Assigned to 96BS, 2BG, 15AF USAAF. 27 x missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Oswiecim, Poland 20-Aug-44; shot down by enemy aircraft, A/C crashed Balassog, Hungary. Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 11699

Awards: AM (OLC), POW, EAME, WWII Victory.

On 21 August 1944, Jim's crew flew their final B-17G mission. Directly after their bombs fell on the Synthetic Oil and Rubber Works in Oswiecim, Poland, Jim's B-17G, nicknamed "Silver Streak," took extensive flak to its #2 engine. Slipping out of formation, three German Focke-Wulf 190 fighters attacked, shooting out their #3 engine and inflicting severe damage to the flight controls. All ten men bailed out over Hungary and were instantly surrounded by angry farmers with pitchforks and axes. A German officer then drove them to the Hungarian State Prison. Following interrogations and thirty days of solitary confinement, the Germans transferred Jim and the other enlisted men to Stalag Luft IV near Belgard, Poland. As a POW, Jim experienced deplorable conditions which worsened when the Germans forced the prisoners to march west as the Soviet Army approached from the east. In February 1945, during the coldest European winter in decades, Jim joined approximately 6,000 Allied prisoners on what later became known as "The Other Death March." The men marched 600 miles in 86 days, sleeping in open fields or barns with only their original flying uniforms for warmth. With very little food, water or adequate shelter, the average prisoner lost a third of his body weight. Of the approximate 6,000 men, an estimated 1,500 died from disease, malnutrition or execution. In April 1945, the Soviet Army liberated Jim and some of the POWs, moving them to a camp further east. Because they were not permitted to leave and the U.S. Army was forbidden to enter the territory, Jim and two fellow soldiers decided to escape and head west toward the American lines. On 27 May 1945, Jim, who is six foot tall, reached the U.S. Army weighing in at just 98 pounds. He was then sent to France, followed by England and eventually returned to the states with 15,000 Americans on the HMS Queen Mary. Jim received an honorable discharge and then attended Ohio Wesleyan University courtesy of the G.I. Bill.

 

Name                   Position        CRW           Date           Aircraft           MSN         Target

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         GGZ 440616 2102932 215 Vienna AU 

 

Kirk, James R Waist Gunner         RSF 440625 297438 218 Sete FR 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         CHS 440626 297508 219 Vienna AU 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RCD 440703 231682 223 Arad RO 

 

Kirk, James R Waist Gunner         RNL 440704 2102908 224 Brasov RO 

 

Kirk, James R Waist Gunner         RNL 440705 231682 225 Montpelier FR 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440707 2102932 227 Blechhammer GE 

 

Kirk, James R Waist Gunner         RNL 440709 297161 229 Ploesti RO 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440715 2107066 232 Ploesti RO 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440718 231458 234 Memmingen GE 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440720 231877 236 Memmingen GE 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440722 297508 238 Ploesti RO 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440725 297161 239 Linz AU 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440727 231458 241 Budapest HU 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440802 46289 244 Portes le Valence FR 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440806 2107006 246 Le Pouzin FR 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440807 2102908 247 Blechhammer GE 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440809 46116 248 Gyor HU 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440813 2102908 250 Genoa IT 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret         RNL 440815 2102908 252 Landing Beach FR 

 

Kirk, James R Ball Turret POW RNL 440820 2102908 255 Oswiecim PO