B-17F-40-DL
"Angel's tit", 42-3260
B-17F-40-DL
"Angel's tit", 42-3260
Lost on June 25, 1943
Boeing B-17F-40-DL "Angel's tit" # 42-3260 349th BS 100th BG
at Kearney, Nebraska
[photo from 100th Bomb Group (H) ]
Boeing B-17F-40-DL "Angel's tit" N°42-3260 349th BS 100th BG
2nd Lt Nicholas Demchak
Nicholas Demchak, last survivor of "Angel's tit" 's crew
died on October 5, 2001 and was buried on October 10.
We shall never forget his bravery.
Original 100th BG by James R. Brown
Crew #2
Aircraft #42-3260 MACR #271
Original Crew
1st Lt Alonzo P. Adams III P KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
F/O George Z. Krech CP KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
2nd Lt Nicholas Demchak N POW 25-Jun-43 Bremen
2nd Lt Jesse D. Gurley B KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
T/Sgt John K. Sullivan E KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
S/Sgt Edmonde J. Walker WG KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
T/Sgt James D. Purcell R KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
S/Sgt John G. Kruzich BT KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
S/Sgt Norman Asbornsen WG KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
S/Sgt Bryant Hutchinson TG KIA 25-Jun-43 Bremen
This aircraft was flying on the wing of Crew #1.
According to Nick Demchak, sole survivor, they were jumped by fighters about 20 miles north of the Frisian islands.
His statement follows:
"My mind is a complete blank from the time we got the bailout signal until I regained consciousness on a German boat.
Lt. Gurley was in the nose of the ship and not hurt when we received the signal to bail out.
I was firing my gun and did not hear the signal but Gurley informed me.
I believe Adams and Krech were severely wounded or killed by a burst of machine gun fire which came quite close to me and from the angle appeared to enter the cockpit.
Directly after that, the bailout signal was given.
I believe the plane exploded at that moment and the rest of the crew were killed by the explosion or rendered unconscious and unable to operate chutes.
The German boat that picked me up said they did not see anyone else."
Message From: Mpinscher@aol.com
To: fruffino@club-internet.fr
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 2:06 PM
Subject: Re: B-17: "Angel's Tit"
Franck,
In a telephone conversation I had with Uncle Nick last night (he's in
Massachusetts and I'm in Florida), he provided a bit of info that you might
already have, but here goes..."The inherent problem with the mission that "Angel's Tit" and the other planes were on was the fact that they had no escorts. The bombers could merely cruise and were way out maneuvered by the smaller, quicker Messerschmidts who were right on their tails.
The Germans had open target practice on the B-17s and were able to pick them off at will.
He was amazed at the amount of victories attributed to the fighter pilot who shot his plane down, and quickly acknowledged that each was just doing their job. "
Nicholas Demchak, last survivor of "Angel's tit" 's crew
died on October 5, 2001 and was buried on October 10.
We shall never forget his bravery.
Here's a photo my dad found at Uncle Nick's house.
Uncle Nick has his arms around my grandparents (his in-laws)
and Aunt Mary is the "girl" on the far right crouching down in front of her mother.
My mother, Barbara Alboth, is the youngest one of the family and is shown in the front, second from the left.
My mother, who was nine at the time, remembers the photo being taken in her yard.
It was Memorial Day weekend 1943.
Memorial Day weekend 1943 was Saturday, 29 May 1943 and Sunday, 30 May 1943.
Only one month before Nick Demchak's terrible encounter with Heinz Knoke...
After 58 years, a hero gets his due
Swampscott man receives medals for service in WWII
Congressman John Tierney admires the Air Medal and Purple Heart he had placed around Nicholas Demchak’s neck Saturday at the JRC.True heroes don't stick around to ask for credit. So says Jim Schultz, Swampscott’s veteran's affairs agent, when he speaks of Nicholas Demchak.
" As much as you and I think what they do is extraordinary, " said Schultz, a veteran himself, " these people just consider it another day at the office. "
Which people? Those who, like Demchak and Schultz, risk their lives in combat overseas.
Demchak's exploits in World War II finally received an official acknowledgment Saturday morning, as he received a host of long-overdue medals, including the Purple Heart and the Air Force Combat Medal, the fourth highest decoration in the land.
Congressman John Tierney was on hand to make the presentation.
" We're acknowledging some bravery and heroism that should have been acknowledged a long time ago, " Tierney said.
The ceremony was held at the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott, where Demchak, 85, is rehabilitating from a recent illness. Demchak, a Swampscott resident, was modest throughout the ceremony, deflecting praise from himself with some light hearted remarks.
" For swimming in the North Sea?" Demchak cracked, in mock opposition to the grounds under which he is eligible for some of his awards.
" For answering the call of your country, and doing it so well, " Tierney insisted.
Demchak was a navigator on a B-17 heading over the North Sea toward Germany one night in 1943. His entire squadron of nine plans was shot down, each carrying a crew of seven men. Only Demchak and one other navigator survived.
They floated unconscious in the icy waters until a German patrol boat picked them up. Demchak then divided the next 22 months between two POW camps, where he remained until the end of the war. He then spent some time at a hospital in Staten Island, still recovering from his shrapnel wounds.
Schultz said it's not all that surprising that Demchak didn't receive his medals immediately after the war.
" People who are in that situation didn't want to deal with paperwork and making sure they got medals, they just wanted to go home, " Schultz said.
And so Demchak fell through the cracks, unaware that he was eligible for the aforementioned decorations, as well as service ribbons, a battle medal acknowledging that he fought in the European/North African theater, and the World War II Victory Medal.
About a year ago, Demchak read a notice in a POW newsletter about soldiers who had never received their appropriate honors. He realized that he might qualify, and contacted Schultz, who then got Tierney's office involved. Luckily, Demchak still had some important documentation of his experience, as his files were destroyed in 1973 when a newly built " fireproof " records building burned down.
As if Demchak had not waited long enough, the process was then held up for several more months by the change of Presidential administrations, while the office of Secretary of the Air Force remained vacant, Schultz said.
In the years after the war, Demchak was not one to speak often of his exploits. He ran a photography studio on Humphrey Street for years, and many of his friends and customers knew nothing of his harrowing experiences so long ago.
" It's typical of the people of his generation to be humble, and not to seek out credit for what he had done, " Tierney said.
Demchak insisted again after the ceremony, " I don't think I deserve it. "
Schultz is impressed by his friend's courage, but not surprised at his modesty.
" Every combat veteran I've known is modest, " he said. " They just feel they did what they had to do. "
~ ~ ~ ¤ ¤ ¤ ~ ~ ~
Special Thanks to Susan Lyons, Nicholas Demchak, Carl Fritz Alboth for sharing datas
serial number
plane type
namesquadron
code
date lost
reason
mission lost on
pilot / crew
42-3260
Boeing
B-17F-40-DL "Angel's tit"
100 BG
349 BS
June 25, 1943
fighter
Bremen
Crash Location
North Sea
1st Lt Alonzo P. Adams III P KIA
F/O George Z. Krech CP KIA
2nd Lt Nicholas Demchak N POW
2nd Lt Jesse D. Gurley B KIA
T/Sgt John K. Sullivan E KIA
S/Sgt Edmonde J. Walker WG KIA
T/Sgt James D. Purcell R KIA
S/Sgt John G. Kruzich BT KIA
S/Sgt Norman Asbornsen WG KIA
S/Sgt Bryant Hutchinson TG KIA
MACR 271
