Verona High School Class of 1940
Yearbook
Photo courtesy of the 303rd Bomb Group Association
JACK R. HILLARY CREW - 359th Bomb Squadron
(crew assigned 359BS: 16 July 1944)

(Back L-R) 2Lt Jack R. Hillary (P-KIA);
2Lt William Robertson III (CP-KIA); 2Lt John E. Rice (N-KIA);
2Lt Rocco De Filippis (B-KIA)
(Front L-R) Sgt Neldon Reid Bishop (BT-POW)(1);
S/Sgt George E. Paul (E-KIA); Sgt Harry R. Sansum (WG-KIA)(2);
T/Sgt Eugene E. Girman (R-POW)(1)(*); Sgt James R. Watson (TG-POW)
(KIA-POW) - On 24 August 1944, on Mission #231 to Merseburg, Germany in B-17G #42-97291 Myasis
Dragon (359BS) BN-W. Myasis Dragon was brought down on the bomb run with the bomb bay doors
open. The first of a salvo of three shells took out the #3 engine. As the second exploded under the radio
room, T/Sgt Girman loosened his flak vest and clipped on one of his parachute rings. The third flak
burst came right into the bomb bay, exploding between the two bomb racks. The B-17 immediately
became an inferno, and T/Sgt Girman remembers seeing the aircraft melting before his eyes. Within
seconds Myasis Dragon disintegrated in a large explosion which showered several aircraft in the
formation with debris. One piece of the falling wreckage included the ball turret with Sgt Reid Bishop
inside. T/Sgt Girman was unconscious. His foot was caught in the runner of the ball turret gunners hatch
trapping Sgt Bishop inside. Soon, however, T/Sgt Girman fell free and Sgt Bishop was able to open his
hatch, grab his parachute, connect it and free himself from the wreckage. T/Sgt Girman regained
consciousness as he hit denser air, and remembers seeing Sgt Bishop's chute open at almost the same
time as his, maybe 1500 feet above ground. The spot where T/Sgt Girman and Sgt Bishop came to earth
was at Torgau, more than 30 miles east of Leipzig. This town became famous as the location where the
Soviet and U.S. Forces met on a bridge over the Elbe River finally linking the Eastern and Western
fronts in May 1945 and signaling the end of the Third Reich. T/Sgt Girman came to earth within site of
that bridge and within sight of Stalag IVD where he spent his first night as a POW. T/Sgt Girman and
Sgt Bishop were their only crew survivors. (KIA-POW Information Source: 1997 "Going Back" story by
Brian McGuire as related by T/Sgt Girman.)

T/Sgt Eugene E. Girman (R ) and Sgt Neldon R. Bishop (BT) were wounded and taken to           hospitals
at Leipzig, Hohmalk, Menmigne and Obermassfield. They then were at POW camps at     Sulag Luft IV,
Gross Tychow, Nurenberg and Mooseburg. They were rescued by General Patton     and the 14th Armored
Division on 25 April 1945, transported to Camp Lucky Strike and          transported to the USA on a
Liberty Ship.

Sgt Harry R. Sansum - Was seen on the ground without a chute after the crash by Sgt Neldon    R.
Bishop.

The seven bodies from Myasis Dragon came down over a 17 kilometer wide area; the B-17 came down 5
kilometers northeast of Bergleibenau, 5 km from Merseburg. When the Germans were looking for the
surviving Hillary crewmen, they came across an airman shot down earlier. They shot him during an
escape attempt.

Crew Event: This is the crew that was flying Thunderbird on her 70th mission, 15 August 1944 to
Wiesbaden, Germany, which is the subject of the Keith Ferris Mural Fortresses Under Fire. On that
mission, the waist gunner was T/Sgt Jack F. Pordhan rather than Sgt Sansum.

(*) T/Sgt Girman was aboard the reconstructed Thunderbird, that is at the Lone Star Flight Museum in
Galveston, TX, on its flight from Duxford, England to Houston, Texas in July 1987.

[photo courtesy of Gene Girman]
[Researched by 303rdBGA Historian Harry D. Gobrecht]
ANDERSON         ROY M          SGT    37323504  359TH     ENGR    07-16-44                           

  BISHOP          NELDON R       SGT    39918069  359TH     B/TUR   07-16-44  08-24-44  POW            

DE FILIPPIS      ROCCO          2/LT   0765628   359TH     BOMB    07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA           

      GIRMAN           EUGENE E       T/SGT  35582692  359TH     RADIO   07-16-44  08-24-44  POW            

HILLARY          JACK R         2/LT   0757200   359TH     PILOT   07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            

 PAUL             GEORGE E       T/SGT  38557309  359TH     ENGR    07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            

RICE             JOHN E         2/LT   0710315   359TH     NAV     07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            

     ROBERTSON        WILLIAM III    2/LT   0819712   359TH     CO-PLT  07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            

  SANSUM           HARRY R        SGT    36233045  359TH     W/GUN   07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            

  WATSON           JAMES R        SGT    32282335  359TH     T/GUN   07-16-44  08-24-44  KIA            
The goal of this project is to preserve the memory of these heroes and not let
their stories be lost to history.  Their sacrifices should be honored and their
histories should be available to school children and adults to learn about the
heroic Verona residents who came before them. It is vital that friends and
family of these heroes be found, so that they may share pictures, service
records, and other information to add to these stories. If you are a
family member or friend of one of these heroes, or you know someone
who is or may have additional information, please contact:
Robert Caruso
Heritage Preservation Associates
Verona, New Jersey
veronaheroes@heritagepreservation.us
This Website is maintained by
Heritage Preservation Associates
Verona Hero
2nd Lt. William A. Robertson, III
Verona Residence:
Bloomfield Ave
Courtesy of Mrs. Shirley Volpe, widow of
William Robertson, III