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This story appears courtesy of and with thanks to Charles Cassidy and Pat and Chuck Macpuzl

Charles served as a B-17 bombardier with the 8th Air Force during WWII. His bomber was severely damaged during a raid on Munich in July of 1944, and forced to land in Switzerland. Here, in his own words, is the story of his few months as an Internee before escaping

I had been overseas for six months, and in combat for less than one month. My brief combat career ended on July 13, l944 on my thirteenth bombing mission. Our B-17 was the only loss from our group that day.
Combat Missions flown by me:
庐 Predifin, France June 19, l944; -- See Hamburg abort.
庐 Berlin, Germany June 21, 1944;
庐 Wizernes, France June 22, 1944;
庐 Lille, France June 22, 1944; -- where I saw my first airplane shot down by flak;
庐 Bremen, Germany June 24, 1944;
庐 Sens, France June 25, 1944; -- the name in my record book: Champigny-sur-Yonne;
庐 Juvincourt, France June 28, 1944;
庐 Gilze-Rigen, Holland July 5, 1944;
庐 Beaumetz-Les A, France July 7, 1944; -- the name in my record book: Lisbourg;
庐 Etaples, France July 8, 1944;
庐 Chateaudon, France July 9, 1944;
庐 Munich, Germany July 11, 1944;
庐 Munich, Germany July 13, 1944.
The first twelve missions were flown with my own crew, Lt. Hector Vitale, pilot; the thirteenth and last was flown with Lt. Paul Long's crew. After retiring from an Air Force career as a Lt. Colonel, Paul Long died in August, 1993.
On June 20, l944, the 303rd was scheduled to go to Hamburg, Germany, a port on the Elbe river about seventy miles inland from where the Elbe flows into the North Sea. The B-l7s of our group were loaded with the type of incendiary bombs which, when they began to burn with a temperature exceeding 2,000 degrees F., were virtually impossible to extinguish, even in water.
Each bomb was composed of many long, thin tubes banded together - cluster bombs. Our bombays were full to brimming with these clusters. The theory was this: After the bombs were dropped, but before they reached the target area, an arming device on each cluster would spin loose cutting the bands holding the cluster together and the tubes would drop helter skelter.
Inland over Holland, but at quite a distance from the target, our aircraft developed an oil leak in one engine. The pilot, Lt. Vitale, realizing what this dangerous situation could lead to, decided to abort the mission. We turned back, on a heading toward England; we could not land with incendiary bombs on board so I dropped them in the Zuider Zee. It bordered on the miraculous that we were not attacked by German fighters because a lone bomber was considered a sitting duck.
The next day, June 21st, our group was sent to Berlin via the North Sea route. We were probably flying at 20,000 feet far out at sea with a heavy, steady cloud cover below us. When we drew abreast of Hamburg still far out at sea, we could see, on our right, a thick column of black smoke rising through the clouds and extending into the sky as far as eye could see - the result of the previous day's firebombing.
Many years later, our school had a superintendent who was married to a lady from Hamburg. Her father, the city's official bandmaster, was killed in the fire bombing that day when he attempted to get to the band's headquarters to save the musician's uniforms.
The Germans coined a verb for the type of destruction that befell Hamburg that day: "Hamburgerzieran".
The Hamburg mission was my crew's only abort. See Glossary.
Everything written in the text is as I remember it fifty one years later. There are probably some discrepancies due to a lack of memory. I have never kept a diary, but when I began to piece this narrative together, I was wishing that I had. As I wrote it in longhand, more things would come to mind, so countless times I had to begin again.
I have included a glossary of terms so that if anyone, years from now, reads it, they will have some understanding of terms used.
I also hope that anyone reading this will overlook anything he/she feels is an attempt to editorialize.

Charles Cassidy
November 12, 1995

Glossary of terms used in the text
(For the un-initiated)
based on World War II usage
Abort:
Unfinished mission; having to turn back for some reason before target area is reached.
B-17:
United States, four radial engines, single low wing bombing aircraft.
Bombays:
Section of aircraft where bombs were hung (shackled), one above the other on both inside walls of the airplane. Bombay doors were directly below and could be opened or closed either electrically or manually (hand crank); but with the salvo lever located in the bombardier's compartment, they could be only opened.
Bomb Release:
When the bombsight was used, it automatically caused the bombs to drop. Bombs, as noted above, were shackled one above the other on both sides above the bombay doors. When bombs were released, they would drop in pairs, one from each side, until they were all gone.
Escape Kits:
When briefed for a mission, each crew member was given an escape kit containing a silk map, quite detailed, of the area; kits also contained water purification tablets, pills to keep the evader awake, pep pills. Our escape kits contained French money; I don't remember how much.
Feathered Prop:
Engine shut off, propeller no longer turning. Pitch of propeller turned, sharp side into direction of aircraft movement, causing less drag.
Flak:
Exploding anti-aircraft projectiles. When they explode, there is a large puff of smoke, and occasionally the report could be heard over the roar of engines.
ME-l09:
A Messerschmitt built, single inline engine, single low wing, German fighter aircraft. The Swiss Airforce also used them, but with different colors and markings.
Pathfinder:
Equipment used in a lead aircraft; radar that penetrated the clouds making it possible to drop bombs on days that the ground or target was obscured.
P-51:
A single inline engine, single low wing United States fighter airplane, used as bomber escort; earlier we had had both P-38s and P-47s as escorts.
Salvo:
When the salvo lever was pushed forward, the bombay doors, if not already open, would drop open and bombs would release in order as described above. Under combat conditions, when using the bombsight to release bombs, the salvo lever was almost always used.
SHAEF:
Anagram used to denote Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, based at Grosvenor House, London.
SS Troops:
Schutzstaffel, originally the Nazi bodyguard of Adolf Hitler. Later used for internal security and disposing (by killing) of groups classed as undesirables. I believe they wore black uniforms.
Tail End Charlie:
When different groups bombed the same target, this term meant the last group over the target. By that time the gunners on the ground were well zeroed in on the bombers as to altitude, speed and course; things got pretty hot for the bomber crews.

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