“On The Ball”.Over Ludwigshafen.

1st Lt. Charles W. Walters served as pilot of B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. He was flying a combat mission to Ludwigshafen on 7 January 1944 when his aircraft was attacked by enemy fighters and caught fire. Walters bailed out near Brou, France and subsequently evaded capture. He linked up with co-pilot Bickley, radio operator Del Guidice, and top turret gunner Hite that same night and the four men made their escape back to England together. Walters was subsequently interrogated at AAF Redistribution Station No. 1 in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 22 April 1944, where he provided a casualty information report and E&E questionnaire about his crew. He was assigned E&E report number 403.

2nd Lt. J. M. Bickley served as co-pilot on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. Bickley bailed out near Brou, France after the aircraft was hit by enemy fighters and caught fire. He was last seen on the flight deck putting on his parachute. He was not injured. Bickley successfully evaded capture and returned to England together with pilot Walters, radio operator Del Guidice, and top turret gunner Hite. He was processed at AAF Redistribution Station No. 1 in Atlantic City and assigned E&E report number 404.

2nd Lt. Harmon Smith Jr. served as navigator on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. Smith bailed out over France and was initially reported as MIA. He was assisted by French contacts, including Dr. Pierre Bietrix of 2 Bis, Rue de Monceau, Paris, and made it as far as Paris along with bombardier Lt. George. The Germans captured Smith and George before they could reach Spain. Smith was held in a concentration camp and was reportedly released in July 1945, as noted by Sgt. Hite who saw an account in Air Force Magazine.

2nd Lt. Jack D. George served as bombardier on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. George bailed out over France and was initially reported as MIA. With the assistance of French contacts including Dr. Bietrix in Paris, he and navigator Lt. Smith made their way toward the escape route through Spain. The Germans apprehended both George and Smith before they could cross into Spain. George survived the war and was reportedly living in Chicago, Illinois after the war, as noted by Sgt. Hite in his casualty questionnaire.

T/Sgt. Louis E. Del Guidice served as radio operator on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. Del Guidice bailed out over France and successfully evaded capture. He linked up with pilot Walters, co-pilot Bickley, and top turret gunner Hite on the night of the loss and the four men escaped back to England together. Del Guidice was processed at AAF Redistribution Station No. 1 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and assigned E&E report number 405. He was initially listed as KIA on the January 1944 MACR before his return to England was confirmed.

S/Sgt. Elmer Kudej served as waist gunner on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. He was one of only nine crew members flying that day. Kudej was last seen at his right waist gun position approximately ten minutes before the aircraft was hit, where he had been supplying five-minute walk-around oxygen bottles to the top turret gunner while fuel was being transferred. His fate after the loss was unknown to his surviving crew members. Kudej was listed as MIA on the original MACR. Two days after the crash, Hite heard in Paris that two crew members were in the city, but these were later identified as Smith and George. French witnesses reported two bodies in the burned wreckage, but no positive identification of Kudej was made in the available records.

S/Sgt. John J. Stainker served as tail gunner on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. Stainker was last seen in the tail turret when crew members took their respective gun positions before the aircraft was hit. Whether he bailed out was unknown to the surviving crew members who completed questionnaires. French locals reported a couple of days after the crash that two bodies were found in the burned wreckage of the plane. Stainker was listed as MIA on the original MACR. His ultimate fate was not confirmed in the surviving records, though the circumstantial evidence from French witnesses suggests he may have died in the aircraft.

Sgt. Carl E. Hite served as top turret gunner on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. He was from 809 Maryland St, Mary, Indiana. Hite bailed out near Brou, France at approximately 11:15 AM at an altitude of 24,000 feet. He was in the rear of the aircraft before the loss and reported that waist gunners Kudej and Sweet and tail gunner Stainker were all at their positions and in good health ten minutes before the aircraft was hit. Hite successfully evaded capture, linking up that night with pilot Walters, co-pilot Bickley, and radio operator Del Guidice, and the four returned to England together. He was processed at AAF Redistribution Station No. 1 in Atlantic City and assigned E&E report number 406. He personally completed the casualty questionnaire, providing detailed information about other crew members.

S/Sgt. Vincent S. Sweet served as engineer and top turret gunner on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen. The crew flew with only nine men that day. Sweet was listed as MIA on the original MACR filed 10 January 1944. The MACR form was subsequently annotated with KIA for his entry, though this status could not be confirmed from the crew questionnaires in this file. French witnesses reported that two bodies were found in the burned wreckage of the aircraft near Foix. Sweet's ultimate fate was not definitively established in the surviving questionnaire records.