Help me find out more about my Dad.

[Jeff]

Mission: 24
Brunswick, October 22, 1944:
8 hours flying time.
Bomb load 6 five-hundred pound GP bombs and 6 five-hundred pound IB.

Weather was our only real worry today. We were briefed to expect fighter opposition at two points en route, but we weren’t disappointed when the prediction failed to materialize. We really had P-51 and P-47 cover though. Billy Clark counted 66 of our fighters in sight at one time. The flak over the target was light and although our route skirted many flak areas, the only fire we drew was at the target due to good lead navigation.

Back over England our base was socked in with fog so after some wandering, we landed at Bassingbourne where our trucks were waiting to take us home.

Mission 25:
Munster, October 26, 1944
5 hours 15 minutes flying time.
Bomb load 6 five-hundred pound GP bombs and 6 five-hundred IB.

Lots of weather today, 10/10 ths cloud coverage through the entire mission. Luckily, on return there was one hole and it happened to be over our field. This mission was short and we hit no flak. We were first over the target and the flak started coming up after we were turning away. The main IP was the marshalling yards of the town.

Mission 26
Munster, October 28, 1944:
7 hours flying time.
Bomb load 12 five-hundred pound GP bombs.

Back again to the marshalling yards of Munster. Clouds formed by a cold front were predicted to be at bombing altitude over the target so we were briefed to drop the load from beneath the clouds at 23,000 ft. which didn’t turn out to be too wise. To get beneath the clouds we had to drop to 22,000 ft. which isn’t a long way up from the flak guns. The flak was rough. Over the target we saw a ship ahead of us in the haze go into a steep dive when its tail assembly was blown off by a direct hit. Dale Brown’s ship was hit so his crew bailed out 15 miles south of Munster. One other ship was unaccounted for made three ships of our group lost in this raid. We also caught flak in and out over Tessel Island at the Dutch coast, and also at a point ten miles north of the target. We were *DanG lucky to get through it all without a hit. Fighters were reported in the area, but we never saw them.

No. 27
Merseberg [Merseburg], November 2, 1944
7 hours 20 minutes flying time.
Bomb load 18 two-hundred and fifty pound GP bombs.

Our target was an oil refinery near Merseburg. Coming up to the target we had no opposition either by fighters or flak, but as soon as we turned off the IP we saw we were in for a rough time. Bandits (enemy fighters) were then reported in the area and we didn’t wait long to see them.

The target was well defended and the flak was heavy. The sky was black with stale and fresh puffs for we were the seventeenth group over the target. The fighters held off till we were almost through the flak (we were in it about fifteen minutes getting a few non-damaging hits) then they swarmed in on us.

Just about that time our hydraulic system was hit and the fluid drained out (damage caused by flak). The four fighters came at us from five o’clock high so I couldn’t see them come in. Just then I heard a heavy, dull thud and a little pain in my right hand when a small caliber high explosive shell (13.7 mm) penetrated the right side of the ship near the co-pilot seat and grazed the back of my hand. The shell started a fire at Brownie’s feet. Reb grabbed the extinguisher in the nose and Brownie took the one in the pilot’s compartment and quickly they put it out before it did any damage. Then Reb checked and saw that the fighters weren’t making another pass so he got the first aid kit, poured sulfanilamide on my wound and bandaged it up with a compress.

I kept watching the compass and recording entries in the log with my left hand for about a half hour, then we were out of immediate danger and Reb got back and took over the log. We caught light flak at another point on the way home, but got through it all right. We decided to leave the formation to land at a special air strip long enough (4700 ft.) to be able to roll to a stop since our brakes were of no use with the hydraulic system shot away. When we hit the English coast we notified our wing ships and headed south along the coast to the strip and picked it up easily enough. Rog made a pretty landing and we got out of the ship thankful to be back after that one. I was later awarded the Purple Heart.

[Jeff]

This next mission will have quite a bit of significance in what I have to post later. I've had only a very small amount of knowledge about the story surrounding this mission before this week, but what I did know, I had referenced 10 years ago in a topic that we usually bring up just before Christmas. The Days Before Christmas


Mission 28:
Merseberg November 21, 1944:
Flying time 9 hours 30 minutes.
Bomb load 10 five-hundred pound GP bombs.

Back at the Merseberg marshalling yards again. On the way to the target we encountered light flak from New Amsterdam at the Holland coast and from Osnabruck in Germany. About twenty minutes before the IP we ran into a warm front scattering the low squadron (our squadron) all the way to hell and back. Although we could see only about fifty feet in the clouds, Rog managed to follow our squadron lead till we broke out of it about twenty minutes later. Another B-17 joined us a few minutes later and our three ship element started to head back across Germany towards home for we couldn’t locate our group to go in on the target with them.

Our #3 engine cut out on the way home out of gas so Brownie feathered it, drained the gas from the other engines to #3, but wasn’t able to un-feather it again for use so, with that handicap and the heavy bomb load we were still carrying, our gas supply was quickly being used up. Genung’s ship was having trouble too, so about thirty miles northeast of Paris, our two ships headed for an emergency landing field outside of Brussels and Hunt’s ship continued on back to the base.

Although the thermometer needle bent around the top at 50 degrees C as we were flying back across Germany at 29,000 ft we all worked up a sweat on the lookout for enemy fighters who wouldn’t have much trouble with our three Forts racing for home without chaperons. We spotted ten P-38’s, but they didn’t see us for they didn’t join us for support. The way I figured out the fuel consumption we had about ten minutes flying time left when we hit the runway at Brussels. We stayed over three days in Brussels because of the weather and had a great time, but that’s not a combat story. The morning of the 24th our ship was gassed up and we came back to our base flying contact all the way back under a 500 ft. ceiling.

[pineywoods]

Jeff, those logs are priceless. Just for your information, there is an airworthy B17 based in Oshkosh Wisconsin. Belongs to the Experimental Aircraft Association, I am a member.

[Jeff]

Mission 29: Misberg
November 26, 1944
Flying time 7 hours 45 minutes.
Bomb load 12 five-hundred pound RDX bombs.

At briefing the target sounded too much like to be comfortable. Misberg is a small town near Hannover and our main IP was a distillation plant in the center of the town. Coming up to the IP we spotted four 109’s maneuvering to come in on us from behind, but the lone P-51 scattered them for us and ran them away.

The flak at the target was heavy. We got through it with three non-damaging hits. Bandits were reported waiting for us on our route home so we paralleled course back about 30 miles south to avoid them and take our chances with the flak areas. We hit light flak passing Osnabruck and at a point south of Zwolle. Armor’s ship was hit at the target destroying practically all of his instruments, but made it back to England and landed at a fighter base. On the way back from the target we saw fighters scrambling about fifteen miles off our right wing and saw seven of them spin down. We sweated our fighter attacks all the way back for they were reported all around us but weren’t disappointed when they didn’t show up for us.

No. 30. Strasberg:
November 27, 1944:
7 hours 30 minutes flying time.
Bomb load 10 five-hundred pound GP bombs and 2 five-hundred pound IB.

This target was a marshalling yards of a town seven miles southeast of Strasberg. Two days ago our troops pushed into Strasberg so the purpose of this mission was to hamper the Jerry retreat in that sector.

A few bandits were reported in the target area, but we never saw any of them. The flak at the target was light for a pleasant change. We left the town one big bonfire. The cloud coverage was only about two-tenths so as we turned off the target and turned towards home we could clearly see the results of our bombs. We don’t have to hit that one again. The name of the small town was Offenburg.

Mission 31: Misburg
November 29, 1944:
7 hours 20 minutes flying time.
Bomb load 12 five-hundred pound GP bombs.

Cloud coverage obscured our primary target at Dollbergen so we hit the PFF target, the marshalling yards at Misberg. The flak was not as rough as it was a few days before when we hit the same main IP. We were briefed to expect heavy fighter opposition, but the Luftwaffe never came up. Coming back, I never saw the sky so filled with our heavies. There were about 500 of our bombers within sight as we crossed the Dutch coast.

[Jeff]

I'm not in understanding yet about how dad's missions finished up. All of the paper work I see, including the fist picture at the bottom of this post, credit him 35 missions.  In an article in the paper written about him well after the war, I think it states 27 missions.  With this last one I am posting, the number attributed to him by his Pilot is 26. Not sure if that counts this one or not.

Mission 32: Soest
December 4, 1944:
8 hours 45 minutes flying time.
Bomb load 10 five hundred pound GP bombs and 2 five hundred pound IB.

The target was the marshalling yards of a small town about forty miles west of Kassel. There was complete cloud coverage over the target so we bombed by GH.

There was no flak encountered by our group throughout the entire mission, and the Luftwaffe didn’t show their noses, so we had our first milk run in quite a while. The crew finished up on this mission and though I’m glad for their sake, that they’re going home, I know I’m losing a good crew. Missions to date Rogers - 35; Brown - 35; Rebillot - 35; Cook - 35; Bongiani - 35; Clack - 30; Hatcher - 30; Brokaw - 26; Lawler - 21.

CLICK


Another interesting thing to add to not only my knowledge, but now my Sister Lynda's.  She sent me a message today. after looking at all of this information, that she had never saw before either.  What she discovered was, who her namesake was.  Dad had only told her, that she was named after someone he was in the service with, and that is why he spelled her name with a "Y" Lynda, instead of Linda.  She now knows after reading this, that it was his Pilot.  Lynn Rogers.

Pretty Cool.

[Jeff]

As I mentioned, the 28th mission was key to the rest of Dad's story.

A Life Based on Promise
By Lori Qualls
Midland Daily News accent writer
1984

A young Ray Brokaw, drafted in 1944 by the U.S. Air Corp to serve in World War II, promised Gad a lifetime of service if his life would be spared.

It was, and Brokaw kept his promise.

Forty years later and back in Michigan, Brokaw-- Now the Rev. Brokaw-- and his wife Zula, are retiring this month after 39 years of pastoral work served at several area Churches of God.

"I promised God when I was overseas if He allowed me to come home and see my only daughter, I would serve him the rest of my life" Brokaw said in an interview at his home in North Bradley last week.

But the minister can recall one moment back in 1944 when he didn't think he was going to make the trip back to the United States alive.

IT WAS Nov. 21, 1944 and Brokaw was flying a mission to bomb oil refineries in Mershburg Germany. “Usually fliers would have feelings that this was the mission when they weren't coming back and they pretty much came true” he recalled. “I had that feeling that day”

Their squadron was attacked, and as Brokaw, flying in the middle of the formation, saw pieces of broken U.S. Aircraft fall within his sight, he reached for a Bible his sister Lena (Link about Lena) had given him. “It seemed to open itself to Psalms 91” he recalled, close to tears at the memory, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
 
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
 
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Brokaw's plane reached safety that day and on every other day and every other bombing mission he flew.

“After reading Psalms,  I had complete assurance I was going to be all right. When a book opens up to a message like that... you know that god is talking to you and that's why I've tried to keep my promise to serve him these years.”

The article goes on to list the different churches and groups that dad worked with and tell about his 39 years of service with Dow Chemical as well.

[sawguy21]

Those of us that have not seen combat cannot begin to fathom what these people endured. Thanks Jeff,

[Ron Scott]

A great personal documentary, Priceless!

[customsawyer]

Sounds like you come from some good stock. You have every right to be proud of his service.

[SwampDonkey]

I'll say. Gave a lot of himself over the years, that's for sure.