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

Theodore Drazkowski

376th Bombardment Group 01/11/1943

HEADQUARTERS XII TRAINING COMMAND

A.P.O. #525, U.S. ARMY

11 December 1943.

ESCAPE STATEMENT

Sgt. Theodore D. Drazkowski, ASN 16023331, 376th Bomb Group, 514th Bomb Squadron.

(now at 20th Replacement Battalion, Personnel Center No. 7.)

  1. Personal History:

Duty – Tail Gunner – B-24D.

Age – 23 Years – born – Ironwood, Michigan, 2 January 1920.

Missions – Three (3).

                On 11 January 1943, when subject was on his third mission, the target of which was shipping in the Naples harbor his aircraft (B-24D) was shot down in the vicinity of Naples, Italy.

Returned to Duty – (date allies were contacted).  1 November 1943.

                Subject crossed allied lines on 31 October 1943 and contacted a Canadian reconnaissance outpost on the morning of 1 November 1943, and was furnished transportation to a British headquarters at Campo Basso, Italy.

  1. Details of Capture:

Subject was captured the evening of 11 January 1943, between 1700 and 1730 hours at an unknown village where he had parachuted to safety.  This unknown village is about eleven (11) kilometers from the town of Lioni, Italy.  The B-24D aircraft which subject was tail gunner in was shot down in the vicinity of Naples on 11 January 1943.  The bombay of the aircraft was hit by flak and the gas tank and aircraft set afire, when at an altitude of 23,050 feet.  Four of the nine (9) crew members, including subject, bailed out at 10,000 feet.  The subject landed uninjured and was immediately surrounded by civilians and military personnel and was taken to the village jailhouse where he remained overnight.  On 12 January, subject was taken to the town of Lioni, where he met Sgt. Krager, a fellow crew member.  Subject and Sgt. Krager were then taken from Lioni to Naples by train.  While in an office in Naples, subject met a Lt. Schumacher who was the navigator of one of the other aircraft in subject’s same formation.  From the office in Naples, subject, Sgt. Krager and Lt. Schumacher were taken to the village of Poggio Mirteto, arriving there on the evening of January 13th.  They were taken to an airmen’s detention camp on the outskirts of the town, which detention camp was formerly a convent, and they remained there eighteen (18) days to February 1st.  For the first ten (10) days each occupied separate rooms and then they were given their choice of selecting one roommate.  On 1 February 1943, subject and Sgt. Krager were transferred under guard to Prisoner of War Camp No. 59, located in the town of Servigliano, arriving there on 2 February 1943.  Subject was given a receipt for his personal effects and money (3 pounds).  The money was never returned to subject.

  1.  Enemy Interrogations

Subject was first interrogated on the evening of 11 January 1943, in the office of the jailhouse to which he was taken immediately after his capture.  Subject was interrogated by an Italian civilian who spoke English quite fluently.  Subject claims he was asked his name and did not answer but merely handed over his “dog-tags” to the interrogator.  The interrogator then asked subject where the aircraft operated from; whether from Algiers, Egypt, or other North African cities and was quite insistent on an answer but subject claims that he refused to answer.  He also endeavored to find out the specific target that the aircraft were to bomb but subject claims he still maintained his silence and refused to answer.  The next and last time that subject was interrogated was on 29 January 1943, at the airman’s detention camp near Poggio Mirteto.  Subject was interrogated by a man wearing civilian clothes who claimed to be a Red Cross official but who subject took to be a German.  This man spoke very good English and displayed papers stating that he was a representative under the Geneva Convention.  This alleged Red Cross representative brought in some long forms and stated that it was necessary for subject to fill these out so that his folks could be notified.  The subject claims that he did not fill out these forms and gave the interrogator only his name, rank, serial number and mother’s name and address and the names and rank of the crew members that he believed were dead, namely, the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, radio operator and crew chief.  Subject states that no threats were made to him.  The subject also states that he looked for concealed microphones but did not find any.

  1. Escape Aids:

Subject states that the only thing he had with him when he bailed out was a jungle kit.  He had no escape aids such as a Bexoid Box, Blood Chits, or a purse containing a compass, hacksaw, small scale maps or a supply of money.  The subject was not informed or briefed as to documents or personal letters, etc., and was not briefed as to destruction of currency in the event of capture.  All of the subject’s training relative to enemy interrogation was received by subject in his training in the United States.

  1. Interrogators Comments:

Evaluation

--of source                                          --of information

 

______Reliable_____

__X___Credible__X__

____Questionable___

___Undetermined___

 

 

 

Leroy J. Abt,

Captain, Air Corps,

Ass’t. A-2.

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Theodore Drazkowski of the 376th Bombardment Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Theodore Drazkowski's combat experience.

Arrow  376th Bombardment Group