Death Over Paris 28 May 1944

DEATH OVER PARIS


On preparation for D-Day the 344th was hitting bridges and rail lines leading
to Omaha Beach. A critical target was the Paris RR bridge which allowed vast
amounts of train traffic to move west toward Omaha. We hit the Paris RR bridge
on the morning 28 May, 1944. The defenses were brutal and out of the 56 B-26's
that went out that day, 5 were were shot down over the target with a loss of 31
aircrew.

We lost 4 from the 495th squadron including the crews of Seale, Woodrum,
Peterson and Shewel. The fifth loss was Reynolds crew of the 497th squadron.

5 out of 56. No survivors. There were a lot of empty bunks that night. It was a
bad day over Paris.

But we got the bridge. But we will never forget our absent friends..
Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer