Bertram Robert Theiss
Military
Standing, from left to right : Navigator Lt. Richard Manning (replaced by Lt David G. Prosser on the fateful 3 September 1943 mission); Co-Pilot Lt. Sebron A. McQueen; Pilot Lt. Ralph Bruce and Bombardier Lt. Bertram R. Theiss.
In front, from left to right : Left Waist Gunner S/Sgt Robert D. Muir, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner T/Sgt Etheridge Lamm (killed on the Hannover mission on 26 July 1943), Tail Gunner T/Sgt Simeon K. McGuire, T/Sgt Hedley E. Cassidy (replacing Etheridge Lamm as Engineer), Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt. George J. "Shorty" Caldon (sick before the 3 September 1943 mission, he was replaced by 1943 par Milton Seldin, not pictured). Radio Operator T/Sgt Mike Fleszar.
Caldon will be made a POW after the loss of B-17 42-30726 on the Schweinfurt raid of 10 October 1943),
(Crew photo via the Theiss family)
Connected People (Caldon and Lamm) to UPL 41064
Object Number - UPL 41064 - Photo of the original Ralph Bruce crew, Grand Island, Nebraska, 24 June 1943, right before their departure for England. Standing, from left to...
Bertram Theiss was Bombardier on board B-17 #42-29725, shot down 3 September 1943 over France. Evaded.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-735040
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16092258
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33391867
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hi-Lo Jack
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 September 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
10 October 1917 | Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States | |
|
Enlisted |
14 January 1941 | Syracuse, New York | |
|
Other Evaded |
France | 3 September 1943 - 10 November 1943 | Helped by French citizens and members of the Résistance. Clothed, fed, hidden, transported, from the Meaux area to the South of France. Crossed into Spain over the Pyrénées mountains on 27 October 1913. Reached Gibraltar on 10 November and was flown back to England from there, arriving on 20 November 1943. |
|
Other Shot down |
3 September 1943 | over France in B-17 Serial 42-29725 | |
|
Died |
9 April 2009 | Camillus, Onondaga County, New York | |
| Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States | |||
|
Buried |
Bertram Theiss rests at the Saint Joseph's Cemetery in Fleming, New York |
Revisions
MACR 659, wrongly classified under "42-9725" at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/90894817
NARA WWII Air Force Award cards
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 218 on-line at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5554858
Correspondence with son Thomas
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 659 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database