WWII Mountain Memories:
Home Front to the Frontline
Testimonies of WWII Veterans and Civilians from Western North Carolina

This base had been set up for their 485th Bomb Group. At this time German forces still occupied Rome and the U.S. Ground Forces were still surrounded by German Army Forces at Anzio Beachhead.

(See the Ledbetter memoirs for the crew member list.)

Ledbetter had been flying a bomber named "The Traveler" but this airplane had been badly damaged while been flown by another crew. He then started flying a plane named "The Character.

Ledbetter says in his memoirs: "Just 23 months after leaving the farm, I had attained the rank of 1st Lt. In the Army Air Force." In being assigned to a bomber instead of his original thought of becoming a fighter pilot, Ledbetter now had more responsibility in the war than he had ever sought or wanted.

(Please see the memoirs for his thoughts on his assignment to the bomber and upon going on his first missions.)

All in all, Ledbetter flew 51 missions. (Some missions, because of the danger involved, received a rating of 2 missions.)

Other than suffering a back problem and being in the hospital in the states for awhile, Ledbetter did not suffer any injuries in his was service. Remaining in the service for awhile after the war, he was reclassified as a Weather Forecaster at Chanute, IL. He was grounded January 15, 1950. After being grounded he resigned from the Air Force. Ledbetter then spent three and a half years working on his family's dairy farm. At the beginning of the Korean war, Ledbetter went back into the air force where he continued to serve as a pilot until 1956.

As a result of war service Ledbetter received a number of awards and medals for distinguish acts of bravery. (See the memoirs for a details list of the Ledbetter medals and awards.)

Ledbetter retired from service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and has been involved in real estate in the Asheville area and has served in several prestigious civic offices.

We are very fortunate to have his memoirs written with the aide of several of his crew members.

A MISSION TO VIENNA

FOREWORD

The following personal account of events encompassing one World War II bombing mission is recorded to allow future generations to better understand some of the problems and frustrations experienced by our World War II generation. The account is as accurate as available records, notes and memories of the below name participants and/or observers can make it 59 years after the fact. Contributing former members of the Jess Ledbetter Combat Crew are:

Jack Breen, Buffalo, NY
Burl Jackson, Lima, OH
Jesse Ledbetter, Asheville, NC
Mike Lupoli, Tafton, PA
Harold Richards Peoria, IL
Bill Schuetze, Dearborn, Ml

Also helpful was information from the 485th Bomb Group History, THIS IS HOW IT WAS"; plus copies of our485th Bomb Group news letters, "LIGHTWEIGHT TOWER CALLING", dated December 1976, February 1978, February 1992 and February 1993; plus information from the 301st B-17 Bomb Group History; plus information from the 360th B-24 Bomb Group History; plus information from personnel in 15th Air Force Units as follows:

Bob Lewis, Sacramento, CA, Navigator, Ben Barber Crew, 831st Bomb Squadron Bob Monahan, Jupiter, FLA, Top Turret Gunner, Ben Barber Crew, 831st Bomb Squadron Bill Roseborough, Fletcher, NC, NCO Gunnery Operations, 460th Bomb Group Walter Ruesch, Asheville, NC, Navigator, 301st Bomb Group

"I dedicate this mission account to the hundreds
of brave men of the 485th Bomb Group who did
not survive to tell their story"

Jesse I. Ledbetter
February 25, 2003

A MISSION TO VIENNA
on
JULY 26, 1944

On July 25, 1944, when my B-24 Liberator Aircrew, at the Venosa Air Base in Southern Italy, was scheduled to fly a combat mission the following day, I reflected in amazement, as I had many times before, on how much my world had changed in a relatively short time.

I had graduated from Brevard Junior College, Brevard, NC in June 1941, receiving my private aircraft pilot's license, under the tutelage of Oscar Meyer at his Hendersonville, NC airport, as a student in the U.S. Government sponsored CPT(Civil Pilot Training) program. I then worked briefly at the Ecusta Paper Corporation at Brevard, NC, resigning to manage our family dairy farm at Arden, NC, because of my father's illness.

My father passed away on November 11th, the month prior to the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I continued to manage the dairy farm for my mother; however: at age 19, I was anxious to join the Army Air Force. Finally, in June, 1942, my mother reluctantly gave her parental consent (I was less than 21 years old) for me to join the Army Air Force Aviation Cadets. On September 2, 1942, I turned the farm over to my older brother, Grady, and the 23 months began that had a major impact on my life.

I received Aviation Cadet training assignments as follows:

1 -Aviation Cadet Classification Center at Nashville, TN

2-Pre-flight at Maxwell Field, AL

3-Primary Flight Training with PT-17 aircraft at Dorr Field, Arcadia, FL

4-Basic Flight Training with BT-13 aircraft at Bainbridge, GA

5-Single Engine Advanced Flight Training with AT-6 and P-40 aircraft at Marianna, FL.

On June 30, 1943, at age 20, I received my pilot's wings and 2nd Lieutenant's commission with my mother, three of my four sisters, a niece and my fiancée, Marie Ensley, attending.

My first rated pilot assignment was the fighter pilot replacement pool at Dale Mabry Army Air Base, FL. So far my plan was working and I was certain I would be an Army Air Force Fighter Pilot. I obviously had the mistaken impression that only highly experienced older men would be assigned to bombers and other multi-engine aircraft.

My plan fell apart when, after five days at Dale Mabry, I received orders to report to Boise, ID for B-24 training. I became a co-pilot on a crew with Ben Barber, from East Point, GA, as Aircraft Commander. We were then shipped to Pocatello, ID, where we spent two months in a 200 flying hour B-24 RTU (Replacement Training Unit) Course. Upon completion we received a nine day pre-overseas leave. Marie and I were married during that leave.

On or about January 15, 1944, Lt. Hutchinson, an aircraft commander of another crew was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix, just after arriving at Fairmont. His crew required an experienced Aircraft Commander to finish the required combat training to deploy overseas with the squadron. As one of the most experienced co-pilots in the squadron, I was appointed Aircraft Commander of the crew (Ref. attach. 1).

We completed the training required and prepared to deploy overseas with all four Squadrons of the 485thHeavy Bombardment Group to Italy, flying a new B-24G aircraft #42-78100,named "The Traveler". We were one of 18 crews of the 831st Squadron, which was one of 60 B-24 and 24 B-17 Heavy Bombardment Squadrons sent to Italy, in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, to participate in the 15th Air Force's 1944 intensified air offensive against the Axis Powers in Europe.

In preparation for overseas deployment, in single aircraft flights, the command directed that a squadron aircraft mechanic replace a crew member, not essential for flying the aircraft during deployment, to help with any enroute problems. The "non essential" crew member, selected by drawing lots and scheduled to deploy with the squadron ground component, was S/Sgt Arthur H. Ashmore, Top Turret Gunner, from Stockton Texas.

Our first move to deploy overseas was flying our brand new B-24G from Fairmont, NB, to Lincoln, NB, where we received overseas processing. We then proceeded to fly what was known as the Southern Route to our overseas destination as follows: Starting on March 14th, we flew to Morrison Field, W. Palm Beach, FL and to Boringen Field, Puerto Rico on March 15th. We were delayed there seven days for replacement of an obviously defective engine, which we had been forced to feather (shut down in flight). While we were there, we were able to enjoy a Bob Hope show. We proceeded on to Atkinson Field, British Giana; to Belem, Brazil; across the South Atlantic Ocean via the Ascension Island to Dakar, Africa; then to Marrakech, North Africa and finally landing at a recently captured German Airdrome at Oudna, Tunisia - arriving about April 2nd.

During the short assignment at Oudna, our 831st Squadron received our first bitter taste of war. We received the shocking news that our entire 831st Squadron Ground Component, totaling 154 men and including our crew's S/Sgt Ashmore, perished when their U.S.Naval Ship, the S.S. Paul Hamilton, which also carried many tons of munitions, had been attacked and sunk by a German Torpedo Bomber in the Mediterranean Sea, just off the coast of Algiers, on April 20, 1944, with no survivors.

We received our Mediterranean Theatre indoctrination at Oudna, including practice bombing missions. Then, during the last two weeks in April, we proceeded to fly to our permanent overseas base at Venosa, Italy, which had just been freshly prepared for our

Starting with our first Combat Mission on May 13th, our crew had flown 39 missions, with 194 combat hours, to areas stretching from Southern France to northern Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary and Rumania. Those missions were not completed without our share of problems. Co-Pilot Lew Baker had been wounded in the shoulder by flak(anti~ aircraft fire) over Munich, on June 9th, which removed him temporarily from flight status. We had observed several of our 485th Bomb Group Aircraft being shot down and had been forced to feather an engine on two of the missions.

Three of our ten man crew that had trained at Fairmont, NE were no longer with us. In addition to losing Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Ashmore and Co-pilot F/0 Lew Baker, as mentioned before, Radio Operator T/Sgt. Eddie Paul, Charleston, IL, had been grounded by the flight surgeon. For this mission, a newly assigned aircraft commander, who would be flying his first Combat Mission, was assigned as our temporary co-pilot. The replacement radio operator and ball turret gunner were relatively new to our crew.

The crew on July 26, 1944 was composed of the following members:

Pilot                         1st Lt Jesse Ledbetter from Arden, NC
Co-Pilot                   1st Lt Joe Hasulak from Linden, NJ
Navigator                 1st Lt Jack Breen from Buffalo, NY
Bombardier              2nd Lt Hal Berman from Boston, MA
Engineer                   T/Sgt Bill Schuetze from Detroit, MI
Nose Gunner            S/Sgt Art Lawler from Worchester, MA
Radio Operator        T/Sgt Burl Jackson from Lima, Ohio
Top Turret Gunner    S/Sgt Mike Lupoli from Maspeth, NY
Ball Turret Gunner    S/Sgt George Kristl from Chicago, IL
Tail Gunner              S/Sgt Harold Richards from Peoria, IL

Our original aircraft, "The Traveler" had been damaged beyond repair by another crew on landing while returning from a mission. Our crew was then assigned B-24H Aircraft #42-52727, "The Character", call sign "Blue N", which had belonged to a crew who had been shot down over Munich, Germany on June 9 while flying another aircraft-Just 23 months after leaving the farm, I had attained the rank of 1st Lt in the Army Air Force, was a veteran B-24 Aircraft Commander and had just been assigned the additional duty of Flight Commander, with the possibility of promotion to Captain. There was now more responsibility involved in my assigned duties than I had ever sought or imagined.

Despite the foregoing background, I had no reason to suspect that the next day's mission would be the most dangerous in my combat tour; or, for that matter, my entire military career; or that, just to survive, my entire crew would have to call into practice more of our training and experience than we had ever needed before.

When the briefing map was uncovered (Ref. attach.2), showing our target to be the Zwolfaxing Airdrome in Vienna, Austria, with the Szombathely Airdrome, just across the border in Hungary, as the alternate, the room echoed with the typical groans and comments such "Not again!" and "Here we go again!". Vienna was one of the most heavily defended targets in Europe and we had lost several aircraft in the Vienna area.

The routine detailed briefing was followed by the intelligence officer repeating the typical foreboding lines we had heard before, "There are at least 295 88 mm. anti-aircraft guns in the target area but your route is planned so that only 250 of these guns can be brought to bear on you." The weather briefing came next, followed by a prayer by the chaplain.

Shuttle vehicles took us to our aircraft, "The Character", where we then conducted the required aircraft inspection, both inside and out, even though M/Sgt Lester York, the crew chief, had assured us that the aircraft was in the best possible condition.

We then boarded and took our crew positions in the aircraft, started the engines and taxied to arrive in take-off position at 0655 hours. Take-off was at 30 second intervals and we climbed and assembled into six ship box formations, merging into a Group Formation of 34 heavily loaded B-24 Aircraft over the cities of Altamura and Spinazola. We then continued to climb on course to 22,000 feet altitude Northward toward Vienna.

At 1039 hours, over Yugoslavia, we were comforted at being joined by our protective escort of 35 P-51 Aircraft, flying in crisscross patterns above our formation, constantly looking for German Fighter Aircraft.

As we approached the IP (Initial Point) on a heading of 210 degrees, clouds at 20,000 feet altitude required our formation to descend to 19,900 feet, below the clouds, in order to see the target, causing us to lose visual contact with our fighter escort. Then, as we turned east to 70 degrees en route to the target, lower clouds obscured the target. As briefed, the formation proceeded to the alternate, the Szombathely Airdrome, 24 miles to the Southeast, in Hungary. We experienced heavy box-type flak barrages, which we had no choice but to fly through to hit the target, from the IP to well past the target area.

En route to the alternate (Ref. attachs.3 and 4), and with our fighter escort not present, our six aircraft box was attacked head-on by 20 German ME 109's, in flights of three or four,

Tail Gunner Harold Richards shot down two of the ME IO9's, but not before they damaged our left side #1 engine. It started losing power and the oil pressure dropped, forcing us to . feather it. At 19,900 feet and being many miles into enemy territory, the engine loss suddenly changed our mission from attack to one of simple survival.

The loss of power caused us to drop behind at that altitude. Attempting to stay in the formation, we immediately salvoed the ten 500 pound demolition bombs, which ended up being less than five seconds before the formation bomb release. We were still unable to stay with the formation so, as we started losing altitude, Navigator Jack Breen put us on a heading direct to the emergency landing strip on the Isle of Vis, 290 miles to the South, in the Adriatic Sea and just off the coast of Yugoslavia. Vis was the headquarters of Yugoslavia Partisan Leader, Marshal Tito(real name.Josip Broz).

When it was obvious that we were in trouble, the ME 109's concentrated on attacking us but, since we had disposed of two of their number, they would fire at us and break off the attack before getting too close. However, they took their toll, gun fire punctured our four main fuel cells, there was a 20 MM explosion in the ball turret, badly wounding George Kristl and disabling his turret. Another 20 MM explosion wounded Radio Operater Burl Jackson's left arm and right foot and knocked out the flexible right waist (the fuselage of the aircraft between the wing and tail) 50 cal. machine gun and the ammunition chute. Jackson and Engineer Bill Schuetze were forced to discontinue firing from the waist because of the serious fire hazard from 100 octane fuel streaming from the wing tanks.

About 20 minutes after shutting down the #1 engine, we were also forced to feather the left side #2 engine because of vibration and loss of oil pressure. The #2 engine never reached complete feather position and continued to wind mill slowly until we landed.

At about this time, the ME 109's left us, probably out of ammunition and/or low on fuel. Schuetze then moved forward to the flight deck to try to conserve fuel. With the fighters gone, Richards was able to vacate the tail turret and assist Jackson with the task of manually cranking up the ball turret, removing Kristl and attending to his wounds.

Within a few minutes after the ME 109's departed, an American P-38 Lightning with a feathered engine closed into formation on our right wing, obviously needing navigational assistance. Losing #1 and #2 engines had caused us to apply climbing power to the right side #3 and #4 engines but we were still losing altitude too fast to reach the Isle of Vis. We increased power to take off readings (power used to lift the aircraft off the ground) of 2700 RPM's (Revolutions per Minute) and 60 inches MP (Manifold Pressure) and started using the auto pilot to keep level flight and a constant controlled descent. The two engines ran at take off power for over one and one half hours.

Continuous take off power on the two remaining engines increased the risk of more power failure so I ordered everything not tied down (flak suits, 50 caliber waist guns, ammunition,

At about 20 to 30 minutes prior to arriving at the Isle of Vis, the right side #3 engine started surging and cutting in and out. Schuetze started the auxiliary power unit and opened the emergency star valve to ensure we had hydraulic power for landing. We reduced the power on #3 to 2000 RPM and 30 inches manifold pressure, which smoothed it out some, but it continued to cut out every minute or so then slowly regain power.

Our controlled descent brought us over the Isle of Vis at 2500 feet altitude with less than 150 of our 3200 gallon fuel load remaining. With only the #4 (right outboard) engine performing reliably, I knew landing would require essentially a power-off landing on a very short(2200 ft) PSP (pierced steel planking) runway. There was no assurance that the landing gear, flaps, tires and brakes would work normally. However, since we were capable of landing in friendly territory and because of the wounded crew members, bailing out or ditching in the Adriatic were not options that I was willing to consider.

The Isle of Vis Control Tower cleared us to land. We were able to touch down on the first part of the runway and our landing equipment worked properly. At that point I am certain the crew all breathed a sigh of relief. However, when we slowed down to 30 or 35 MPH, I received an urgent call from the control tower, saying, and repeating, "Blue N, turn off the runway immediately or you will be run over!" Responding, I gave the only remaining fully operating engine (#4-right outboard) full power and hit the left brake, causing the aircraft to turn abruptly 90 degrees to the left and head across rows of a grape vineyard.

As we turned off the runway, a B-24 Liberator sped past us on the runway at 50 MPH or more. He proceeded to run off the far end of the runway. We later understood that he had no radio contact with the control tower, no brakes and no manual rudder control. He landed by controlling his rudders with his autopilot. The P-38 also landed on Vis with us.

Our wounded men received immediate attention from the British First Aid Station at the landing strip. S/Sgt Kristl's wounds were severe to his left leg, both knees and his left torso. He was air evacuated to the Army General Hospital at Foggia, Italy, which ended his service on our crew. T/Sgt. Jackson's wounds were painful flesh wounds on his left arm and right foot - he was able to get treatment and stay with the crew.

Ground inspection of the aircraft revealed about 500 holes from exploding 20 MM and machine gun bullets — mostly in the wing, tail and rear fuselage sections. It required four engine changes, four new main fuel cells, one new auxiliary fuel cell and three new oil tanks before it could be flown back to Venosa.

History records that our 485th Bomb Group destroyed 12 German Fighters (5FW 190's and 7 ME 109's) without losing a single Liberator on July 26th; however, a navigator on one of our aircraft was killed by a 20 MM shell from an attacking fighter. Other 15th Air Force Bomb Groups faired much worse than the 485th. Examples were: The 301st B-17

History also records that the total 15th Air Force B-24 and B-17 losses on July 26, 1944 was 18, but the aerial gunners on our bombers destroyed 37 German Fighter Aircraft. The July 26, 1944 battle is recorded as the date of the last major air to air battle of the 15th Air force in Europe during World War II. Not more than 3 German Aircraft were shot down in air to air combat by 15th Air Force Aircraft during a single mission after that date. This was probably due to Allied Bombings, causing ever increasing German shortages of aircraft, fuel and pilots.

Our crew spent the night of July 26th on the island, where we were able to observe, first hand, the activities of Tito's Partisans. We observed their preparation and departure for a nightly raid against the German Occupying Force. It was interesting to see those dedicated people who were reputed to need new clothing so badly that they would kill occupying German Soldiers by shooting them in the head to avoid damaging the clothes.

Late afternoon on July 27 we boarded an Italian fishing boat, where we spent the night. Just before daybreak on the 28th, we departed Vis, moving across the Adriatic Sea and arriving in Bari, Italy late in the afternoon. At Bari we obtained transportation by a 6X6 army truck to our base at Venosa, arriving about midnight.

A custom in the 831 st Squadron was that, when a crew was missing-in-action, a guard was posted at their tent(s) until their possessions could be packed for shipment to their respective homes. It was indeed an eerie feeling to see a guard posted at our tent and for us to have to get the OD (Officer of the Day) to dismiss the guard and allow us to enter. But it was certainly good to be back in our "home away from home".

We never flew "The Character" again. However it arrived back in the 831st Squadron just after I completed my tour of 51 missions on August 22, 1944. "The Character^ survived to fly the last 831st Squadron mission of the war on April 25th, 1945, totaling 95 missions for the aircraft (attach.6) and was salvaged, as "War Weary", in Italy on August 25, 1945.

Of the 51 missions flown by our crew, between May 13 and August 22, 1944, the July 26th mission was one of the very few where we technically failed to bomb our target. However; I feel that since, on that day, our ten lives were spared, and a valuable aircraft was saved to fly another day, it is well worth the small effort required by me to record the event for posterity.

I will always remember with pride and grateful appreciation the outstanding performance of our entire crew on the July 26th Vienna mission, for which we each were awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross)( Ref. Attach 5). On that day Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe found out that the ten 50 cal machine guns of' " The Character", and all other 15th Air Force Heavy Bombers really meant business and that there were no "blind spots" from which they could attack without receiving deadly response.
 

Ben's accident happened late in the afternoon, after our Ploesti Mission Aircraft had returned to our Venosa Base. Ben was conducting a test flight of his assigned Liberator, "The Georgia Peach", required after replacement of a failed engine, when an emergency forced him to land with wheels up in an Italian wheat field. His seat belt was not fastened and the impact of landing with wheels up caused him to pitch forward into the windshield. His armor plated bucket seat wrenched loose from the floor, pitched forward, crushing and killing him instantly as the aircraft slid across the ground. We expected and reluctantly accepted combat loses, but this kind of tragedy had never been expected.

As a final note, the teamwork and professionalism displayed by our crew during the entire 51 mission combat tour, demonstrated how ten young men from different areas of our nation, and with widely diverse backgrounds, could become "as one" to accomplish vital combat missions for our nation.

Attachments

1. Photograph of the Jess Ledbetter Combat Crew prior to departing for overseas.

2. Copy of a map page from 26 July 1944 pilot's flimsy, showing flight route and target.

3. Pilot Ledbetter's personal notes on back of the pilot's flimsy.

4. Notes from log of Navigator Bob Lewis of Ben Barber's crew

5. Individual combat crew record of Jess Ledbetter .

6. Photograph of "The Character" at end of World War II, after completing 95 missions, with 6 kills of enemy aircraft with M/Sgt Lester York, Crew Chief, standing by it.

7. Photograph of Jess Ledbetter pointing to Vienna, Austria on the 485th Bomb Group briefing map after finishing his tour of 51 Combat Missions in August, 1944.

Members of the Jess Ledbetter B-24 aircrew, Fairmont Army Air Base, Neb, February 1944, prior to deployment to Italy.

Front Row: L to R; Pilot 2nd Lt. Jesse Ledbetter, Arden, NC; Navigator 2nd Lt. Jack Breen, Buffalo, NY; Bombardier 2' Lt. Hal Herman, Boston, MA; Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Lewis Baker, Pittsburgh, PA.

Back Row: L to R; Nose Gunner S/Sgt Arthur Lawler, Worcester, MA; Engineer S/Sgt Bill Schuetze, Detroit, Ml; Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Arthur Ashmore, Fort Stockton, TX; Tail Gunner S/Sgt Harold Richards, Peoria, IL; Radio Operator T/Sgt Eddie Paul, Charleston, IL; Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt Mike Lupoli, Maspeth, NY.

Attach 1

A Mission I'll never forget. We  [??] # 1 engine about 2 mint minutes after ..... got two M.E. 109's and we lost ..... about 20 minutes later. Only ..... could have kept those "Jerries" .... picking us off before we got ...... to the 'Isle of Vis.' We landed ... with #3 engine going out, and that ... all four main gas tanks ... punctured, the right auxilary [sic] .... punctured and three oil tanks punctured. There was about 500 ....[?] in the airplane. Our ball gunner ... wounded slightly pretty badly .... our radio man was wounded slightly.
 

1418 Land back at Venosa.
 

831st Bombardment Squadron (H)
Individual Record Combat Crew Members
Operational Time, Missions and Claims

Name:  Ledbetter, Jessie T.
Rank: Captain
Position:  Pilot

831st Bombardment Squadron (H)
Individual Record Combat Crew Members
Operational Time, Missions and Claims

Name:  Ledbetter, Jessie T.
Rank: Captain
Position:  Pilot

Of August, 1944. Attach 7

Jesse Ledbetter

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