1st Lt Robert H Brown, Army Serial Number: O-815842, Pilot B-17G, Serial No. 43-38362, KIA during mission to Stuttgart, Germany 9 December 1944.

Photo courtesy
306th Bomb Group Historical Association

1st Lt Robert H Brown crew.

Photo courtesy
306th Bomb Group Historical Association

B-17G, 43-38362, Missing Air Crew Report No. 11342, Nazi Report KU-3457, p. 9.

Recovery and ID of 1st Lt Robert H Brown's body. Stated cause of death parachute failed to open, remains recovered at Welschensteinach (Kinzigtal) Germany.

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B-17G, 43-38362 Missing Air Crew Report No. 11342, p. 2.

Source/Credit
https://www.fold3.com/image/30326976

B-17G, 43-38362, Missing Air Crew Report No. 11342, 1st Lt William F Giglio (Co-pilot) witness statement, p. 15.

Source/Credit
https://www.fold3.com/image/30326989

B-17G, 43-38362, Missing Air Crew Report No. 11342, 1st Lt William F Giglio (Co-pilot) witness statement, p. 16.

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https://www.fold3.com/image/30326990

B-17G, 43-38362, Missing Air Crew Report No. 11342, Next Of Kin listing, p. 14.

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https://www.fold3.com/image/30326988

306th Bomb Group mission narrative for Stuttgart, Germany 9 December 1944.

Document courtesy
306th Bomb Group Historical Association

306th Bomb Group mission route map to Stuttgart, Germany 9 December 1944.

Map courtesy
306th Bomb Group Historical Association

Robert H Brown, NARA enlistment record.

Source
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=WR26&tf=F&q=12171984&bc=sl&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=597150

43-38362 Del Cheyenne 25/7/44; Kearney 3/8/44; Dow Fd 10/8/44; Ass369BS/306BG [WW-K] Thurleigh 22/8/44; MIA Stuttgart 9/12/44 w/Bob Brown (KIA); cp-Bill Giglio, n-Jim Walden, b-Jim Moore, ettg-Jerold Fann, ro-Ray Ohm, btg-Sam Abdelnour, wg-Ernie Hovey, tg-Joe Bollard (8POW); flak, cr Wolfach, Ger; MACR 11342. SLEEPY TIME GAL.
Source Dave Osborne

29 page MACR 11342 starts here on fold3 https://www.fold3.com/image/30326975

Account by 2nd Lt. James B. Walden, Navigator:
The Story Of A B-17 Crew Shot Down Over Stuttgart, Germany

On our last trip somewhere between Stuttgart and the Rhine River we caught fire and because the flames were blowing back off the wing we had to jump. The engineer helped the copilot to the escape hatch in the floor of the nose, but he found that it was jammed shut by flak. He took off his gloves and tried his best to open the hatch. Since it was 60 degrees below zero he froze both hands. I got there and saw the problem and pointed to the rear then he and the bombardier helped the co-pilot to jump out of the bomb bay which was jammed open, thank goodness. I went up to check on the pilot and he was flying with both hands (no auto pilot) and did not show any wounds. He always said he would not jump and didn't.

I did a free fall to get down to oxygen and I guess I pulled the cord at about 3000 to 4000 feet. It was snowing and I could not see the ground until I got to about 500 feet. I could not see any houses, nothing but snow and trees. I thought I had it made. I was a few miles from the Rhine River and the Americans were on the other side, I rolled up my chute and was going to hide it in the snow when I saw the home guard with a huge rifle watching me from about 100 feet away. We walked down the mountain for 15 to 20 minutes to an old farm house, no paint and a wooden plow. Quickly a crowd gathered, men, women and children all talking to each other, German of course, and I had no idea what it was all about.

A young girl came up to me and spoke English. She asked if I was an American. It sure was good to hear English and I asked her if I could have some water and a towel to wash my neck. She turned to a woman (her mother) and spoke German. Then she told me to follow her into the house. I went in (not stopped by the guard) and she filled a basin with water and laid a towel beside it . She said I would have to do it for myself. I did because I quickly understood that they could not help a prisoner. She then gave me a strip of cloth that I wrapped around my neck and tied the ends. I then got back outside as fast as I could.

In a few minutes a couple of Gestapo, I think, came in a VW, searched me and took everything I had. I gave my parachute to the lady beside the girl as I went inside the house. We then drove for what seemed like 30 minutes to a town where I was put in a jail. Later my bombardier was brought in. That night about midnight a civilian came in with a suit and tie on, speaking perfect English and asked, " How are you boys doing?" To me this was an American phrase not German. He asked if we were hungry. We said yes and that were cold too. There was a ceramic stove in the jail, but no matches or wood. He said that he would see what he could do. We had no cover, only a wooden shelf just wide enough to lie on and no chairs. About an hour later a guard came in with an aluminum container. We had veal cutlets, potatoes, kraut, black bread and coffee, a full meal. He also brought wood and started a fire. We told each other that we had better eat as it might be our last meal because tomorrow we might be shot. The next morning we were taken to the office of a bigwig. He was smoking my cigarettes and thoroughly enjoying himself. He asked one question, what a CO cylinder in my life jacket was. We were then sent to Wetzler with two guards.

The Germans were moving out of the building in a hurry as the Americans were just across the river.
We had to walk for 3 weeks and finally ended up in a prison camp, Stalag Luft 1. We hoped that our pilot would show up there but he never did and we heard nothing about him or the plane.
The first of last year I got an e-mail that started off-- I was 4 years old when you were a prisoner at Stalag1 and I lived in Barth where the camp was located. It was from Helga Radau. I told her my story about our pilot and she said to contact Roland Geiger who gave her my e-mail address. I wrote him that my ship went down at Wolfach, but no crash site was ever found. He then got in touch with another German, Ottmar Erber in the Black Forrest. Mr Erber sent Roland 2 pages of a book about the Black Forrest that described 2 eyewitnesses telling what happened to the pilot. I am enclosing a copy of what Erber sent to Geiger. He sent it in German and Geiger translated it. Brown's name was in English and his serial number matched. I was able to follow the story through to his burial in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. I have the grave number there.

Later Mr. Erber found the young girl that spoke to me in English when I landed in Germany. I have a letter from her and will enclose a copy. I wondered about her speaking English. I was shot down and the war was over for me. I didn't know what was coming next. It certainly was not a little German girl speaking English. The neighborhood watch took my parachute away from her mother. I didn't see hate in any of the people that surrounded me that day. I saw hate in the eyes of a mob that gathered behind us as we walked through a town that was still smoking. The people were screaming and had hanging us on their minds. We understood some of the things that they called us, like SOB and a few others. One guard told another guard for us to start running and he raised his rifle and pointed it at the mob. We ran until we were out of sight and I have no idea what he said to the mob of about 25 people. He caught up with us a little later without them.


The finding of the little girl, now 71, as per her letter would make her about 14 when all this happened. It was good to be able to say thank you to a total stranger who stuck her neck out to help me when I needed it most.

I made 29 missions. My co-pilot was on his 35th and last. He lost a leg and spent the rest of the war in the hospital. The engineer had both hands frozen and was also put in the hospital where German doctors saved his fingers after 6 months on treatment.
Source http://www.merkki.com/waldenjames.htm

Picture courtesy Jean-Loup FROMMER

B17 Fortress s/n° 43-38362 - Crew, their names.

Picture courtesy Jean-Loup FROMMER

B17 fortress's crew s/n: 43-38362

Picture courtesy Jean-Loup FROMMER - This memorial is on a forest way called "Chemin de la Résistance et de la Liberté"
this aera is a pass called "Schlingoutte" height 604m in Bas-Rhin - France.
The beginning of this forest way starts to Urbeis pass (Bas-Rhin - France)