James William Crouch Jr
MilitaryHe was checked out as a First Pilot, but while waiting for his replacement crew to arrive to England he was assigned as Copilot on Lt. Clarence Fischer's crew. Shot down 5 April 1943 in B-17 #42-5431 "Lil Abner". Crew bailed out and saw their plane explode. Landing in the Antwerp area, in and around a factory, most of them were quickly gathered by the Germans. Jim Crouch evaded capture for about one day before being pointed out by a Belgian collaborator to a German sentry guard guarding a bridge. He was then taken to interrogation before going to a hospital to have surgery done on his leg to remove some shrapnel. The hospital is the same one where the Germans confined the prisoners from Fort Breendonk Concentration Camp near Antwerp, Belgium. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft III Sagan/Zagan, Poland and then Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany and 3 work camps.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33121634
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11044073 at enlistment, then O-724020
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38069648
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18057854 at enlistment, then O-726216
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16009590
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: L'il Abner
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 April 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas, United States | 6 February 1918 | |
Enlisted |
13 December 1941 | Houston, Texas | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
6 April 1943 | Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Force-marched from there to Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. Returned to Military Control 1 June 1945. | |
Died |
7 December 1994 | Port Arthur, Texas |
Revisions
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 100, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp 81. / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia