Veber was assigned to 2nd Lt. Kelmer James Hall’s crew and the 384th BG 544 BS on December 31, 1942 at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. He was trained as a gunner and flew both in the tail gun and waist gun positions. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant effective February 1, 1943.

The Hall crew was assigned B-17 F 42-30041 in the U.S.A. This aircraft was beset by mechanical difficulties from the outset, causing many three-engine landings, among other problems. After departing Gander Lake, Newfoundland on June 9, 1943 bound for England, the crew was forced to ditch that aircraft in the Atlantic. All 10 men were rescued the next day and returned to their departure Point Gander Lake, Newfoundland. From there they were flown back to Presque Isle, Maine, where they were fitted out with new uniforms and other necessary equipment. Again they took to the air, this time as passengers aboard a C-54 transport aircraft and rejoined the Group in England on 6 July 1943.

In a little more than three weeks they were shot down over enemy territory. On July 25, 1943, on a mission to Hamburg, Germany, flying a B-17F, 42-29670, named “Thundermug” was hit by flak and crashed near Uetersen, 15 miles NW of Hamburg. Two were killed in action and eight were captured, including Veber, and became prisoners of war.

The prisoners were held at Stalag 17B Braunau Gneixendorf near Krems Austria. On 8 April 1945, near the end of the war, 4000 of the POWs at Stalag 17B began an 18-day march of 281 miles to Braunau, Austria. The remaining 900 men were too ill to make the march and were left behind in the hospitals. These men were liberated on 9 May 1945 by the Russians. After a difficult march, the remainder of the 4,000 men at Braunau were liberated on May 3, 1945 when six men of the 13th Armored Division arrived in three Jeeps and easily captured the remaining guards. Other units of the 13th Armored followed shortly and organized the evacuation of the POWs by C-47 to France on May 9, 1945. Veber and his fellow crewmen were in captivity for almost two years.

Max Veber (1920)