Descendants CornerFall, 2003How very thoughtful of Mrs. Catherine D. Bishop (daughter of Tsgt. Francis G. O’Connell – 390th Bomb Group, 570th Bomb Squadron) to continue to provide such wonderful articles for the Descendant’s Corner. We are indebted to her for her constancy but most importantly….. what respect and love exudes from her emails regarding her father and her husband. Catherine D. Bishop – you are one rare woman! A special anecdote for the First Over Berlin Group… The German air controllers at Frankfurt are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one’s gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a PanAm 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Special note from Horace Huron…remember his poem in the last edition of the Square J? Horace Huron, eighty years young, writes to Mrs. Bishop… ”I would never have thought that what started in the upper bunk in prison with the snow knee deep and below zero outside, would end up in the Square J Bulletin. All I wanted to do was to keep my mind in good working condition, not to go crazy. This was a lonely feeling. Then to keep them (lines from the poem) in memory to bring them home. Gosh, I am deeply honored, and grateful to you for passing to the bulletin my memories. You are a good friend. (Editor’s note: Horace, we think so too!) All the verses came out real good, just the way I sent them to you…stay in touch. Horace Another note from Horace… ”In our camp there were thousands of Russians, some British, Italians, Poles and four thousand American airmen. But our compounds were all American. “We heard stories that Hitler said: ‘Kill all the prisoners,’ and we waited for it to happen,” said Lavoie. “There was always the constant threat that the Germans would say, ‘Why are we feeding these guys?’’. The guys picked Kenneth Joseph Kurtenbach of Waterloo, Iowa, a sergeant also shot down on a bombing run, to be their leader. He helped organize the POW’s and was their confidant and representative to the Germans. He was also a savior the night Lavoie and fellow POW Jim Proakis tried to escape. A hail of gunfire stopped them, killing Proakis and wounding Lavoie. A German soldier, noticing Lavoie had survived, shot him in the neck, shoulder, ribs, and cheek. Lavoie rolled on the ground, trying to dodge the bullets. “The whole object was to kill us both, then in the morning, at roll call, bring the boys out and say, ‘This is what happens. You try to escape, you die!’ “ he said. But “Kurt and the boys were at the end of the compound, fighting with the Germans to let him come down and see if either of us was alive.” Lavoie said. “One German hit him in the mouth with a rifle butt.” Eventually, Kurtenbach came down with a stretcher and helped carry Lavoie to an aid station, It was an act Lavoie believes saved his life. “He was only 19 and I saw him stand up to German generals,” said Lavoie. “Because of his forcing them to do as much as he could get them to do to improve conditions, we survived.” Lavoie is one of the organizers of an effort to spread the word about Kurtenbach’s bravery and let former colleagues know of his death. “I’m not the hero of the story,” Lavoie said. “I’m proud to be part of it, but Kurt is the hero!”. Thank you to Mrs. Bishop and Mr. Huron…brought together by fate and what a devoted pair they are!! PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORIES WITH ALL OF THE 390TH! Email to mward@ctcn.net or mail to Marcia Balmut Ward, 156 Eris Road, Urbana, Ohio 43078. Please do not hesitate to do this…someone is waiting to read your story!! |