don Alfonso. Was the discovery of 11 dead allies Crespena Lake on December 19, 1943. A Sunday. They were taken to the local cemetery for the burial which took place a few days later. No list of names or other data were recorded. The villagers remembered the slides used for the transportation and the poor condition of the bodies battered by a fire on board. Heinz Kostner, for many years Mayor of Corvara, I remembered the layout of the tombs having a child at the top of the cemetery. Francesco Piccolruaz remembered perfectly under attack by a German fighter wing to which he had cut a heavy enemy aircraft, while causing a devastating fire that immediately enveloped in a fireball. Fact also mentioned by Filomena Pitscheider that out with the dinner plate in hand to follow the scene fell down the staircase of the farm and fortunately ended up in the snow. A heavy metal fragment lost from the plane out of control had heavily damaged the bell tower of Colfosco, before disappearing behind the Monte Ciampac. Precisely in this village I found the greatest number of collaborations. A choral participation to the recovery of memories never confided in some cases, even children. The mystery remains tight But the data do not jump on Fallen U.S. fuori.Giorgio Kostner an autumn afternoon I made progress in the knowledge of how hard the war episode accompanied to the land of the tragedy. It was a rich exploration of emotions for me. That left few notable scrap and small pieces of different materials: aluminum, plastic, glass, iron, brass, acrylic, steel and wood in an area well- 2 kept track of the huge fire. My guide remembered for having visited the place with his brother Paul when the shepherds were boys from up there and played in different ways with the remains of the wreck. The remaining wreckage still had not useful to identify the aircraft. The way of the local Stock I followed the official training course, but the Secretary of the Municipal Archives City Vinzenz Clara turned out that there was a fire with the loss of folders in that period. Only a registry shall retain traces of a correspondence from the Town Hall after the war with the Prefecture of Bolzano. I went so in this Police Station: the dead Americans were so Corvara been reported but no list ever. Only their number: 11. Always in search of crucial data that did not arrive while continuing house to house to collect the stories of men and women who lived through those times. More stories and pictures The stories were saved all very interesting, precious photographs that showed the eyewitnesses in the '40s, the contemporary views of Alta Badia but still nothing that would help to illuminate the mystery of Lake Crespena. One day the old pastor of Colfosco Brake Don Vincent, introduced me to Francis of Mersa Trafoi. Two other plates were joined so to my collection. But he had something special. My son Paul noticed that the smaller, externally painted in pink sand, the color 3 of the desert, on the inside, smeared with grease and dry hay fiorun to have been for decades under the roof of the barn to solve an infiltration rain water, left inscriptions appear, perhaps letters or numbers. One thing, at last It was so clean and what now appears part of a nacelle showed a sign in English indicating the source from the Engine No. 1 of a B-24D bomber "Liberator", followed by the number: 1479.. The track was very interesting but those data are not sufficient to decide which B-24 they were among the many who fell a few seconds away on that Sunday of war around the Sella group. The official report by the U.S. Army had the recording of serial numbers on all engines, but this did not correspond to any standard. The mystery remained unsolved. There followed a period of more research in other regions also affected by that which was emerging as a major air battle. Other disasters in South Tyrol, Austria, Val di Fassa, in the Veneto, Friuli. That's who knows how to interpret that number! When I finally understood how website I could ask for help in the interpretation of the fairing codicizzata, just made the post with the photo of the part in the Forum site armyairforces.com Veteran American airmen of World War 2 only had to wait 24 hours to obtain a decision no doubt that my piece came from a famous American whose four-engine Air Force photo, taken in August during a previous controversial, risky bombing mission on Ploesti, Romania, against the largest oil refineries in the service of III Reich, are still published in all the history books in the United States.. 4 Consolidated B-24D serial # 42-40402, nick name "The Sandman", 98th Bomb Group, 345th Bomb Squadron, Pilot Lt. John W. Viers, 10 airmen, all KIA, Killed In Action, killed in combat. The answer to my question was the work of the Blue, a young sailor in the U.S. Navy during the war, a keen student of the B-24. His contribution was decisive for me, especially as you can imagine, finally made it possible to identify the unfortunate occupants of large aircraft. The revelation repaid the great efforts expended in travel, document capture, internet research, exchanges with others in central Europe and the United States. And here of course opened an infinite range of contacts. Bob had flown 31 times It was the interpreter of the code on the blank sheet to let me know immediately Maj. Robert Sternfels that on that aircraft had flown 31 times as a driver, including the prodigious free passage between the smoke and fire of Ploesti mushrooms, never again repeated in the mission at low altitude on the expanse of huge tanks. That was "his" plane, almost personal, and after failing to return to the base of Manduria in Puglia told me that two days after the flight had even tried unsuccessfully in the Gulf of Trieste, where, however, had not passed a second time returning from the objective expressed by: Messerschmitt aircraft near an industrial plant in Augsburg, Germany. Had been destroyed in the mountains around the Puez. Years ago, Bob was moved when he could be present in 5 kg of his beloved plane, the thing I wrote to him more precious in the world. 5 Turns out the head formation But others sought bomber that disappeared for 59 years. Even Reuben Weltha Pilot Officer who had one Sunday in December 1943 the responsibility of leading the entire formation of 67 B-24, two different groups. When we got in touch via Austria told me that was quite interested in the mode and place of death of Lt. Stanley Napierala, its official navigator who had lost and had been assigned to the Sandman disappeared into the cauldron of war. He was so happy news and photos that I sent him forth from his Diary of a mission very detailed and valuable account which was published in the News of the Veterans of the 98th to form the nucleus of a Saga of the Sandman that was enriched from year to year . The story of the discovery in a mountain of South Tyrol's best known as a war machine of World War 2 sought in the Adriatic, and even in a lake in Bavaria, was not emphasized by the great American press, but nevertheless found wide resonance among historians, aviation and history buffs, with some initial difficulties due to the time spent by the facts and the enormity of the territorial U.S., succeeded as my primary interest was to prove to some families of the fallen. A composite collection of stories, in fact rebuilt the whole saga about this Bomber and those who flew on the network can be found by typing: "Giorgio + ORIGINAL Pietrobon. Where were the bodies? In February 2005, Glenn Strong, historian with a passion, the U.S. sent me the data of this cemetery Crew: 2 bodies found in U.S. Military Cemetery in Florence, 7 in a mass grave in Kentucky, did not know of an accommodation. A veteran full of initiatives 6 Jim Graham, of Seattle, a senior pilot P-38 Lightning of the 1st Fighter Group, which was based in the Gargano, in the summer of 2005, informed of my research while he was in Austria visiting a renowned British researcher also my teacher, Keith Bullock, during a couple of our subsequent meetings in Italy offered to help me look for contact with the families of the fallen.