rrobertscv Posted January 20, 2007 Share #1 Posted January 20, 2007 I picked this up on eBay about 2 years ago. I did lots of writing and reasearch and received over 80 (photocopied)pages worth of information on this man. Everything from the official letters his family received and the ones they wrote, to the official German documents about the plane crash and recovery of his remains. Also included hand drawn maps showing his grave. he was buried in his hometown of Walworth, Wisconsin. I tried to get the man I bought it from to help me find his tombstone, but you know how far that got. I am still trying to find some of his family and see what they can tell me about him and maybe get some more pictures. Anyone live close to here and could maybe help out? In the papers his buddies talk about how he kept the plane in the air long enough for them to bail out, only him and one other crew member died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk914 Posted February 1, 2007 Share #2 Posted February 1, 2007 In the papers his buddies talk about how he kept the plane in the air long enough for them to bail out, only him and one other crew member died. Guys like this, if they could talk to us today, would probably say "I was just doing my job and any one of the other fellas would have done the same for me". Yeah, maybe he was just doing his job but guys like that are true heroes... thanks for posting this. What unit was he with? I keep a record of this kind of info whenever I run across it, and would like very much to see some of the other stuff you've collected, especially the German documents and/or AAF documents. Do you have anything which gives a clue as to the identity of the aircraft he was flying, such as an MACR? Fade to Black... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted February 1, 2007 I have all the MACR record and all the German record, I will scan them tonight and get them to you. Here is some of the info. Serial number 42-30158 Plane type / name Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Mary Jane ll" Squadron 379 BG 525 BS Reason fighter Mission lost on Schweinfurt Crash Location Diets-Heur (Bel) Abenheim Pilot crew H. Koeppen, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 1764 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk914 Posted February 1, 2007 Share #4 Posted February 1, 2007 Groovy, thanks much! It seems that Captain Koeppen played a role in one of the blackest days of USAAF/USAF history. Dunno how I missed the date the first time 'round, but I just now realized that this fella was lost during the first 'double strike' mission; the targets were Regensburg and Schweinfurt. I believe that this was the first 'shuttle mission', with the Regensburg force, equipped with 'Tokyo Tanks', going on to land at bases in North Africa instead of returning to England. In all, 147 bombers were lost to the Eighth Air Force. Sixty bombers went down over Europe or into the North Sea, with a further 87 being damaged beyond feasible repair or left behind in North Africa due to insufficient repair facilities. (Some of these were subsequently repaired and used by XII AF.) A further 95 bombers were damaged and repaired. Three P-47s and two Spitfires were lost as well. 'Mary Jane II' was one of four B-17s lost by the 379th BG that day. I'll dig through my references and see what other information I can come up with. There's a pretty good account of this mission HERE. And another decent account can be found HERE. Fade to Black... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted February 1, 2007 Thanks for the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted February 10, 2007 Share #6 Posted February 10, 2007 Howdy . Saw your Post andit brought up a question for me. I have an ME-110 pilot's 'Flugbuch' in my collection. He was with 6/ZG76, On 14 Oct 43 he claimed a "Fortress II" (B-17G) which crashed nr Glashofen. The combat occurred(it appears) between 1315 and 1500 hrs, German time. Any chance you might come with a possibility of who his victim was? Big order....any info will be appreciated. I have all the MACR record and all the German record, I will scan them tonight and get them to you. Here is some of the info. Serial number 42-30158 Plane type / name Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Mary Jane ll" Squadron 379 BG 525 BS Reason fighter Mission lost on Schweinfurt Crash Location Diets-Heur (Bel) Abenheim Pilot crew H. Koeppen, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 1764 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted February 10, 2007 It may take me awhile, but I will get the papers out and look through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eagle092854 Posted August 29, 2007 Share #8 Posted August 29, 2007 Hi! I am Howard Koeppen's nephew. I was just told on August 18th about your postings on this forum as I was getting ready to leave Germany for the U.S. My father and I went to Germany this August to learn more about my Uncle's fate and had just finished visiting with several eyewitnesses to the crash of his B-17. As you know, the MACR is rather incomplete as the rest of his crew had already left the plane when he was killed. If you have questions or would like to know more about him, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share #9 Posted August 29, 2007 I sent you a message this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted January 22, 2009 Got this in my email tonight, thought I would share it. I also received a large envelope last summer with photos his nephew took in Germany of the crash site and several photos of his Uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaxe Posted January 22, 2009 Share #11 Posted January 22, 2009 Thanks for the update. Great story. Can you share any of the other pictures you received? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobertscv Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted January 23, 2009 I will try to start scanning them this week-end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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