James William Crouch Jr

Military

He 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

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: 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
Clarence Eugene Fischer & wife
  • 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

Places

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

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SSDI (Social Security Death Index)

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NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft Card

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NARA WWII POW records

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Sources

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