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Jacks Crew 918
Jacks Crew 918 Summary
Lt Robert Jacks was initially a co-pilot on the Johnson Crew 908 in the 859th Bomb Squadron. He was promoted to relieve Lt Keeler as pilot and commander of Crew 918. Accounts say that Lt Keeler had been removed and transferred to the 44th BG as a result of disciplinary action after having to abort a mission because one of his crewmen had forgotten his parachute. Lt Meyer and S/Sgt Dixon were also transferred out of this crew and replaced by Lt Hawkley and S/Sgt Lawing, respectively, who had come to the 492nd as part of a replacement crew.
Jacks took Crew 918 on 9 missions. Adding that to the 11 completed missions under Keeler brings the Crew total to 20 plus one aborted mission. We aren't certain who was on each of these missions. It's possible that there were substitutions and that the bombardier could have been left behind on some of the Pathfinder-led missions.
The Crew's final mission was on 7 Jul 44 when they flew 44-40153 to Bernburg to bomb an industrial aircraft facility. They were attacked by German fighters. Accounts state that S/Sgt Stamerra was killed instantly. With the exception of the nose gunner, Sgt Brdecka, the rest of the crew bailed out. Claim is that the air battle between the GAF and Brdecka continued while the plane was falling. The casualties for the Jacks Crew: 2 KIA, 8 POW, MACR 7232.
The bodies of the two dead were recovered and buried by the Germans. After the war, they were taken for reburial in an American cemetery, but the grave records couldn't say who was who. The two were brought back and buried in a group burial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St Louis, Missouri. They were buried with two men from the Smiley Crew 910, Darrel Andrews and Donald Brown, and another a man from another bomb group, 2Lt Frank A Fisher.
We don't have any photos of the Jacks Crew, but we do have one for the Keeler Crew.
More Info
4 photos
Keeler Crew 918
44-40130
42-50370
42-110091
BOLD VENTURE
44-40153
Links to missions
flown by the
Jacks Crew 918
are below in their
Mission Record
Original Roster for
Jacks Crew 918
Position / MOS Name Rank Serial # Notes
Pilot
MOS 1024
Jacks, Robert H 1st Lt O-376079 Obtained from Johnson 903
Promoted to Pilot Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft III
Co-Pilot
MOS 1024
Hawkley, Leland G 2nd Lt O-699368 Obtained from Jaques Crew 909
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft VIIA
Navigator
MOS 1034
Turner, Samuel L 2nd Lt O-705048 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft VIIA
Bombardier
MOS 1035
Benton, Frank B F/O T-123092 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft VIIA
Engineer
MOS 748
Lawing, Talmadge H S/Sgt 14059830 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft IV
Radio
Operator
MOS 757
Woods, Glen D T/Sgt 6990408 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft IV
Gunner
MOS 918
Kohout, Robert T S/Sgt 17151663 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft IV
Gunner
MOS 748
Brdecka, Vincent J S/Sgt 18186703 From Keeler Crew 918
KIA, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Gunner
MOS 611
Taylor, Joseph B Jr S/Sgt 13119981 From Keeler Crew 918
POW, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232, Stalag Luft IV
Gunner
MOS 611
Stamerra, Salvatore E S/Sgt 33422124 From Keeler Crew 918
KIA, 7 Jul 44, MACR 7232
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Seen name as Stamera
Jacks Crew 918
492nd BG Mission Record
859th Bomb Squadron
Crew
Mission
Number
Group
Mission
Number
Group
Mission
Date
Aircraft
Serial
Number
Primary Target Mission Notes
12
 Link to Mission 28 page 28
15 Jun 44 44-40130 La Frilliere, France Target: Railroad bridge
Bombed target in Le Mans
13
 Link to Mission 31 page 31
18 Jun 44 42-50370 Luneburg, Germany Target: Airfield
Bombed Nordenham
14
 Link to Mission 33 page 33
19 Jun 44 42-50370 Courbronne, France Target: Crossbow (V-1 rockets)
15
 Link to Mission 34 page 34
20 Jun 44 42-110091 Politz, Germany Target: Oil refinery
see Footnotes
16
 Link to Mission 39 page 39
23 Jun 44 44-40153 Juvincourt, France Target: Airfield
17
 Link to Mission 40a page 40a
25 Jun 44 42-110091 La Vaupeliere, France Target: Tactical
18
 Link to Mission 44 page 44
4 Jul 44 44-40153 Beaumont-le-Roger, France Target: Airfield
19
 Link to Mission 45 page 45
6 Jul 44 44-40153 Kiel, Germany Target: Shipyard
20
 Link to Mission 46 page 46
7 Jul 44 44-40153 Bernburg, Germany Target: Aircraft manufacturing
Lost: 2 KIA, 8 POW, MACR 7232
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Page last modified Friday, January 22, 2010.