Be Careful Out There

[mgc1961]

After the 8th Air Force made it's second aerial bombing of the ball bearing factory at Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943, the 303rd bomber group took wing several days later for Duren, Germany. Even on a comparatively short run during which one crew member remarked that he could still see England at the point of first enemy contact over Holland, there were losses. One of them was tail gunner named John Doherty.

Having been hit by a shell that disabled the ship's intercom, Doherty had no idea what was going on at the front of the airplane on which he was flying although he could clearly see flames coming from the left wing. He determined that it "was time to get out" and jumped from the plane through his escape hatch. In the excitement of the moment, Doherty pulled his rip cord so hard he hit himself in the chin, temporarily knocking himself out. When he came to, he discovered the jerk of the opening chute divorced him from his boots.

Once on the ground, Doherty was met by what he thought were members of the Underground who would move him to Spain with a fake passport and identity papers. After a couple of house to house moves, Doherty was reunited with the Squadron photographer Ralph Moffett and from there they caught a train headed south where they met a woman who would guide them on the remainder of their journey.

"So we went on the train and started going to Brussels. There we got off and followed this girl, she took us right through the Brussels railroad station - I walked within five feet of armed German guards on duty with fixed bayonets, helmets, the whole regalia - we walked right by them to what appeared to me to be the front door of the railroad station in Brussels. It was at night and it was pitch dark, no lights. And instantly this girl disappeared, she just disappeared, which wasn't too hard in the dark. And at this point three men took over, and the deal was that we were going to stay in Brussels that night. And they took us out, me and the Squadron photographer, and they put us into a 1929 Ford. We drove for a considerable amount of time, and we came to this big house that was surrounded by steel fencing.

It was a real fancy place. We stopped and got out and walked up to the door and knocked on the door and somebody opened it. And when the door was completely opened, right in front of me on the full length of the wall was a picture of Hitler. And as we walked in, the guy that opened the door said, 'You are now in the hands of the German Gestapo.'"

O'Neill, Brian D., Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer, pgs. 167-169