Staff Sergeant George H. Bragdon was a waist gunner on a B-17 during WWII. On a bombing raid to Brunswick, Germany in January of 1944, he was on a B-17 named 'Sunnie's Big Stoop', piloted by William Service when it was shot down by enemy aircraft. George and the rest of the crew that survived spent the rest of the war as POWs.
Before he passed away, George got to fly on another B-17; a restored WWII beauty appropriately named 'Sentimental Journey' on a flight over Bar Harbor, Maine. No doubt his mission that day was filled with memories.
Eastbrook, Maine
George Herbert Bragdon, born Nov. 11, 1922, at Fayette, the third son of Melvin and Sarah (Bartlett) Bragdon, departed his earthly life on April 22, 2006, at Eastern Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.
George was 4 years old when his mother died; from that point, he was raised by his Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lil Abbott in Eastbrook, with all the love any parents could give to a child. George joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942, graduating in February 1943 from the Army Air Corps Technical School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Staff Sgt. Bragdon and the crew of his B-17 Flying Fortress left Wyoming in June 1943, for an overseas destination. They were forced down in heavy fog, at Dow Field in Bangor, the next day the crew continued on to England. By November of 1943, as a waist gunner on a B-17 bomber, he had shot down his 18th plane. On his 21st mission, over Germany, on Jan. 14, 1944, his plane was shot down. He spent 18 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag 17B, in Austria. George was known for his storytelling and great sense of humor. Everyone that knew him found him to be a friend. He was always ready to enjoy a good time and loved to dance.
He found great pleasure in hunting, ice fishing, tending his garden (shared extensively with others) and, above all else, spending time with his family. George's 80th birthday party saw nearly 300 friends and relatives help him celebrate, with plenty of stories and dancing. George was a member of the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, the Franklin Veterans Club, the Ellsworth VFW Post No. 108 and the David A. Hooper Masonic Lodge. George was married to Norma Foster (Giles) on Nov. 22, 1947 and for 58 years they worked and played together. In most recent years they traveled extensively. George enjoyed keeping in touch with his war buddies, those from his squadron and from prison camp. They took trips all over the country visiting with these men. He was too full of life to ever be kept down for long, and just months after a triple bypass, he and Norma took a trip to Ireland. You know what they say … "You can't keep a good man down."
George is survived by his loving wife, Norma; four children, Theo Bragdon of Bradford, Skye LaVoie and her husband, Tommy, of Otis, Susan Hart and her husband, Tom, of Eastbrook and Martin Bragdon and his wife, Michelle, of Mt. Vernon; two brothers, Raymond Bragdon of Bar Harbor and Erlon Bragdon Rose of Livermore Falls; grandchildren, Thomas Hart Jr. and his wife, Michelle, of Ellsworth, Scott Grindle and his wife, LeAnne, of Ellsworth, Spencer Grindle and his wife, Heather, of Ellsworth, Janet Hart and her husband, Marc, of Franklin, Alisha Wyman and her husband, Jason, of Fort Riley, Kan., and George Bragdon of Mt. Vernon; great-grandchildren, Madeline Hart of Ellsworth, Riley Grindle of Ellsworth, Lydia Hart of Ellsworth, and Ethan LeClerc of Franklin. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors who will miss him. George was predeceased by his brother, Meltiah of Westbrook.
A service will be held 1 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2006, at the Bragdon-Kelley-Campbell Funeral Home, 215 Main St., Ellsworth. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, April 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Eastbrook. If desired, donations may be made to the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, Eastbrook, ME 04634. Following the interment, family and friends are invited to a celebration of George‘s life at the Eastbrook Community Building.
-- The Ellsworth American; Thursday, April 27, 2006
"He was trained to be a waist gunner on a B-17, manning a machine gun poked through the fuselage halfway between the cockpit and the tail. His training began in Fort Myers, Fla., which is considered a vacation paradise these days but was, in 1942, "a hell hole," Bragdon recalled. Training continued in Casper, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho. Then back to Maine to be flown from Bangor to England by way of Iceland and Scotland. From July 1943 until January 1944, from their English airfield, the crew of the B-17 flew into France and Germany making bombing runs.
On Jan. 11, 1944, standing in his socks, he swept the night sky with his 50-caliber machine gun. Suddenly, racing shapes blazed at Bragdon's plane. They were under attack by some 50 German fighters. "I shot some down, but they hit us between the second, third and fourth engines. We had to bail out." The freezing night air was "so damn quiet," Bragdon recalled. "You didn't feel like falling."
The landing felt real enough, however. He hadn't been wearing his boots when the plane was attacked, so Bragdon had only socks on his feet when he hit the ground at Bachausen. Two hours later, feet freezing, Bragdon was marched to a German unit by a farmer armed with a pitchfork. He was herded along with seven other members of the crew — "two didn't make it … they died on the ground."
--from an interview with Stephen Fay on Maine military men at www.mpbn.net/greatest/georgebragdon.html
Before he passed away, George got to fly on another B-17; a restored WWII beauty appropriately named 'Sentimental Journey' on a flight over Bar Harbor, Maine. No doubt his mission that day was filled with memories.
Eastbrook, Maine
George Herbert Bragdon, born Nov. 11, 1922, at Fayette, the third son of Melvin and Sarah (Bartlett) Bragdon, departed his earthly life on April 22, 2006, at Eastern Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.
George was 4 years old when his mother died; from that point, he was raised by his Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lil Abbott in Eastbrook, with all the love any parents could give to a child. George joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942, graduating in February 1943 from the Army Air Corps Technical School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Staff Sgt. Bragdon and the crew of his B-17 Flying Fortress left Wyoming in June 1943, for an overseas destination. They were forced down in heavy fog, at Dow Field in Bangor, the next day the crew continued on to England. By November of 1943, as a waist gunner on a B-17 bomber, he had shot down his 18th plane. On his 21st mission, over Germany, on Jan. 14, 1944, his plane was shot down. He spent 18 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag 17B, in Austria. George was known for his storytelling and great sense of humor. Everyone that knew him found him to be a friend. He was always ready to enjoy a good time and loved to dance.
He found great pleasure in hunting, ice fishing, tending his garden (shared extensively with others) and, above all else, spending time with his family. George's 80th birthday party saw nearly 300 friends and relatives help him celebrate, with plenty of stories and dancing. George was a member of the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, the Franklin Veterans Club, the Ellsworth VFW Post No. 108 and the David A. Hooper Masonic Lodge. George was married to Norma Foster (Giles) on Nov. 22, 1947 and for 58 years they worked and played together. In most recent years they traveled extensively. George enjoyed keeping in touch with his war buddies, those from his squadron and from prison camp. They took trips all over the country visiting with these men. He was too full of life to ever be kept down for long, and just months after a triple bypass, he and Norma took a trip to Ireland. You know what they say … "You can't keep a good man down."
George is survived by his loving wife, Norma; four children, Theo Bragdon of Bradford, Skye LaVoie and her husband, Tommy, of Otis, Susan Hart and her husband, Tom, of Eastbrook and Martin Bragdon and his wife, Michelle, of Mt. Vernon; two brothers, Raymond Bragdon of Bar Harbor and Erlon Bragdon Rose of Livermore Falls; grandchildren, Thomas Hart Jr. and his wife, Michelle, of Ellsworth, Scott Grindle and his wife, LeAnne, of Ellsworth, Spencer Grindle and his wife, Heather, of Ellsworth, Janet Hart and her husband, Marc, of Franklin, Alisha Wyman and her husband, Jason, of Fort Riley, Kan., and George Bragdon of Mt. Vernon; great-grandchildren, Madeline Hart of Ellsworth, Riley Grindle of Ellsworth, Lydia Hart of Ellsworth, and Ethan LeClerc of Franklin. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors who will miss him. George was predeceased by his brother, Meltiah of Westbrook.
A service will be held 1 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2006, at the Bragdon-Kelley-Campbell Funeral Home, 215 Main St., Ellsworth. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, April 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Eastbrook. If desired, donations may be made to the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, Eastbrook, ME 04634. Following the interment, family and friends are invited to a celebration of George‘s life at the Eastbrook Community Building.
-- The Ellsworth American; Thursday, April 27, 2006
"He was trained to be a waist gunner on a B-17, manning a machine gun poked through the fuselage halfway between the cockpit and the tail. His training began in Fort Myers, Fla., which is considered a vacation paradise these days but was, in 1942, "a hell hole," Bragdon recalled. Training continued in Casper, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho. Then back to Maine to be flown from Bangor to England by way of Iceland and Scotland. From July 1943 until January 1944, from their English airfield, the crew of the B-17 flew into France and Germany making bombing runs.
On Jan. 11, 1944, standing in his socks, he swept the night sky with his 50-caliber machine gun. Suddenly, racing shapes blazed at Bragdon's plane. They were under attack by some 50 German fighters. "I shot some down, but they hit us between the second, third and fourth engines. We had to bail out." The freezing night air was "so damn quiet," Bragdon recalled. "You didn't feel like falling."
The landing felt real enough, however. He hadn't been wearing his boots when the plane was attacked, so Bragdon had only socks on his feet when he hit the ground at Bachausen. Two hours later, feet freezing, Bragdon was marched to a German unit by a farmer armed with a pitchfork. He was herded along with seven other members of the crew — "two didn't make it … they died on the ground."
--from an interview with Stephen Fay on Maine military men at www.mpbn.net/greatest/georgebragdon.html
Staff Sergeant George H. Bragdon was a waist gunner on a B-17 during WWII. On a bombing raid to Brunswick, Germany in January of 1944, he was on a B-17 named 'Sunnie's Big Stoop', piloted by William Service when it was shot down by enemy aircraft. George and the rest of the crew that survived spent the rest of the war as POWs.
Before he passed away, George got to fly on another B-17; a restored WWII beauty appropriately named 'Sentimental Journey' on a flight over Bar Harbor, Maine. No doubt his mission that day was filled with memories.
Eastbrook, Maine
George Herbert Bragdon, born Nov. 11, 1922, at Fayette, the third son of Melvin and Sarah (Bartlett) Bragdon, departed his earthly life on April 22, 2006, at Eastern Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.
George was 4 years old when his mother died; from that point, he was raised by his Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lil Abbott in Eastbrook, with all the love any parents could give to a child. George joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942, graduating in February 1943 from the Army Air Corps Technical School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Staff Sgt. Bragdon and the crew of his B-17 Flying Fortress left Wyoming in June 1943, for an overseas destination. They were forced down in heavy fog, at Dow Field in Bangor, the next day the crew continued on to England. By November of 1943, as a waist gunner on a B-17 bomber, he had shot down his 18th plane. On his 21st mission, over Germany, on Jan. 14, 1944, his plane was shot down. He spent 18 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag 17B, in Austria. George was known for his storytelling and great sense of humor. Everyone that knew him found him to be a friend. He was always ready to enjoy a good time and loved to dance.
He found great pleasure in hunting, ice fishing, tending his garden (shared extensively with others) and, above all else, spending time with his family. George's 80th birthday party saw nearly 300 friends and relatives help him celebrate, with plenty of stories and dancing. George was a member of the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, the Franklin Veterans Club, the Ellsworth VFW Post No. 108 and the David A. Hooper Masonic Lodge. George was married to Norma Foster (Giles) on Nov. 22, 1947 and for 58 years they worked and played together. In most recent years they traveled extensively. George enjoyed keeping in touch with his war buddies, those from his squadron and from prison camp. They took trips all over the country visiting with these men. He was too full of life to ever be kept down for long, and just months after a triple bypass, he and Norma took a trip to Ireland. You know what they say … "You can't keep a good man down."
George is survived by his loving wife, Norma; four children, Theo Bragdon of Bradford, Skye LaVoie and her husband, Tommy, of Otis, Susan Hart and her husband, Tom, of Eastbrook and Martin Bragdon and his wife, Michelle, of Mt. Vernon; two brothers, Raymond Bragdon of Bar Harbor and Erlon Bragdon Rose of Livermore Falls; grandchildren, Thomas Hart Jr. and his wife, Michelle, of Ellsworth, Scott Grindle and his wife, LeAnne, of Ellsworth, Spencer Grindle and his wife, Heather, of Ellsworth, Janet Hart and her husband, Marc, of Franklin, Alisha Wyman and her husband, Jason, of Fort Riley, Kan., and George Bragdon of Mt. Vernon; great-grandchildren, Madeline Hart of Ellsworth, Riley Grindle of Ellsworth, Lydia Hart of Ellsworth, and Ethan LeClerc of Franklin. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors who will miss him. George was predeceased by his brother, Meltiah of Westbrook.
A service will be held 1 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2006, at the Bragdon-Kelley-Campbell Funeral Home, 215 Main St., Ellsworth. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, April 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Eastbrook. If desired, donations may be made to the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, Eastbrook, ME 04634. Following the interment, family and friends are invited to a celebration of George‘s life at the Eastbrook Community Building.
-- The Ellsworth American; Thursday, April 27, 2006
"He was trained to be a waist gunner on a B-17, manning a machine gun poked through the fuselage halfway between the cockpit and the tail. His training began in Fort Myers, Fla., which is considered a vacation paradise these days but was, in 1942, "a hell hole," Bragdon recalled. Training continued in Casper, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho. Then back to Maine to be flown from Bangor to England by way of Iceland and Scotland. From July 1943 until January 1944, from their English airfield, the crew of the B-17 flew into France and Germany making bombing runs.
On Jan. 11, 1944, standing in his socks, he swept the night sky with his 50-caliber machine gun. Suddenly, racing shapes blazed at Bragdon's plane. They were under attack by some 50 German fighters. "I shot some down, but they hit us between the second, third and fourth engines. We had to bail out." The freezing night air was "so damn quiet," Bragdon recalled. "You didn't feel like falling."
The landing felt real enough, however. He hadn't been wearing his boots when the plane was attacked, so Bragdon had only socks on his feet when he hit the ground at Bachausen. Two hours later, feet freezing, Bragdon was marched to a German unit by a farmer armed with a pitchfork. He was herded along with seven other members of the crew — "two didn't make it … they died on the ground."
--from an interview with Stephen Fay on Maine military men at www.mpbn.net/greatest/georgebragdon.html
Before he passed away, George got to fly on another B-17; a restored WWII beauty appropriately named 'Sentimental Journey' on a flight over Bar Harbor, Maine. No doubt his mission that day was filled with memories.
Eastbrook, Maine
George Herbert Bragdon, born Nov. 11, 1922, at Fayette, the third son of Melvin and Sarah (Bartlett) Bragdon, departed his earthly life on April 22, 2006, at Eastern Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.
George was 4 years old when his mother died; from that point, he was raised by his Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lil Abbott in Eastbrook, with all the love any parents could give to a child. George joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1942, graduating in February 1943 from the Army Air Corps Technical School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Staff Sgt. Bragdon and the crew of his B-17 Flying Fortress left Wyoming in June 1943, for an overseas destination. They were forced down in heavy fog, at Dow Field in Bangor, the next day the crew continued on to England. By November of 1943, as a waist gunner on a B-17 bomber, he had shot down his 18th plane. On his 21st mission, over Germany, on Jan. 14, 1944, his plane was shot down. He spent 18 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag 17B, in Austria. George was known for his storytelling and great sense of humor. Everyone that knew him found him to be a friend. He was always ready to enjoy a good time and loved to dance.
He found great pleasure in hunting, ice fishing, tending his garden (shared extensively with others) and, above all else, spending time with his family. George's 80th birthday party saw nearly 300 friends and relatives help him celebrate, with plenty of stories and dancing. George was a member of the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, the Franklin Veterans Club, the Ellsworth VFW Post No. 108 and the David A. Hooper Masonic Lodge. George was married to Norma Foster (Giles) on Nov. 22, 1947 and for 58 years they worked and played together. In most recent years they traveled extensively. George enjoyed keeping in touch with his war buddies, those from his squadron and from prison camp. They took trips all over the country visiting with these men. He was too full of life to ever be kept down for long, and just months after a triple bypass, he and Norma took a trip to Ireland. You know what they say … "You can't keep a good man down."
George is survived by his loving wife, Norma; four children, Theo Bragdon of Bradford, Skye LaVoie and her husband, Tommy, of Otis, Susan Hart and her husband, Tom, of Eastbrook and Martin Bragdon and his wife, Michelle, of Mt. Vernon; two brothers, Raymond Bragdon of Bar Harbor and Erlon Bragdon Rose of Livermore Falls; grandchildren, Thomas Hart Jr. and his wife, Michelle, of Ellsworth, Scott Grindle and his wife, LeAnne, of Ellsworth, Spencer Grindle and his wife, Heather, of Ellsworth, Janet Hart and her husband, Marc, of Franklin, Alisha Wyman and her husband, Jason, of Fort Riley, Kan., and George Bragdon of Mt. Vernon; great-grandchildren, Madeline Hart of Ellsworth, Riley Grindle of Ellsworth, Lydia Hart of Ellsworth, and Ethan LeClerc of Franklin. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors who will miss him. George was predeceased by his brother, Meltiah of Westbrook.
A service will be held 1 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2006, at the Bragdon-Kelley-Campbell Funeral Home, 215 Main St., Ellsworth. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, April 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Eastbrook. If desired, donations may be made to the Eastbrook Volunteer Fire Department, Eastbrook, ME 04634. Following the interment, family and friends are invited to a celebration of George‘s life at the Eastbrook Community Building.
-- The Ellsworth American; Thursday, April 27, 2006
"He was trained to be a waist gunner on a B-17, manning a machine gun poked through the fuselage halfway between the cockpit and the tail. His training began in Fort Myers, Fla., which is considered a vacation paradise these days but was, in 1942, "a hell hole," Bragdon recalled. Training continued in Casper, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho. Then back to Maine to be flown from Bangor to England by way of Iceland and Scotland. From July 1943 until January 1944, from their English airfield, the crew of the B-17 flew into France and Germany making bombing runs.
On Jan. 11, 1944, standing in his socks, he swept the night sky with his 50-caliber machine gun. Suddenly, racing shapes blazed at Bragdon's plane. They were under attack by some 50 German fighters. "I shot some down, but they hit us between the second, third and fourth engines. We had to bail out." The freezing night air was "so damn quiet," Bragdon recalled. "You didn't feel like falling."
The landing felt real enough, however. He hadn't been wearing his boots when the plane was attacked, so Bragdon had only socks on his feet when he hit the ground at Bachausen. Two hours later, feet freezing, Bragdon was marched to a German unit by a farmer armed with a pitchfork. He was herded along with seven other members of the crew — "two didn't make it … they died on the ground."
--from an interview with Stephen Fay on Maine military men at www.mpbn.net/greatest/georgebragdon.html
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