Louis Schureman Means

Military

Louis Means was a Navigator in the 306th BG/ 367th BS. He completed 2 missions (St. Nazaire on 1 May 1943 and Antwerp on 4 May 1943). He was shot down on his third on 15 May 1943 in B-17 #42-29744. Plane crashed into the North Sea near the island of Neuwerk, Germany. Captured immediately after landing in parachute near Cuxhaven, Germany. Due to leg injuries, he was placed at the German Navy Hospital there, where his leg had to be amputated. After treatment and rehabilitation he was imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Poland. He was a Prisoner of War (POW) for approximately 10 months and included in a Prisoner Exchange program, with the first repatriation of prisoners on the Swedish hospital ship "Gripsholm", returning to the U. S. March 14, 1944.

Louis wrote up his experiences in a book which was later edited by his wife Elizabeth and published in 1996 'The Quality of Mercy'.





1st mission- ;







2nd mission- .







He died in 1979.



POW, AM, PH,

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 07002327
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: T-000085
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17042780 at enlistment, then O-729813
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16037798
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39095792
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Battling Bee
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Spokane, Washington 30 November 1917

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

15 May 1943 German Navy hospital Cuxhaven, Germany; interned at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan, Poland. Repatriated US March 1944

Died

11 May 1979 Aptos, California
as a student at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

Revisions

Date
ContributorMatt Kind
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Sources

Image is of Donald Kind

Date
ContributorHelen
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306th Echoes April '97

Date
ContributorED-BB
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NARA WWII POW record
SSDI (Social Security Death Index)

Date
ContributorED-BB
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WWII Draft card

Date
ContributorED-BB
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MACR 15512

Date
Contributorkduggin
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Sources

macr15512

Date
Contributorkduggin
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macr15512

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; MACR 15512,  Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop & Hey, p. 122, First Over Germany by Russell Strong, pp. 115-6, NARA

href="http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=159489…">http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=159489…;, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15512 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database