15th Army Air Forces; WWII
15th Army Air Forces; WWII

Charles Muller

97th Bombardment Group 08/27/1944

HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE              D-JGJK-el APO 520, U.S. Army                                                       USA/SKP/112

11 October 1944

 

ESCAPE STATEMENT

 

Muller, Charles T., S/Sgt., 14119846, 414th Bomb Sq., 97th Bomb Group.

  1. Born - 23 May 1921                                                Interrogated - 11 October 1944

Enlisted - 27 May 1942                                           M.I.A. - 27 August 1944

Home Address - 227 East Duffy St.                       Returned to Duty - 8 October 1944 Savannah, Georgia                                          Missions - 20

Peacetime Profession - American Post Office      Duty - Tail Gunner

  1. Blechhammer German Hospital                 29 August 1944 - 5 September 1944
  1. On 27 August 1944 source was on a mission to bomb Blechhammer Germany. He was flying in a “B-17”. After the bomb run four flak hits were scored in the tail, wounding source. Hits were also scored in engines No. 2 and 3 which went out of action. The ship was losing altitude very rapidly and the pilot gave orders to bail out - approximately 14,000 ft. Source saw one chute which got trampled, and this member of the crew was killed, as the chute never opened. So far as source knows this was the only casualty. When source jumped he was “rolling”, so fell about 8,000 ft. before pulling his ripcord. His chute did not open. He pulled open the flaps in his chest type chute and it came out straight away. Source landed in a tree and fell down. He hid all his documents and laid in the brush for about three hours. Then started walking S.E. Source does not know the area he came down in except that it was about 60 miles S. of Blechhammer.

After two days walking in the mountains - avoiding all contact with civilians - source ate some berries and small pears which upset his stomach, and gave him a skin rash within about four hours (he had lost his food pack in jumping). Source was then searching for some water in the mountains when he was captured by some German home guard soldiers (29 August 1944).

Source was wearing his flying uniform, was searched, but had none of his possessions taken, and was then taken almost unconscious to a small German military hospital in a nearby village (name not known).

  1. Source was then interrogated, in poor English, by a German officer. He was questioned about his documents and showed his “dog tags”, what target he had bombed, number of Group and organization. Source gave no information, and was then taken to a ward in which there were other soldiers, either Czechs or Slovaks. Received no further interrogation.

German Hospital Conditions

The building was a single story wooden hutment, divided into a ward and one reception room. Situated on its own in a barbed wire enclosure just outside the village.

Accommodation would hold about 40, but there were only about 20-25 patients (all Czech or Slovak).

Staff consisted of three, supposedly German, women and one doctor, and two German orderlies (or Czech - old men).

 

Guards were on patrol duty outside the barbed wire. They were all old men, about four on duty at one time. None of them very eager about the job.

 

Beds were low wood couches with straw mattresses, one wool and one cotton blanket were provided.

Food consisted, so far as source was concerned, of two soup meals daily. No bread or coffee was given to anyone. All drank water of which there was plenty.

Sanitation was provided inside the building by four primitive closets.

Water was brought in buckets for washing and was heated by orderlies. No showers or baths were available.

Treatment. Source was put to bed immediately after his interrogation. The only treatment was an injection in his arm on the third day and some tablets two days later which relieved the itching of the rash and cured his dysentery. Source was not threatened or ill treated. His left hand was operated on 30 August & some shrapnel removed. Injection given.

The other P/W in the ward were not as well treated as source, and were continually shouted at by one of the orderlies.

The one German doctor appeared to run the hospital and to be in charge of all patients. No Red Cross parcels or visits from Protecting Powers.

Source spent about seven to eight days in this hospital and was confined to bed all the time he was there. He suffered from acute dysentery, but was given some tablets on the fifth day, which more or less cured him. In spite of this he lost almost fifty lbs in weight.

On 4 September 1944, source noticed that there was a lot of uneasiness and excitement among the German guards, so watched their movements and noticed that they were very slack - trampling down the barbed wire fence when entering and leaving the compound and not paying much attention to their work. He has no idea of what caused this excitement unless it was the fact - learned later - that Russian troops were entering Kurkov which was somewhere nearby.

On 5 September at dusk, source (who slept in his clothes) left the building by going past the latrines, saw the guards were all at one end of the compound, so treading down the barbed wire left the enclosure and ran into the hills. He returned to the area where he had hidden his compass and maps and retrieved these. He then headed S.E. (as briefed) traveling in the mountains towards the Russian front. Source had no food to eat until the second day when he contacted an elderly shepherd (probably Czech) in the hills. This man gave source a drink of milk and pointed in a southerly direction. Source, after traveling another day, obtained food and milk from an isolated shepherd’s hut. An elderly man and woman (probably German or Czech) gave him shelter for the night in their barn. The following morning the man accompanied source (before daylight) about three miles into the mountains and directed him in a S.E. direction (Source could not understand anything these people said except “Slovakia).

After traveling another seventeen days (22 Sept. 44) in the mountains, during which time source obtained food from various farms occupied by Czechs or Slovaks, he reached the area of Cadca Slovakia (no other names of places known). Source found all his helpers most kind.

Once they realized he was American they would do anything for him. He was told Germans had occupied Cadca and was given a route to Slovakia.

In the Cadca area source passed a German held highway and railroad and contacted some Slovakian soldiers (possibly partisans) in the area 11 miles N. of Parnica. 23 September 1944. Source was very well treated by these Slovak soldiers and stayed with them four days, 27 September, when he went to Parnica and contacted an English speaking Slovak with whom he stayed until 2 October 1944.

On 2 October 1944 he joined Russian Partisans in this area and on 7 October 1944 was flown in a Slovak plane (45 h.p. engine two seater biplane with Slovak markings) with Slovak pilot to Banska Bystrica, 48 degrees 45’ N 19 degrees 10’ E. From Banska source was evacuated the same day with other American and British escapees.

J. G. K. Kennedy, Lieutenant I. S. 9. Interrogator

 

3 Incls: 1 - Ltr. 383.6

    1. - Appendix B
    2. - Appendix E

 

APPENDIX "B"

7 September 1944 Carl Hemmelite Food and accommodation one night. German shepherd. Walked 3 miles with source.

27 Sept. to 2 Oct. 1944 Nicolas Myraric & wife. Food, accommodations & general American speaking. help. Parnica.

                    John Majer                    Spoke some English.

                    Czech politician.             Food and accommodation 1 night &

                    Refugee.                      2 days.

                    Town: Doyly Kubin?

                    Slovakia.

 

                    John Caplovic                 "

                    Politician.

                    Doyly Kubin area.

APPENDIX "C"

18 September 1944 25/30 German tanks in Cadza and 15/20 large trucks moving North.

                   Germans occupied Cadca and another town due S. (large place)

                   of Zilinia. Vurkey mid September 1944.

 

                   Parnica, 29 September occupied by Germans.

 

                   Rosenberg, 19 September, occupied by Germans.

 

                   German Army reported by Slovaks to be starving. Occupy towns

                   only to get food or machinery.

APPENDIX "E"

Escape kit very good. Maps in sections (5) do not cover right area. Scale not accurate.

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Charles Muller of the 97th Bombardment Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Charles Muller's combat experience.

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Charles Muller: Personnel File

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