In and around Brummen, November 2, 1944

(p. 46, 47 and 48 from “Bail out over Brummen” by Ivo M. De Jong)

15-year-old Bennie Bieleman got the surprise of his life. He and his parents lived in the Zutphensestraat in Rhienderen, a town just north of Brummen. "I saw a plane coming, very low. Then I saw a man jump out. The parachute opened itself and the man floated in my direction. He landed about 150 meters behind our house. Five or six German soldiers who were billeted with us were his reception committee. The kite was then taken away. When the first man landed I saw at least five or six others still in the air."

Radio operator Rex Lewnfield describes what happened aboard the B-17: "Our pilot, Jack Davis, ordered the crew to jump out! We lined up at the open side hatch in the rear of the plane, waiting for this order. Our tail gunner was ready to jump, but said he would rather see a parachute open before he jumped out himself. In the meantime none of the others had made any move. At that moment I shouted 'I'm getting out' and 'you better follow me because we're losing height quickly' !"

So it's quite possible that Lewnfield was the man who saw Bieleman come down. However, navigator Hellesvig and bomb aimer Guiciardi exited the aircraft through their own escape hatch in the nose. It is not known whether they jumped before the men in the back and in what order they followed. It is a fact that the men ended up within a few hundred meters of each other. The time between their jumps must have been very short.

Thorough investigation by Jan de Lange from Eerbeek shows that the majority of the crew landed in a straight line, from the railway line in Rhienderen, along the Rhienderensestraat in the direction of Eerbeek. In all, seven or eight crew members left "the 8 Ball" in quick succession and floated directly into German hands. Some memories of American and Dutch eyewitnesses are very similar. Tail gunner Marvin Brown recalls: "I landed in a schoolyard with a fence around it. I hit the fence with both my knees. After that I couldn't walk anymore, so the rest of the crew lugged me around."

And Dutch eyewitness E.J. Arends: "One of the Americans fell straight through some branches of an apple tree, just next to Wolters' farm. He then hit a fence and injured himself. He could hardly walk. He was taken away by the Germans along with a few mates." After seven men jumped, three more remained on board. These were "Y" operator Alvin Bader and pilots Don Kohlstedt and Jack Davis.

The then 6-year-old Arie van der Velde: "I saw a man standing in a door in the side of the aircraft. He then jumped and his parachute did not open. He landed between Peters' farm and a barn at Den Broekweg 1. Blood came out of his mouth and nose: he was dead!"

Another 6-year-old, Frits Bleumink, lived in the Rhienderensestraat, next to the farm where the unfortunate pilot landed: "The body was taken to Peters' farm. The man was bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears. They took off his boots and gave them to Peters. Then the ring, watch, gun and papers were removed. Late afternoon or early In the evening, wrapped in the partially opened parachute, the body was placed on a horse-drawn cart and taken to Brummen.”

The unfortunate pilot was T/Sgt Alvin G. Bader, who had joined the crew just before take-off. Why he died is not certain. Other crew members suggested he was afraid to jump and waited too long. He may also have had problems with his parachute. To open it, the men had to pull on a bracket. At the height they jumped, between 500 and 1000 feet, any delay or problem was fatal. Whatever might have happened, Alvin Bader was dead.

On 3 November he was buried in grave 17 at the Roman Catholic cemetery in Brummen. After the war, a reburial took place at the American military cemetery in Margraten. Here he still rests.

In the end, the Germans captured eight crew members and found Bader's body. They took most of the prisoners of war to a farm, next to the school, in the center of the hamlet of Oeken. The Americans were then transported further to Zutphen and then to the German interrogation center in Oberursul near Frankfurt. One man escaped the German search: pilot Jack T. Davis.