The following story is based on an actual experience of Mr. John Repp, a Second Lieutenant and co-pilot in the 15th Air Force Division in World War II. John Repp served from February, 1943 to September, 1945. He was a co-pilot on a B-24 and the crew he was with collectively earned a battle star for their completed missions. He was living in Canton when he was called to the service, he still lives in Canton and is retired from his position at IBM where he worked for 38 years.

December 2, 1944

Their mission: to bomb an oil refinery in southeast Germany. It was December 2, 1944 and John Repp and his fellow crew members crew were given their assignment through chain of command from a higher authority. It was not the first time he had a long flight to complete an assignment given to him; in fact, he had successfully completed four other missions. On the way to the oil refinery in Germany that morning, he had a feeling that this was a day he would never forget. The pilot and John were piloting a B-24, four engine bomber. They had been training, using the same plane, for six months.

However, a new gunner and bombardier were assigned to the crew on this day, so they had no experience with these two people in their crew. After this day, John and the gunner and bombardier lost connections. Approximately an hour after John had gotten on course, the number four prop came away. This resulted in their having to shut down the number four engine; but at the time, it did not greatly affect the plane’s overall performance. So far, this had been the only noteworthy event that had occurred.

Reaching the oil refinery at around mid-afternoon, the flak (the exploding artillery shells) was heavy, intense and accurate (called "H.I.A."). The plane received several hits, and ended up with some damage, including injuries to several of the men. The number one fuel tank had a gaping hole through it. Another bullet had pierced the nose turret, knocking it off, and another hit had exploded in front of the number four engine, putting two holes in the cowling. The turret doors were open; and as a result of the hits, the gunner was blown back into the plane and onto the nose wheel doors. Amazingly enough, he was uninjured.

However, not everyone was spared. The bombardier had a severe wound in his left knee from a piece of shrapnel, and John Repp also got a small wound in his right knee. Although the plane had received several visible hits, John Repp also believed there were several other hits not visible. This was apparent because the plane lost three engines, the electrical system was out, the hydraulic lines broke, and the elevator controls were jammed.

They flew for another 30 minutes with the plane under these conditions before the pilot, Lieutenant Matheu gave the orders to bail out. The ship was severely crippled, but Lieutenant Matheu used his expert knowledge to guide his men out of the target area, to keep them as safe as possible. The crew parachuted down, quite a ways away from the target; and as John Repp was heading down, a few of the Germans located him. He did not have a chance to run when he hit the ground because the Germans were yelling at him.

"Pistola! Pistola!" they yelled, their way of asking if he had a pistol in his hand.

Instead, he waited where he was, waving his arms in the air. They noticed his .45 automatic on his shoulder and questioned how to use it. He showed them, out of fear, not knowing what else to do, and was then taken away. He rode several trains and went through many air raids over his next four weeks of traveling. The raids were from American troops, and were very scary for him and the other aboard the trains. Luckily, John survived the trip. He was then thrown into a German prison camp (Stalag One in the Baltic Sea) for six months.

He was there for Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day and was only allowed to send letters home periodically. The rations were very slim, and were only slightly increased for Christmas and Easter. The morale of the prisoners dropped during the holiday times, and only began to get better when the war news was good and the weather began to get nicer.

Having nothing else to do, John played cards and whittled in his time at the camp. John spent six grueling months in prison camp, before the camp was liberated. All the while, his family had gotten letters saying that their son was missing in action, and they had no idea what condition he was in or if he was all right until he started writing to them. Relieved and happy to be home, he still has memories of the war, and in particular, the prison camp.