Robert K. Fruth.

S/Sgt. Robert Kenneth Fruth, ASN 15329708, born 20 September 1922, was the right waist gunner aboard the aircraft on his 13th mission (8 of which were anti-submarine). He had missed the briefing on 7 January 1944 due to receiving vaccinations, and was flying as an extra gunner on an unfamiliar crew and aircraft. When the aircraft went into a spin as he attempted to bail out, he was thrown flat against the catwalk, feet caught in the plane. He managed to free himself and his parachute opened automatically, possibly ripped open by the catwalk edge, at approximately 4,000 feet. He sustained cuts on his head from being thrown against the bomb bay doors. He landed in a large tree about 40 feet high, approximately 100 yards from a farmhouse, and slid down after unsnapping his chute.

After landing and evading pursuing civilians, Fruth hid on a vine-covered brick wall surrounding a country house until dark. He initially believed he was in Holland, but after finding a road sign reading 'Route No. 7, Paris, 47 km' he turned north and walked 13 km toward Paris that first night. Over the following days he scrounged food and clothing from cellars and clotheslines, hitched a ride atop a truck through Fontainebleau Forest to Souppes, and was twice aided by French railway crossing gatemen who fed him and pointed him toward Nemours. At Nemours station, a ticket seller who spoke English provided him a coat, warned him about a pro-German agent in the next town, and arranged a supper and safe house.

Fruth was sheltered by the Paillard family in Nemours (Mr. Paillard was in the jewellery business; his wife, about 37-40, effectively ran the household), and then moved to a safe house above a butcher shop nearby. On 14 January 1944 he was transported by car through an escape network, via Souppes where he met a young Frenchman named Pierre, to a large house in Egry owned by Pierre Charie (about 28, in the wine business; his father was Mayor of Egry). There he met Lt. Berry, Lt. Rogoff, and Sgt. Paquin, with Sgt. Vines arriving on 17 January. Fruth and Vines spent three days (4-6 February) at Raymond's apartment in Puiseaux.

On 14 February 1944 the group was moved to Paris, arriving around 2330. Fruth and Vines were taken to an apartment at 2 Rue Ernest Renan, near the Eiffel Tower, belonging to Anita Le Monnier (sister of actress Meg Le Monnier) and her mother. They remained there until 12 March 1944. On Sunday night 12 March they traveled by train from Gare Montparnasse with identity papers and reserved seats, meeting Donaldson, Parker, Birdwell, and Winkelman. The group was guided to the Brittany coast, where after receiving a BBC radio signal they walked to a beach at night, waited from 2300 until approximately 0030, and were taken off by small boats to a Royal Navy gunboat. Fruth departed from Paimpol on 17 March 1944 and arrived in Dartmouth, UK the same day.