Technical Sergeant Virgil Homer Smallen (34728888) - was a radio operator with the 8th Air Force, 457th Bomber Group, 750th Squadron.

On 02 Nov 1944, while returning from a mission at Bernburg, Germany, which is about 45 miles northwest of Leipzig, the B17G Flying Fortress that Virgil was on was shot down near Wunstorf, about 9 miles west of Hanover.

2nd Lt Albert A Bean, 2nd Lt Thomas S Sajatovich, SSGT Hubert S Duckett, and SSGT Duane E Reich, all aboard another aircraft in the squadron described what they had witnessed as follows:

Guptill's aircraft was last sighted at approximately 51-35N, 11-25E to 51-10N, 11-10E heading north at about 26,000 feet. Approximately 40 enemy aircraft bounced the group at about 12:48 to 12:58, 17 to 27 minutes after bombs away. They attacked from the tail between 5 and 8 o'clock. They came in waves but each of them appeared to single out an individual B17 to attack. Guptill's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and the number one engine caught fire. The aircraft peeled off after being hit. It appeared to be under control as it peeled off, then leveled off, heading north. The aircraft was not under escort and no parachutes were seen.

Guptill's aircraft was destroyed by fire after it crash landed. Six other aircraft from this squadron were also shot down during the attack.

Crew member SSGT Frank Albert Kravetz (33706147) - Waist Gunner, was captured 02 Nov 1944 near the crash site and, because he was wounded, was taken to a military hospital in Hanover on 03 Nov 1944.

Virgil and the following crew members were also captured near the crash site on 02 Nov 1944 and conducted to a transit camp in Oberursel, north of Frankfurt, Germany on 04 Nov 1944:

2nd Lt George Harold Keller (O-713768) - Co-Pilot

2nd Lt Edmond Cheasty McNamara (O-723867) - Navigator

MSGT Steven Marklin (15171237) - Chin-turret

SSGT Harry John Connors (07025003) - Top-turret Gunner

SSGT William Edward Rhodes (35393294) - Ball-turret Gunner

SSGT Herbert Eugene Brayman, Jr (11117035) - Tail Gunner

At first, it was presumed that the pilot, 2nd Lt Kenneth Edmund Guptill (O-768526), had perished in the crash, but he was captured 05 Nov 1944 at 1500 hours near Nordsehl, which is 4-5 miles west of the crash site. On 07 Nov 1944, he was transferred to Oberursel.

Many captured American and British airmen passed through Oberursel as they were interrogated and processed into the German POW camp system at the Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe or Transit Camp of the Luftwaffe located in the town. The camp name was commonly shortened to Dulag Luft or simply Dulag. Almost all allied airmen who were shot down and captured spent some time at that camp before being moved to their permanent assigned Stalag. {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberursel_(Taunus) (19 Jun 2015)}

Virgil, Steven Marklin, Harry Connors, William Rhodes, and Herbert Brayman were subsequently transferred to Stalag Luft 4 Gross Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) in Pomerania, Prussia (now part of Poland).

On 28 Jan 1945 a train load of prisoners (mostly sick and wounded) were taken to Stalag Luft 1 at Barth, Germany and on 02 Feb 1945 another train load was taken to Stalag XIIID at Nürnberg, Germany. In February 1945 the Russian offensive threatened to engulf Stalag Luft 4. On 6-7-8 Feb 1945 about 6,000 prisoners were ordered to leave the camp on foot with only a few hours notice. It was a march of great hardship. The POWs, in groups of 250 to 300, were marched long daily distances on starvation rations.

The initial portion of the march ended on 30 Mar 1945 near Hannover, Germany. The men were then transported in box cars to Stalag IIB near Hammerstein/Schlochau (Czame/Czluchow). They were then forced to make a second march on 06 Apr that doubled back on their earlier route. The main column encountered British troops on 02 May 1945 east of Hamburg. The “Death March,” from beginning to end, spanned 86 days over an estimated 600 miles.

Kenneth Guptill, George Keller, and Edmond McNamara were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 near Sagan, Silesia, Bavaria and actually in Poland.

Russian troops were approaching Sagan, Poland. At 11:00 pm on 27 January 1945, the Germans marched the prisoners out of Stalag Luft 3 with Spremberg for their destination. The exodus was harrowing to prisoners of all compounds, especially to those of the South Compound who made the 55 kilometers from Sagan to Muskau in 27 hours with only 4 hours sleep. At Muskau they were given a 30 hour delay for recuperation and then marched another 25 km to Spremberg. On 31 January the South Compound men plus 200 men from the West Compound went to Stalag 7A at Moosburg in rail “forty-and eight” boxcars packed 50 men and 1 guard in each boxcar. The trip took two days and two nights. On 7 February the men from the Center Compound joined them. The North Compound fell in with the West Compound at Spremberg and on 2 February entrained for Stalag 13D at Nurnberg, which they reached after a two day trip.

On 13 April 1945, after an approximate three month stay, the Americans were told that they must evacuate Stalag 13D and march to Stalag 7A at Moosburg. The main body reached Stalag 7A on 20 April 1945. Many prisoners dropped out of the march en route to Moosburg and the German guards made no serious attempt to stop them. The prisoners were liberated by General Patton’s 14th Armored Division on April 29th.

All of the above information, except the paragraph from Wikipedia and the Stalag information, was compiled from the following document at https://www.fold3.com/image/28732985 on 18 Jun 2015:

Publication Number: M1380
Publication Title: Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942-1947
Publisher: NARA
National Archives Catalog ID: 305256
Record Group: 92
Year: 1944
Serial Number: 43-38309
Report Number: 10320

The Stalag information was obtained from:

http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=107415, http://powvets.com/camp-locations/stalags-luft-misc/stalag-luft-3-details/, and http://powvets.com/camp-locations/stalags-luft-misc/stalag-luft-iv-details/ on 20 Aug 2015.

Virgil H Smallen