After 70 years, two 'Bloody Hundredth' members memorialized

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  In the skies over Germany Sept. 28, 1944, with all but one engine out on his 100th Bombardment Group B-17 Flying Fortress and not enough altitude to parachute to safety, the pilot, 1st Lt. Raymond Harney, knew he had to take drastic measures to try and save himself and his wounded comrade, bombardier 2nd Lt. Warren French.

With a turnip field in view, Harney decided to go for a belly-down crash landing. He skidded the plane across the field, snapped the left wing off and started a raging fire. The plane came to a halt 100 meters from the village of Schwickershausen, Germany.

Flying for an additional two hours after being critically damaged by German flak guns, Harney and French lost their lives in the crash, but not before ensuring the rest of the crew had bailed out to presumed safety. Although most of the crew perished in the following days, their actions saved the lives of at least two crewmembers.

The memories of their deaths were never forgotten by the people of Schwickershausen, and 70 years later, after keeping it hidden in the town's church, a member of the community, Harald Ganssler, decided to donate a grave marker dedicated to the two lieutenants to the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum in Thorpe Abbots, England.

The grave marker, a large wooden cross, has the words "Hier ruhen in Gott! 2 amer. Flieger," or "Here rests in God 2 American flyers," engraved on it, along with the date of the crash. A memorial service was held in Schwickershausen on the 70th anniversary of the crash, Sept. 28, 2014. It was then transported back to England Oct. 5, 2014, where its final resting place will be in the museum as an artifact of the war.

"It's an important part of our heritage from World War II," said Mark Howell, 100th Air Refueling Wing historian from Odessa, Texas. "It signifies a remembrance that was created outside the 100th Bomb Group."

To commemorate the return of the cross to England, it was flown on a KC-135 Stratotanker that was completing a refueling mission with German Luftwaffe Tornados over Germany. Unlike when it was created, the cross was now in the presence of an alliance between the U.S. and Germany. Along with the cross, a certificate will be presented to the museum bearing the names of the crew who flew with it on the memorial flight.

With the addition of the grave marker to the museum, the history and legacy of the "Bloody Hundredth" has a new chapter.