James Quentin Ogden
MilitaryAssigned to 704BS, 446BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 8-Jun-44 in B-24 42-109830 'Daisy Mae Skraggs. ' Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5482
“On June 8, 1944, our bomber group, the 446th B 24 Liberator group, due to overcast weather did not attack its initial target, the Laval airstrip and dropped its bombs on the Granville station, through a cloudy sky, making the results random and invisible. Our squadron was attacked by 15 x Me 109 fighters. Immediately after leaving our objective around 10:30 am, the plane was strafed and fire immediately broke out in the fuselage. Engines 1 and 2 were hit. He was winning so quickly that we risked exploding at any time and I gave the order to quit.
Sergeant Leedy Lewis was killed in flight. He had just called from his upper turret, "Captain!" "I had one !!", Before being cut down by a burst of 20 mm. But, to my knowledge, everyone else jumped despite the fact that we were over the ocean.
"Daisy" exploded shortly after we left and the pieces fell on the Isle of Chausey which, to my astonishment, presented itself to my gaze just below. Five members of the crew, including myself, were rescued and recovered by fishermen from Île Chausey. Despite the searches, the others could not be found at the time. Sergeant Griffith, for example, was one of the first to jump and he was not injured. I think, having fallen too far out to sea, he drowned along with Allaman, Nace and Sawyer. Leedy's body was found in the wreckage of the plane and we buried him on the island. Later, after the war, the US authorities came to look for him and he is now buried in the Saint-James military cemetery ”.
Awards: AM (2OLC), PH (OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
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: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16081131 / O-709409
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13002013
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-693876
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15333820
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17032416 / O-685213
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Daisy Mae Skraggs
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 704th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Flixton
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Rogers, AR | 7 April 1922 | Son of Frank Floyd and Iris [Holyfield] Ogden. |
Enlisted |
5 January 1942 | ||
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 8 June 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
Other Baled out POW |
Les Isles Chausey | 8 June 1944 | Shot down 8-Jun-44 in B-24 42-109830 'Daisy Mae Skraggs. ' Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5482 |
Died |
Pryor, OK | 8 April 2020 | |
Buried |
Graham Memorial Cemetery Pryor, Mayes County, OK | 11 April 2020 | Graham Memorial Cemetery Pryor, Mayes County, Oklahoma |
Based |
Bungay | 8 June 1944 | Assigned to 704BS, 446BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5482 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database