Charles W. Walters

Walters was pilot of the aircraft. After ordering the crew to bail out, he dived headfirst through the bomb bay at approximately 2,000–3,000 feet. His parachute opened with a jerk, causing him to lose his flying boots, electric shoes, and gloves; the violent opening also badly sprained his back. He landed within 200 yards of the crashed, burning aircraft, near Chartres in farming countryside he recognized as France.

A group of boys directed him to a nearby grove of trees and then two men led him to a farmhouse, where he dried his shoes and was given French workers' clothing. Helpers kept watch through the afternoon. He heard that Germans had begun searching in an ever-widening circle from the crash site. At dusk he cycled with two Frenchmen to a small village where he met co-pilot Lt. Bickley. Later that night they joined Sgts. Hite and Del Guidice.

The group was moved through an organized evasion network via Brou and Paris. They stayed at the home of Dr. Alice Willem in Paris, and later were sheltered in Juvisy-sur-Orge at 29 Rue Roche with André Lefèvre until 27 January 1944. While there they met three other American airmen: Capt. Peter Hoyt (pilot, Cleveland), 2d Lt. William Cook (navigator, Phoenix, AZ), and Dan Hanslik (bombardier, Saginaw, MI). The group eventually traveled south through France to the Spanish border.

Walters crossed into Spain and was questioned at Jaca by military and civil police on 10 February 1944, the same date he arrived in Spain. He signed security certificates in Madrid on 18 February and Gibraltar on 19 February 1944. He was interrogated by British intelligence in Gibraltar and gave a written report. He departed Gibraltar by air and arrived Bristol, UK, on 24 February 1944. He reported his escape publicly after returning home, noting it was 'just a case of a lot of work and a lot of luck.' Walters was a former football player at Temple University and had coached at Union High School, NJ.