tyler3 Posted August 8 Share #1 Posted August 8 Bought this beautiful grouping off garandomatic Heres the description he posted ” Edwin W Thompson was born in Connecticut in 1916 and entered the USAAF during World War II where he served with the 728th Bomb Squadron of the 452nd Bomb Group as a navigator. On March 8, 1944, on what I believe was his first mission, he was shot down and possibly involved in a midair collision on B17G 42-97549, the "Round Tripper." He was captured shortly after and held at Stalag Luft III for nearly a year. His WWII memorial plaque states that he escaped three times andnwas recaptured. According to his own account from "Airpower Historian" in October of 1961, he walked outnof his camp in February, 1945 and was assisted by a Yugoslavian slave laborer and what I believe were German resisters that sheltered him, fed him, and helped him to board a train where he was eventually discovered. As a POW, he organized an educational program for his fellow POWs and particpated in the death marches from Sagan to Nurnberg and then to Mooseburg. Thomson stayed in the USAAF post-WWII and used another of his nine lives in 1948 when the C47 he crewed crashed into a glacier on the Greenland icecap due to poor visibility. Thus began a nearly month-long seroes of rescue missions that resulted in several more flyers being stranded. A rescue B17 sunk in the snow; rescue gliders failed when their tow rope broke. The men in his crew nearly despaired, in fact, until they moved into the "igloo" the B17 crew had dug under their plane and enjoyed the food that the plane had on board! Finally, they were all rescued by a ski and rocket-assisted C47. He stayed in through Korea and is mentioned in a C119 gunship book in a training outfit in 1969, so he at least served during vietnam. His stories are featured in several publications, and i purchased the Life magazine that featured his glacier rescue.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backtheattack Posted August 8 Share #2 Posted August 8 Great items with a lot of history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gear Fanatic Posted August 8 Share #3 Posted August 8 Very nice grouping with a lot of history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler3 Posted August 8 Author Share #4 Posted August 8 1 hour ago, Backtheattack said: Great items with a lot of history! 1 hour ago, Gear Fanatic said: Very nice grouping with a lot of history. Yeah, surprised nobody wanted it, he even made a little folder with a bunch of printed newspaper clippings with him. There was even a complimentary used tissue in the pocket of the pants lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gear Fanatic Posted August 10 Share #5 Posted August 10 Haha lol, nobody wanted that beautiful grouping, what a shame, well more for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler3 Posted August 10 Author Share #6 Posted August 10 12 minutes ago, Gear Fanatic said: Haha lol, nobody wanted that beautiful grouping, what a shame, well more for you! Yeah. I can’t think of why people wouldn’t want it. Probably because he isn’t recognized in many dedicated pages like ac119gunship.com and stuff. Guess his family didn’t apply for him on anything lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted August 10 Share #7 Posted August 10 What’s important here is that you love it, you got it and you will take care of it. It was meant to be. Congratulations on your latest acquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gear Fanatic Posted August 10 Share #8 Posted August 10 Agreed, enjoy this piece. It is special and I’m glad you are able to recognize that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShibaLegend Posted August 10 Share #9 Posted August 10 I wonder what happened to his flight suit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler3 Posted August 10 Author Share #10 Posted August 10 1 hour ago, ShibaLegend said: I wonder what happened to his flight suit? Yeah I wish it came with the group. I think all the blue Air Force stuff is Vietnam era. Imagine if I got his bomber jacket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragpick Posted August 10 Share #11 Posted August 10 Lt. Thompson actually was taken prisoner on the mission of May 29th, 1944. He wasn't part of the crew of 42-97549 on the March 8 mission when some bailed out over Germany but the aircraft returned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler3 Posted August 11 Author Share #12 Posted August 11 3 hours ago, ragpick said: Lt. Thompson actually was taken prisoner on the mission of May 29th, 1944. He wasn't part of the crew of 42-97549 on the March 8 mission when some bailed out over Germany but the aircraft returned. Interesting, do you know what crew he was apart of? On the American air thingy it said he was apart of that crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragpick Posted August 11 Share #13 Posted August 11 The pilot of the "Round Tripper" on May 29th was 2nd Lt. Frank W. Brogan. No idea if Lt. Thompson was a regular member of that crew or maybe just filling in. MACR for the May mission was #5228 in which Lt. Thompson's last name was spelled without the P. I was wrong about the plane on the March mission returning, it was shot down. The pilot was 2nd Lt. Henry L. Wilson, Navigator was 2nd Lt. Frank P. Krezel who was killed, MACR #3192. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler3 Posted August 11 Author Share #14 Posted August 11 I just looked at the 42-97549 thing and it says macr 5228 at the bottom and has his name in it? This stuff is mad confusing. So was he on that crew but just a different mission? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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