“Winged Boot” Recipient Cpt. Harry Bisher, P-38 pilot of 55th FS, 20th FG and successful evader from occupied Europe

[36thIDAlex]

I’m not usually an Air Corps collector but when I first saw this grouping over a year ago, I hoped dearly it would end up in my collection. The following grouping belonged to “Winged Boot” club member and successful evader Capt. Harry E Bisher of the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group. Bisher was part of the first fighter group to be sent to Europe and flew 19 combat missions over occupied Europe before he was shot down by a Luftwaffe ace in a FW-190 over Belgium in March 1944. Bisher spent the next four months traveling in secret with the underground across the European continent before finally reaching neutral Spain two weeks after the Allies landed in Normandy.

 

 

The grouping includes Bisher’s full dress uniform of pants, British made tie, chocolate undershirt, officer overseas cap, and the peak, his cut-down tunic with theater made ribbons and a British made “winged boot” for his successful escape. From what I understand the insignia is extremely hard to find much less on an identified cut-down so I have been extremely excited to add it to the collection. The bullion is a very solid metal wire and retains a strong shine likely due to being hidden under his lapel for so long. There is also Bisher’s distinguished flying cross.

 

 

 

Below is his story.

 

 

Harry Elmo “Angel” Bisher was born on 18 January 1922 in the small, rural west-Illinois town of Monmouth. Life was quiet growing up in the small farming community but upon graduation of high school in 1940, Harry moved out west to start life in the bustling and growing community of Arlington, California, a few miles east of Los Angeles. He moved in with the family of his fiancé, Kathryn, and worked as a truck driver to earn some money for their wedding, marrying not long after. On 7 December 1941 Harry, along with millions of other Americans, was shocked by the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Inspired to service, he enlisted into the United States Army Air Corps at the end of the next month and after passing qualification tests, began training to be a double-engine pilot.

 

Training went smoothly for Bisher and in the fall of 1942 he received his assignment to the 55th Fighter Squadron of the 20th Fighter group. At first just one of the squadron’s pilots, his exceptional performance got him a promotion to flight commander in December 1942 and later to assistant squadron operations officer in February 1943. Most of the year was spent gaining strength for the fledgling squadron before the situation in Europe called them into war. As un-escorted American bombing missions led to massive amounts of casualties, the need for fighter escorts was dire. The 20th Fighter Group, one of the more experienced in the U.S., received its slate to head to England as the first American fighter group on the island.

 

Departing the country in August 1943, the group reached its new home at RAF Wittering and Kings Cliffe and began to perform its first flights under the 55th Fighter Group, which had followed them, until it could receive a full complement of P-38s. By December the squadron was fully equipped and the pilots of the 20th FG were able to begin their combat career. Bisher’s first combat flight came on 5 December as one of seven 20th FG planes which joined the 55th FG to escort 8th Air Force heavy bombers attacking Bordeaux. The mission was a success and the new pilots encountered no enemy contacts. Bisher did not fly again until the squadron reached full strength at the end of the month and joined in with the group on escort and area support missions defending American bomber crews from high altitude attacks by German single and double-engine fighters. One of his rougher missions, supporting bombers at Kiel on 5 January 1944, saw Bisher get ambushed while escorting a damaged P-38 by 10 ME-109s and FW-190s at 25,000 feet. He quickly turned into the cloud of fire and made deflection shots at a cluster of 109s before looking back to see the other P-38 trailing black smoke and spiraling towards the ground. Bisher went back to dealing with the threats and got on the tail of a 109, unleashing fire upon him before he began to receive fire himself. Noticing two ME-109s now on his own tail, he started evasive maneuvers and rolled out of a turn and into three more planes heading straight for him. Firing more deflection shots, Bisher managed to get the planes off of him and the rest of the 20th FG escorts engaged. The fighting was tough and left the group with three casualties.

 

During combat Bisher primarily flew his signature P-38-J 42-67823, nicknamed “Kitty” after his wife Kathryn, under the callsign of “Angel.” Over the next two months he spent over 60 hours flying combat support missions for 8th Air Force bombers across Europe and engaging in dogfights with German fighters and attackers attempting to take them down. Sometimes escorting as much as over 800 bombers at a time, the job was not one without its stresses and as the casualties mounted, the possibility of being shot down himself likely came into his own mind. It was not until his 19th mission, however, that this possibility became a reality.

 

In the early morning hours of 4 March Bisher and the other pilots were briefed on their mission to guide the first group of American heavy bombers to hit Berlin. The mission had been called off the day prior due to foul weather but today they were to rendezvous south of Leipzig and escort the ships to their target. The P-38s of the 55th FS took off from Wittering at 1100 and Bisher, flying the White 3 spot, made it just outside Berlin but without success in finding the bombers (they had taken an alternate route). While turning away from the city Bisher’s left engine suddenly went out and his compasses stopped working. Managing to stay above the clouds at roughly 10,000 feet, Bisher turned towards the coast and, escorted by Captain Donald Riehmer, began the journey back to England. The engine trouble caused him to slowly lose altitude and around Calais he called to Riehmer that he did not feel comfortable flying the plane over the channel and that he was turning toward the continent to bail out on land. Around 1500 Bisher’s smoking, whining, and struggling fighter passed 6,000 feet above the 4th Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 based at Wevelgem. Feldwebel Gerhard Wiegand, sitting on the wing of his FW-190 on standby, watched as the solo plane sputtered its way across the field, immediately jumping into his own plane in pursuit. Bisher, who was attempting to feather his failed engine, was met with more disappointment as it burst into flames. Now looking for somewhere he could bail out he turned around to spot the FW-190 of Wiegand hot on his tail diving through the clouds. Bisher attempted a cat-and-mouse game ducking in and out of cloud banks to try and evade the German pilot. With one engine falling apart and his tools gradually failing, the game didn’t last long and Wiegand came out of a cloud with a perfect shot. Although Wiegand claims he attempted to fire a shot off Bisher’s right wing to make him land rather than down him, Bisher went into evasive maneuvers and rolled into the German’s fire, allowing the cannon and machine guns to tear into his right engine, ripping apart his wing, and blowing up in the cockpit. Now quite solidly heading towards the ground Bisher rolled the plane over and jumped at 6,000 feet. Wiegand turned off at seeing the P-38 falling towards the ground and rushed back to his base to try and get to the crash site of his target.

 

At roughly 2,000 feet Bisher pulled the cord on his parachute and began his descent on the Belgian countryside. As he floated down he took note of the many civilians biking and walking failing to take note of the gliding American about to make their acquaintance. Upon hitting the ground he had barely begun to undo his harness when he was surrounded by curious passersby. He attempted to explain who he was and all used their best English to try and signal that they would help him, guiding him to a nearby pile of straw to hide. A few minutes later an out-of-breath Belgian in a suit ran up to the downed pilot claiming to be a “good Belgian patriot,” signaling that he could get Bisher to those that could help him. Taking him to a nearby house, the Belgian outfitted Bisher with civilian clothes and took him to an underground station and eventually a resistance headquarters where he was interrogated and able to prove his identity with the special emergency compasses from his escape kit.

 

For the next couple of months, he moved around various towns and farms throughout Belgium in attempts to stay hidden from the occupying German forces. He saw no American faces for many weeks until he was finally moved to France to a small house on the outskirts of Paris in the second week of May. Moved to the house of a French resistance woman in her early thirties, Bisher joined three other American flyers, a P-47 pilot, a B-17 navigator, and most remarkably, former 20th Fighter Group commander Lt. Colonel Robert Montgomery (who had been shot down a few weeks before Bisher). Their host’s husband had been killed by the Germans only a few months prior and with a deep hatred of the Nazis, she devoted her life to the underground. While the Americans sat around and stayed out of sight, several resistance members visited and made a myriad of plans to get the GIs out of occupied Europe. While these varied from meeting a British sub on the coast, flying out of an abandoned airstrip near Paris, and many others, the Frenchmen finally decided on getting the evaders out of the country by train.

 

Awaking early to a dull-gray sky, Bisher and his compatriots made their way to the main Paris train station to catch a ride south. Calling themselves “ducklings,” the four GIs followed each other at a set distance but did whatever was possible to remain within sight of the others. Although the chain was almost broken several times, the group made it to the station and boarded their first train. It ran on a single improvised rail at a measly 10 miles per hour thanks to the large forest of bombed-out mangled tracks and twisted steel which once was the entirety of Paris’ railroad system. The “ducklings” made their way through the French countryside switching on and off of various trains on their way towards the Spanish border.

 

At the train station in Limoges Bisher had what he called the most “nerve-wracking and scary” part of his escape. The town, halfway between Paris and Toulouse, was the site of one train switch done by the group. All standing apart but within eyesight, the evaders were extremely careful to blend in with the crowd as much as possible and avoid attracting any potential unwanted attention. Unfortunately for Bisher, he caught the eye of a “beautiful, elegantly dressed” brunette. She noticed him from across the platform and smiled as their eyes caught. Seeing that she had set her gaze upon him his stomach sank, and he went cold. Remembering all he had learned about the training and disguises of Gestapo agents, he was certain that “the bulge in her black leather purse was a fully-loaded Luger.” He nervously glanced at the other “ducklings” as she began to make her way towards the petrified Bisher. His act was to be deaf and dumb, that way he would not have to worry about answering any sort of questions should he be asked. In this instance, however, he was worried that playing his part would cause the woman to speak louder and possibly cause a scene which could attract further unwanted attention. As she stopped in front of him he barely made out that she was asking about the train times. In probably the most terrifying decision of his life, Bisher uttered what he thought was “I don’t know” in his “best French.” Somehow, the woman accepted it, gave him a quick “merci” and walked back to her spot without another glance. The sweat-ladened American pilot gave a large sigh of relief and boarded his own train not long after.

 

The group of travelers arrived in Toulouse later that afternoon and were split up independently among local guides who would later meet to guide them over the Pyrenees and into Spain within the coming days. Bisher did not get a good feeling about his own guide as he took the American around the town to see the sights and meet various local residents. The tour lasted into the evening hours and curfew came and went. While Bisher attempted to once again coax the guide into bringing them to their final resting place a loud German voice shouted “halt!” from a few dozen yards down the dark alley they were standing in. Before he could turn around the metallic “clip-clop” of a chambering rifle round broke the silence. Bisher and his guide broke off into a dash and Bisher felt two rounds fly within inches of his head as they attempted to flee from the soldier. Thankfully they were only a few blocks away from their room and the two men reached it with safety.

 

Dawn the next morning brought the four Americans traveling towards the Pyrenees in the back of a truck. Quickly thanking the French woman for all her help in getting them so far, the “ducklings” flew the nest and started the final stretch of their journey at the foothills of the Pyrenees. The group met a young Jewish family of three who were trying to escape as well and with their local guides began the long journey over the mountains. Montgomery, who had been badly burned and injured in his bailout, had the roughest time of it but Bisher stuck close to his side and carried him over the most treacherous parts of their journey. As the days passed little food and harsh terrain took its toll on the travelers, covering their bodies in bruises and leaving their stomachs starving. One day after several hours of straight marching the group took a break but Bisher continued to hear the sound of shuffling feet. Looking over he noticed the lanky P-47 pilot continuing onward and rushed over to stop him. Quickly turning the GI around, Bisher looked directly into his eyes and saw no life, but basically an unconscious body moving by muscle memory and instinct. The fellow pilot recovered from his state, but it shows just how rough things were for the evaders. Alternatively, the Jewish family had troubles keeping up and before long decided to find their own way to rest in a nearby village. Nonetheless, the Allied flyers pushed onward. Surviving on streams and plants, the pilots marched across ridge after ridge, even being abandoned by their guide and left to their own devices a few days later. On 15 May 1944 the men finally emerged from their rocky passage and saw their first glimpse of freedom, a small Spanish town, right before their eyes.

 

The bearded, ragged, mud-splattered, torn, limping men decided the best option was to simply walk straight through the main thoroughfare. Making quite an appearance, it wasn’t long before a Spanish policeman met them in the road with a rifle held in the crook of his arm. Taking a few steps forward he made an outward-flipping motion to the men as if to wave them away. Not wanting to cause any trouble, the evaders followed suit and hobbled the way they came for only a few seconds before they heard the policeman chamber his rifle and point it at them. They feebly put their hands in the air and turned around, realizing that the hand signal was meant to call them towards and not away from the officer. Regardless, the next few nights they spent in neutral-country jail must have given the weary and bloodied GIs the largest relief they had ever felt in their lives.

 

A few days later an American representative from the embassy got the quartet out of the jail and on a C-47 headed straight for England, arriving back on the island on 15 June 1944. While Montgomery went on to command the 20th Fighter Group and continued to fly with them, Bisher and the others remained grounded for the rest of the war and were told that their contributions had well-exceeded the requirements. Officially the first evaders from the group to return and one of only eleven total, Bisher got permission to return home to the states for a visit. He continued serving for a little while after with the squadron as ground-liaison until the European war came to an end on 8 May 1945. Following the war, he retired from the service but came back during Korea and Vietnam until he got the 20 years necessary for retirement. In the many decades after his escape he never saw Montgomery again until Vietnam when they ran into each other by chance on a Saigon street. Later in life Bisher became active in the 20th FG association and told many of his stories to his fellow veterans, at one point even talking over the phone with Wiegand, the German pilot who shot him down so many years before.

 

 

 

I’m extremely proud to keep this history alive and thankful for the 20th Fighter Group association for all their help in getting primary research on Bisher to help me write the article. A fighter pilot who went through hell to get home, Bisher’s story will never be forgotten with me.

 

[36thIDAlex]

[36thIDAlex]

[WWIIinterviews]

Incredible group!!

[Dirk]

Excellent write up and congrats on preserving this historic group!

[warguy]

Fantastic group and excellent research and story. Thanks for sharing. I missed an almost identical grouping a couple years ago here locally. The family decided to keep the material. I guess I can’t be too upset with that! The winged boot on that tunic was nearly identical and sewn under the lapel almost exactly as this one is. Thanks again! 

[katieony]

Amazing group and story...thank you for sharing it!

[6th.MG.BN]

Very nice group and write up.

Ken

[36thIDAlex]

18 hours ago, warguy said:

Fantastic group and excellent research and story. Thanks for sharing. I missed an almost identical grouping a couple years ago here locally. The family decided to keep the material. I guess I can’t be too upset with that! The winged boot on that tunic was nearly identical and sewn under the lapel almost exactly as this one is. Thanks again! 

 

Thanks for those who have commented so far, definitely unfortunate you missed out on that set. The winged boot seems to be one of the hardest AF insignia to find and they almost always have a great story behind them. Once I saw all that there was with this one and the rest I found in research, I knew I couldn't let it pass by.

[warguy]

You did the right thing for sure! I had one brother eager to sell but the other wanted to keep it. I helped him find replacement medals for his father. I still dream about the group though, and your post put me right back to “what could have been”. Once again, just a great group you have there. 

[Tom Kibler]

What a stunning group!!!!  Well researched, displayed and cared for!  Well Done!

[dustin]

Fascinating grouping. Here is a copy of his interrogation upon returning to England. I believe somewhere I have his interrogation report while he was in Spain. Typically those that evade to Spain were interrogated while in custody there and then again while in arriving back in England. The report has his hand written account, attached is the typed version of what he wrote down. 

 

 

A record while he was in Spain along with other evaders.

[36thIDAlex]

Fascinating grouping. Here is a copy of his interrogation upon returning to England. I believe somewhere I have his interrogation report while he was in Spain. Typically those that evade to Spain were interrogated while in custody there and then again while in arriving back in England. The report has his hand written account, attached is the typed version of what he wrote down. 
 






 
A record while he was in Spain along with other evaders.

Thanks for the comments y’all, it’s one of the wildest AAF stories I’ve come across in collecting and I’m glad to preserve it. And thanks for that document, I came across it myself when I was doing research and it contributed to my final write up. I was surprised to find so many primary and secondary sources on Bisher’s escape when I started research but it revealed an incredible story.

[TheCrustyBosun]

Wow, just WOW!

[Brian Dentino]

What a great post and items.  One of the best items and stories of a heroes harrowing journey after being downed in occupied Europe.  Incredible the effort these brave fliers went through to get back to the good guys.  Incredible story and great items, this was a pleasure to read and see for sure!