Stalag luft III POW grouping

[Gavin D.]

Hi all, picked up this nice grouping today belonging to Lt. Stewart Cooper. Includes his uniform with a binder full of mostly newspapers, but has his telegrams as well as some mail sent home from Stalag Luft 3.

[Gavin D.]

Here is a link I found describing how he got shot down

http://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=2115780

 

 

[JDK]

Very nice! The paper really makes it. Thanks for sharing.

 

JD

[KASTAUFFER]

Nice little group! You should also post some of his mail.

 

Kurt

[katieony]

Very nice group...thanks for sharing!

 

Mike

[Gavin D.]

As requested here is some of the mail. The one is the first letter he was able to send and some of it got censored.

[Gavin D.]

Thought this one was neat because its on a red cross letter head

[Gavin D.]

Here is the first mail his parents would have received probably. It was from his friend Cecil Fisher who got out of the hospital before him and were in the same bomber on the mission over Emden. In researching him I was able to find more information about the day they got shot down:

 

On 27 September 1943, Flight Officer Drabnis was flying his 25th and final mission of his tour. He was the pilot of the "Daisy June IV" on a mission to bomb the submarine pens at Emden, Germany and was leading the low squadron of the low group. After completing the bomb run, the "Daisy June IV" was attacked by several German FW-190 fighters. A 20mm cannon shell from one of the fighters hit the front of the B-17, blowing the nose off of the aircraft and killing Lt. Lester A. Leonard, the navigator, according to the bombardier, 2nd Lt. Stewart E. Cooper. Two additional 20mm rounds hit the aircraft with one killing F/O Drabnis when it exploded in his face, and the other blowing off the left leg of Lt. Cooper. With the aircraft out of control and mortally damaged, the rest of the crew bailed out over Germany, including Lt. Cooper. All were taken prisoner but the wounds of Lt. Cooper and the co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Cecil B. Fisher were so severe that they were repatriated in the second exchange of prisoners of war in September 1944. The aircraft crashed near Wirdum, Germany which is about 5 miles north of Emden. The Germans recovered the remains of F/O Drabnis and Lt. Leonard and buried them at the Military Cemetery in Wittmund, Germany on 30 September 1943. The remains were recovered by the United States after the war.

 

 

[Dave]

Pretty interesting! I own F/O Drabnis' Purple Heart...

[Gavin D.]

Pretty interesting! I own F/O Drabnis' Purple Heart...

Wow that is very cool

[KASTAUFFER]

Thought this one was neat because its on a red cross letter head

 

This form is much scarcer than the standard German forms.

 

For every 50 Stalag cards, you see one of these.

 

Kurt

[Gavin D.]

Thanks Kurt! Yeah its fragile compared to the other letters because of the paper they used. It is the only one among all the POW letters that he sent home.

[huntssurplus]

Cool grouping! Thanks for sharing!