I am working towards completion of my dissertation and completion of my Doctorate in Applied Science in Emerging Technologies at Colorado Technical University. I have been through so much in the last year but nothing compares to the existence my Great Uncle Charles and his crew had in the short time they were a functioning crew of a B24 in World War 2. I can only imagine what was going through their young minds as they would prepare for each mission wondering if it would be their last. Then on that fateful day in October 1944 (30) when the unthinkable happened. They were at 20+ thousand feet when a prop wash condition from the formation in front of them flipped their plane over and into a death spiral heading towards enemy terra firma when all of the sudden they regained control of the aircraft only to end upright flying into a flak burst and ultimately crashing anyway. What is remarkable here is the age of these men. All were in their early to mid 20's with their whole life ahead of them but as fate has control over our lives so did it theirs and out of 11 crew only 3 survived the crash and the war. The 3 survivors parachuted into the enemy 's clutches and remained there till the end of the war. Some of the images I have received were generated by these survivors or their heirs and given to me to tell their story.
Photos in this group are --the crew of the ill fated "BAR T" serial number 44-10523- MACR 10139 The aircraft was a drab gun metal gray with no remarkable markings other than the tail indicator and serial number. The plane crash on its 12th mission and it was originally built in Dallas Texas at the Consolidated Aircraft company. IT was assembled in May of 1944 and flown to the combat zone to arrive in mid July of 1944. These men were from a breed of Americans referred to as "The greatest generation". These men were true American Heroes.
My uncle Charles(First LT. Charles L Gempel) is the second from the left in the front row. His Pilot and friend 1st LT Clifford Bentcliff is the other guy in the middle of the front row.
