Collins Was The CoPilot On That Tragic Day
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Collins Was The CoPilot On That Tragic Day
Collins Liersch, was the son of Hattie and Alvin Liersch, and we became friends when his folks moved from their farm on Dorset Ridge and into the house there on Kendalls Main street next to what is now the Midway Bar and Restaurant. This was back about 1938.
In 1940, Collins graduated from the Kendall High School, his parents had at that time bought a brand new car and decided that they would take a western trip to visit friends and relatives as a sort of a Graduation Trip for Collins. They asked me if I would be interested in going along? After consultation with my family, it was decided they could get along without me for that period of two months that the Liersches planned to be gone. This is not the story of our western trip. But was presented to give you a bit of the background of how I became involved so deeply with Collins and his folks. We, Alvin, Hattie, Alvin's Uncle Herman, Collins and I left Kendall that first week in June 1940 and returned to Kendall after over two wonderful months traveling and camping through out the west part of the United States. Upon return to Kendall, Collins went down to Plattville, Wisconsin where he was to begin his freshman year in what is now University of Wisconsin Platville.
I went back to farming with my parents. In the year that followed, I went down to Platville on several occasions with his parents when they went down to bring him home for the weekend. Collins and I were a part of our churches young peoples group and shared in many of the activities that involved as well as other school and local happenings, movies, hiking, sledding etc. A year went by and the war in Europe was getting ever closer to America. Finally in the October of 1940 congress reinstalled the draft. My draft number came up the next spring, I applied for the 4E classification, of Conscientious Objector To War. It took several months before I got the permission for that classification.
In September of 1941, my draft number was called and I was sent off to a soil conservation camp under the auspices of the American Friends Service Committee a Quaker Peace Religious Organization. Collins was a couple of years younger than I was so he continued his school duties for the time being. I really do not know exactly when he decided to volunteer for the Unites States AirForce but it was around the late 1942 or early 1943.
In late 1944 he was assigned to an Air Squadron under the leadership of Lt. Robert Vieille, (and they became very good friends)
The Original B17 Crew, Collins Is 2nd From Left Front Row
Ann (on left) and Sandy Have Been Investigating This Tragic Accident
For Over Two Years Now. Have Located Some Very Interesting Info.
It was about 9:am last Friday morning (Sept. 7th 2001) that we received a phone call from Green Bay Wisconsin, inquiring if we would be available to meet with a Mr Sandy Lydon who was researching the crash of the B17 in which Collins Liersch was killed back in April 1945. Well after talking to Mr. Lydon, and learning that he was also coming over to talk with a cousin of Collins, who we new very well, we agreed to meet with him and his wife here at our home near Wilton, Wisconsin. The Lydons arrived here at our place at about 3:pm that afternoon amid a pouring rain storm.
They brought with them a fantastic array of pictures and articles dealing with the inquiry into the tragic death of the 11 people killed aboard the B17 When it crashed on the Ilse-of-Man, 56 years ago.
So what were their interest in this incident. The following is taken from An information booklet being written and distributed by Sandy Lydon. Here is his story as written in the booklet:
REDEEMING HONOR LOST
THE LAST FLIGHT OF Combined Operations APRIL 14, I945) ISLE-OF-MAN
BY SANDY LYDON
IN A FIELD ABOVE PERWICK BAY, OCTOBER 15, 1998
Our search began in October of l998 when Manx aviation historian Steve Poole took us to the site where the B-17 nicknamed Combined Operations crashed and burned in 1945. Remarkably, the field is still bare of vegetation beside the wall where the plane came to rest, and there are bits of melted aluminum, pieces of canvas, and burst 50 caliber shells littering the ground. Even now, artifacts continue to emerge from the ground. As Ann turned over the pieces of airplane in her hand, she wondered aloud, "What happened? What caused this tragedy that took my uncle and ten other Americans?"
THE UNCLE SHE NEVER KNEW
Ann Vieillc Lydon was born almost a decade after the crash, so she never knew her uncle. First Lieutenant Robert Vieilie, the pilot of the aircraft. However, after visiting the crash site and then later her uncles graveside in the American Military Cemetery outside Cambridge, England, she vowed to find out as much as she could about the airplane, the crash, and all of those on board.
To REDEEM THEIR LOST HONOR
Air Force histories rightfully honor those wounded or killed in combat. However, they often overlook those who died in accidents away from the field of battle. These accidents often cut short distinguished military careers. And, unless those lost or killed were already famous (Glenn Miller, for example), their accomplishments are forgotten. Over a dozen medals were pinned on the chests of those aboard Combined Operations, and yet the official histories dismiss the flight as being flown by a "pick-up crew" merely ferrying passengers to Ireland for R & R. We intend to illuminate the careers of those killed in the crash, and honor their contributions to the war effort.
A MONUMENT AND MUSEUM EXHIBIT ON THE ISLE OP MAN
With the assistance of the Manx National Heritage we are exploring the placement of a monument near the crash site on the Isle of Man Meanwhile, the Manx Aviation Preservation Society is developing an exhibit dedicated to the story of Combined Operations in their museum at Ronaldsway Airport, Douglas, Isle of Man
CLOSURE FOR NEXT OF KIN
The families of those killed in the crash received very little informa tion about the circumstances of the April 14 flight and crash. We are locating remaining families and, in those cases where they wish to know more, we are giving them as full an account of the crash as pos sible.
After 56 Years There Is Still No Vegetation At Site Of The Crash
THE SQUADRON - 367TH SQUADRON - THE CLAY PIGEONS
In early 1945, there were four squadrons within the 306th Bomb Group (Heavy) operating out ofThurleigh Field in Bedfordshire, England; [lie: 367th, 368th, 3&ydi and 423rd. The 367th was nicknamed the "Clay Pigeons."
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S DEATH AND THE CANCELLED PARTY.
It was the usual practice that each Saturday night one of the squadrons would be "stood down" and be given the next day off. Through the regular rotation, (the 367th was due to have its monthly party on Saturday.April 14. However, when news of President Franklin Roosevelt's death (April 12) reached Thurleigh, the upcoming party was canceled out of respect for the President. With Saturday evening (April 14) and Sunday clear, the Squadron Operations Office, Major Earl Kesling. authorized a trip for some of his men to Langford Lodge, Ireland, The primary purpose for the trip was to deliver five passengers to Ireland for R & R and then return to Thurleigh.
A secondary purpose, one that always seemed to occupy the attention of such flights within the United Kingdom, was to take a load of rationed staples-sugar, flour, cooking oil-and exchange it for whiskey to stock the always depleted mess hall bar. Also, Emily Rea, a Red Cross administrator, was on board the flight to pick up supplies for the Bedford Red Cross club.
THE PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING
In a letter written after the war. Major Earl Kcsling. the commander of the 367th at the time of the crash, recalled briefing both the pilot, Lt. Robert Vierille, and one of the passengers. Captain Wilbur (Brad) Butterfield. about the poor weather over the isle of Man. Kesling stressed the importance of avoiding the Isle of Man and instructed Lieutenant Vieille to remain at an altitude of 5.000 feet where the weather was clear, Ll.Vieille signed a flight plan outlining his route-Thurleigh to Rhyl on the English coast, and then passing southwest of the Calf of Man, crossing over to Ardgass, Ireland then along the coast of Ireland to Langford Lodge. He also acknowledged that he was cleared to fly above 5,000 feet.
A crew was then assembled, and together with the passengers, they boarded the aircraft. The aircraft was selected at random from chose on the runway ready to fly. One other authorized passenger was Miss Emily Rea, a Red Cross officer on leave from her post in Paris.
************************************************************************************* THE SQUADRON - 367TH SQUADRON - THE CLAY PIGEONS
In early 1945, there were four squadrons within the 306th Bomb Group (Heavy) operating out of Thurleigh Field in Bedfordshire, England; [The: 367th, 368th, 369th and 423rd. The 367th was nicknamed the "Clay Pigeons."
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S DEATH AND THE CANCELLED PARTY.
It was the usual practice that each Saturday night one of the squadrons would be "stood down" and be given the next day off. Through the regular rotation, (the 367th was due to have its monthly party on Saturday.April 14. However, when news of President Franklin Roosevelt's death (April 12) reached Thurleigh, the upcoming party was canceled out of respect for the President. With Saturday evening (April 14) and Sunday clear, the Squadron Operations Office, Major Earl Kesling. authorized a trip for some of his men to Langford Lodge, Ireland, The primary purpose for the trip was to deliver five passengers to Ireland for R & R and then return to Thurleigh.
A secondary purpose, one that always seemed to occupy the attention of such flights within the United Kingdom, was to take a load of rationed staples-sugar, flour, cooking oil-and exchange it for whiskey to stock the always depleted mess hall bar. Also, Emily Rea, a Red Cross administrator, was on board the flight to pick up supplies for the Bedford Red Cross club.
THE PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING
In a letter written after the war. Major Earl Kcsling. the commander of the 367th at the time of the crash, recalled briefing both the pilot, Lt. Robert Vieille, and one of the passengers. Captain Wilbur (Brad) Butterfield. about the poor weather over the isle of Man. Kesling stressed the importance of avoiding the Isle of Man and instructed Lieutenant Vieille to remain at an altitude of 5.000 feet where the weather was clear, Ll.Vieille signed a flight plan outlining his route-Thurleigh to Rhyl on the English coast, and then passing southwest of the Calf of Man, crossing over to Ardgass, Ireland then along the coast of Ireland to Langford Lodge. He also acknowledged that he was cleared to fly above 5,000 feet.
A crew was then assembled, and together with the passengers, they boarded the aircraft. The aircraft was selected at random from chose on the runway ready to fly. One other authorized passenger was Miss Emily Rea, a Red Cross officer on leave from her post in Paris.
THE WEATHER, SATURDAY, APRIL 14,1945.
According to a report later filed by the weather station on Ronaldsway Airfield on the southeast coast of the Isle of Man, at 4:00 PM there was a southerly wind gusting to 31 miles per hour, and it was raining lightly, and visibility over land at sea level was 2,000 yards. The cloud layer was dense above 300 feet. The weather was bad enough that the Ronaldsway Airfield was closed to all landings and take-offs.
LAST SIGHTINGS OF COMBINED OPERATIONS
At 4:10 PM, several miles off course and at 350 feet above sea level, Lt.Vieille saw land where he didn't expect it, attempted to pull the aircraft up and to the left to miss the hill, but struck the ground. One witness, Mr. James Scrimgeour, the manager of the Perwick Bay Hotel, later recalled: "I was in the Smoke Room of the Hotel when I heard an aircraft flying in the direction of the Hotel. I went to the window and. saw an aircraft/flying over the swimming pool. The air craft was travelling in the direction of the Chasms and hardly cleared the trees at Mrs. Stitf's House. If then banked sharply to the left, where I lost sight of the aircraft in the mist."
THE CRASH
All four engines were running at the moment of impact. The plane skidded thirty-five yards, slammed into a stone wall and burst into flame. Hearing the crash, local residents ran to the field, but were afraid to approach too closely because the plane's ammunition was exploding in the fire. At 6:15PM Thurleigh field was notified by Langford Lodge that the aircraft was overdue, and at 6:20 they received a telephone call that the plane had crashed on the Isle of Man. All eleven people aboard the plane perished in the crash.
Mr. John Richard Gelling, a nearby resident, later recalled, "I proceeded to the vicinity of the crash and found an aircraft on fire in afield at Glen Chass in the Parish of Rushcn. It was impossible to approach the aircraft for a considerable time owing to the discharge of ammunition and the intense heat. The wreckage was strewn about a wide area and the aircraft was burnt out."
THE AFTERMATH
A police guard was kept on the aircraft until the arrival of the Naval Guard who guarded the aircraft until officials could arrive. The following afternoon Major Earl Kesling flew a B-17 to the Isle of Man to personally investigate the crash and retrieve the bodies. Dr. Arthur Weihe and Bill Houlihan were on board. Houlihan remembered that the weather was still poor, but he praised Major Kesling's abilities as a B-17 pilot: "He was one of the best pilots and CO that we had in the 367th Bomb Squadron. He put that B-17 down on the fighter-built runway at [Ronaldsway] with great ease, which was a relief to us feather merchants on that flight."
The Isle-of-Man authorities would not allow the bodies to be removed until they conducted a coroner's inquest that was held on Monday, April 16. Once the inquest was complete, Lt. Richard Claeys flew over to the Isle of Man, retrieved the bodies, and brought them back to Thurleigh Field.
In a letter written after war's end (o Lt.Vieille's father, Kesling described the crash of "Combined Operations" as his most tragic experience during the war. "I have flown two full combat tours and have seen five B-17's going down inflames at the same time, but never have I felt so badly about any misfortune as I felt about your son's and the other of my friends'."
THE TRAGEDY OF TIMING
The tragedy of the crash was compounded by the fact that the 367th stopped flying bombing runs over Germany five days later, and V-E Day came just over three weeks later, on May 8.
THE FUNERAL
On Friday, April 20,1945 the eleven were buried at the U.S. military cemetery outside Cambridge at one of the largest and most moving funerals the unit had ever seen. Many local British citizens attended, and Emily Rea's casket was covered with flowers. Sergeant Vince Cargile, a member of Lt.Vieille's original crew, attended the funeral:
" It was like losing my own family members and the service at Cambridge was heart wrenching. There was a chaplain from each faith for the service and a typical British rain falling. We lost Shorty Caserta in the Channel a month before. Hard to take."
OFFICIAL CRASH REPORT - MAY 3, 1945
According to official Air Corps practice, on May 3,1945 an Aircraft Accident Committee convened to formally review the crash. Chaired by Lt. Colonel Felix Hardison, the committee included Lt. Colonel Eari Kesling (he had been promoted in the interim), and Dr. Arthur Weihe. After reviewing all the supporting reports (including weath- er, flight plan and travel orders) the committee made its determination as to the cause of the crash. The committee's finding were then marked "Confidential" and filed in the Air Corps archives.
FAMILIES WONDER WHAT HAPPENED
Meanwhile, the families of those killed were notified simply that their loved ones had been killed in an airplane crash on the Isle of Man. The official statement was that die plane had crashed on a "routine navigational exercise" while crossing the Irish Sea.
The pilot's father. Dr. Albert Vieille, was not satisfied with the official explanation, and in mid-May, 1945 began writing letters to Kesling and others in the squadron asking for a better explanation of what had happened. In his letter to Kesling he asked, "How did it happen that {Robert] was on the Isle of Man? Was the accident a collision in foggy weather or just what happened? Was it [Robert's] fault or was something wrong mechanically with the plane?"
In November 1945 Kesling wrote a lengthy response to Dr. Vieille in which he outlined the circumstances of the crash. He concluded with the statement that information about the crash was "classified and during and for some time after the war was not to be divulged to anyone. Army records do not tell the whole story."
For the next fifty years, the Vieille family and the others who lost family members in the crash of Combined Operations never knew exactly what happened on that after- noon.
CENSORED CRASH REPORT
In 1995. upon che request of Manx aircraft historian Steve Poole. the Air Force issued the official crash report, Key portions of the report were censored, and in a cover letter the Air Force declared that "even though [the report is old" that releasing portions of the report would "jeopardize a significant government interest." When Steve showed us that report in October 1998 and then took us to the crash site, we decided to do everything possible to find out exactly what happened.
THE OFFICIAL UNCENSORED REPORT - PILOT ERROR
Finally, after initially declaring that they were "unable to find an accident report" for the crash, the Air Force issued an uncensored crash report to the Vieille family in September 2000. The Aircraft Accident Committee found that the responsibility for the crash was "pilot error-lOO%" The underlying cause was that "The pilot had violated his clearance which was for 5000 feet, and was flying at an altitude of approximately 350 feet."
What Probably Happened
A number of interviews with World War II B-17 pilots in the 30Ath Bomb Group suggest that the usual practice when encountering bad weather over the Irish Sea was to find clear air beneath the
clouds and fly under the weather, sometimes only several hundred feet above the sea. The aircraft was also off course
by several miles. Had they been on the usual course, the Calf of Man would have appeared on the right and they would have been flying over open water as they passed the Isle of Man
LT- ROBERT A. ViEILLE - PILOT
The middle child of three born to Dr. Albert Vicille. Robert was educated in Southern California and joined the Air Force in 1943. In June of 1944 he graduated from flight school in Pecos,Texas, and his younger sister Joye attended his graduation ceremonies and pinned his wings on him. In October of 1944, Robert married Ella "Dorry" Bushne)! and on February 1, 1945 he left, with his crew, for his overseas assignment.
On February 5,1945 he arrived at Thurleigh Field, On March 13, 1945, Robert was promoted to be a lead pilot, commanding "C" Flight of the 367th Squadron. As a lead pilot he no longer had is own airplane or crew, flying instead with squadron-level co-pilots, bombardiers and gunners. He had intended to name his regular air- plane the "Lady Dorry" after his wife, but once he became a squadron-level pilot, he did not have his own plane any longer.
Robert was a devout Christian Scientist, He commented in one letter to his parents that he was the only flight cadet that attended church regularly every Sunday. Raymond Gannett. one of his original crew, recently wrote that he never saw Robert take a drink. "He lived his beliefs at all times and was a devout Christian Scientist," said Gannett Robert had flown 23 missions and had been awarded the Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters.
SECOND LT. COLLINS E. LlERSCH, Co-PlLOT
A native of Kendall. Wisconsin. Collins Liersch grew up in Wisconsin dairy country. According to those who knew him, Collins had a well-developed sense of humor.
In late 1944, he joined Lt.Vieille's crew and they trained together and then traveled together to Thurleigh, arriving there in February 1945. According to Vieille family recollections, Robert and Collins grew to be very close friends.
Lt. Liersch is buried the American Military Cemetery at Madingley, and there is
also a memorial marker in the family plot in Wisconsin.
Collins Remains Are Still Buried In England-His Parents Hattie And Alvin
Liersch put up this Memorial Stone For Him At Dorset Valley Cementary
In January 2001, a resident of the Isle-of-Man found Collin's bracelet at the
crash site.
THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN MEMORY OF COLLINS LIERSCH, A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN AND A DEAR FRIEND OF OURS.
Bill & Thema Weber
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If Anyone Reading This Has New Information or Pictures About The Life Of Collins Liersch, contact the Sandy Lydons or Bill Webers at e-mails below.
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