Orrin H. Heinrich

Service in the U.S. Air Force and World War II

Table of Contents

Overview

Enlistment and Training

Missions from Thorpe Abbotts, England

Prisoner of War in Germany

Medals of Honor

Orrin’s Journal – August 7, 1942 to March 4, 1944

Orrin’s Return to Germany in 1987

Son Joseph’s Visit to Thorpe Abbotts, England in 1989

Overview

On August 7, 1942 Orrin joined the United States 8^th Air Force. During World War II he served as a navigator in 100^th Bomb Group (“The Bloody Hundredth”) of the 8^th Air Force, squadron 349. This Group was based at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, East Anglia, England. During World War II he performed 16 missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress. On March 6, 1944, Orrin’s plane was shot down by German fighters over Haseluenne, Germany. He spent 14 and 1/2 months as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft I, as “a guest of Germany”, as soldiers said, until the evacuation of the camp on 13 May 1945. He was discharged from the Air Force with the rank of Captain in 1946. During his enlistment he received the three medals of Honor: Air Medal, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War.

For further details, read on.

Enlistment and Training

On August 7, 1942 Orrin joined the United States 8^th Air Force. He was drafted in at Camp Dodge, Iowa and then reported to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Between August 1942 and November 1943 (15 months), he was in training at the following places:

• Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Iowa – basic training.
• San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center – for classification.
• Ellington Field - for preflight training.
• Hondo, Texas for advanced navigation training.
• July 15, 1943: commissions 2^nd Lieutenant and Navigator. Furlough until July 28.
• Moses Lake, Washington – for 1^st phase training.
• Kearney, Nebraska – for 2^nd and 3^rd phase training.
• November 4, 1943 – arrived at Point of Embarkation (POE) at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the staging area prior to being shipped overseas.

Missions from Thorpe Abbotts, England

On November 20, 1943, Orrin arrived at port in Scotland on the Queen Mary.

On November 30, 1943, Orrin reported to the 100^th Bomb Group of the 8^th Air Force, squadron was number 349. This Group was based at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, East Anglia, England. According to Wikipedia: “In World War II, it … carried out daytime bombing operations in western Europe from airfields in eastern England”.

According to one website describing the history of the 100^th Bomb Group:

In 1943. the average life of an 8th Air Force B-17 crew was eleven missions [Orrin did 16]. In 1943-1945, the 100th lost 177 aircraft missing in action plus 52 lost due to operational accidents, making a total of 229. The 100th was not the Group with the highest losses in the 8th, but since its losses often came many at a time, it soon acquired the reputation of a hard-luck outfit and the name “The Bloody Hundredth.”

Source: http://www.rushallhalfmooninns.co.uk/100thbombgroup.htm :

For more information about the 100^th Bomb Group, see:

http://www.100thbg.com/

http://www.web-birds.com/8th/100/100.html

http://www.rushallhalfmooninns.co.uk/100thbombgroup.htm

For information about the base Thorpe Abbotts in England, see:

http://www.455th.ukpc.net/tomfeise/tomthoab.htm

http://100thbg.com/mainmenus/base/base_main.htm

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/uk/1-b/100thmus.htm

http://goldenbaum.home.mindspring.com/thorpe.htm

Between November 30 and December 31, 1943, Orrin flew on practice missions over England. On these missions and throughout the war, Orrin flew in the B-17 Flying Fortress.

Source: Aviation History website, http://www.aviation-history.com/boeing/b17.html

For more information on the B-17 Flying Fortress, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortress

On December 31, 1943 Orrin flew his first mission to Paris, France, with Lt. Gossage and crew, but the mission was aborted due to technical problems.

Between January 4, 1944 and March 6, 1944, Orrin flew on missions with Lt. Gossage and Lt. William Murray, over locations in Germany (Kiel, Ludwigshaven, Osnabruck, Frankfurt, Brunswick, Rostok, Regensburg, and France (Hesdin, St. Omer, Romilly, Furgess).

At various times during his service he received passes for going into London for some R&R (rest and relaxation).

He flew on several B-17’s, including: “Ol Dad”, “Bertha the Blues”, “The Bigassbird II”.

He specifically mentions other crew members in his journal: Lt. Gossage, Lohof, Vollmer, Phillips, and Lt. William Murray.

On March 6, 1944, Orrin’s plane was shot down by German fighters in the vicinity of Haseluenne and Holdorf, in Vechta County, Germany (about 80 miles south of Bremerhaven on the north coast of Germany). This was his 16^th mission after flying 153 total hours.

Following is a photo of Orrin and other members of his crew who were shot down over Germany:

William B. Murray crew (left to right):

Standing: Mahlon Hall (California), William Carr (Michigan), Orrin Heinrich (Wisconsin), William Kraft (Pennsylvania), William Murray (Pennsylvania), Emory Brandt (Missouri).

Kneeling: Fred Schillinger (Pennsylvania), Ray Peace (Louisiana), Palmer Hanson (Minnesota), Nick Hamalak (New York)

Rank	Name	Position	Status
1st Lt	William B. Murray	Pilot	KIA
1st Lt	Richard M. Lambiotte	CoPilot	POW
2nd Lt	Orrin H. Heinrich	Navigator	POW
2nd Lt	William G. Carr	Bombardier	POW
T/Sgt	Emory L. Brandt	Top Turret Gunner / Engineer	POW
S/Sgt	Fred C. Schillinger	Radio Operator / Gunner	KIA
S/Sgt	Jim Peace	Ball Turret Gunner	POW
S/Sgt	Palmar J. Hanson	Right Waist Gunner	POW
S/Sgt	Nick E. Hamalak	Left Waist Gunner	POW
S/Sgt	Mahlon A. Hall	Tail Gunner	KIA

KIA=killed in action; POW=Prisoner of War

Mission date: 6 Mar 1944 – Destination Berlin

349th Sqdn. MACR #3017, Microfiche #1020, Aircraft #42-30799 – Bigassbird II.

Source: 100^th Bomb Group of the 8^th Air Force

Prisoner of War in Germany

An article in the Antigo Daily Journal, Antigo, Wisconsin (December 23, 1987), describes Orrin’s experience after his plane was shot down over Germany on March 6, 1944:

Heinrich’s story began March 6, 1944, when his B-17 bomber with a ten member crew was shot down by German ME-109 fighters over the Diepholz swamp in Vechta County. The 28 year old lieutenant and flight navigator was one of seven who survived [three did not]. He and another crewman parachuted to earth somewhere in the southern part of the county. Heinrich says he remembers landing near a barn and farmhouse, located at a crossroads. A fish pond was nearby. The downed airmen, both wounded, were treated well by a tall pipe-smoking farmer and his 14-year old son who spoke English. “They didn’t bother us at all. They wanted us to walk the four or five miles to town. I was wounded and my companion was wounded and I didn’t think we’d make it,” Heinrich says. “I got him to hitch up the horse and wagon and take the two of us to town.”

They both saw a doctor who then dressed their wounds.

On March 10, 1944 he was registered as a POW at Dulag-Luft. Dulag-Luft was a central German Air Force Interrogation Center near Frankfurt.

Source: http://www.b24.net/pow/maps.htm

Following is a copy of his registration papers at Dulag-Luft:

His identification number (KGF) was 3377.

According to a website on prisoners of war in Germany:

[Dulag-Luft’s] chief function was to obtain information of an operational character relating to Allied Air Forces through the interrogati0on of captured crews of Allied planes. Information thus acquired was of course supplemented by the evaluation of documents sometimes recovered from crashed aircraft. The only information, which a prisoner is required to give…, consists of his true names and rank or regimental number. If he refuses such information he need not be accorded any privileges. There is nothing in international law which… prohibits the interrogation of prisoners, provided no pressure of any sort is employed to extract (it).

It was the invariable practice that captured aircrew personnel passed first through this intelligence center for interrogation before being sent via a transit camp to an established prisoner of war camp. It became generally known as Dulag Luft…

Upon arrival at Dulag Luft, prisoners were undressed and their clothes searched. They were then put into cells described in solitary confinement. They were there visited by a reception officer…and sometimes by an interpreter as well if the reception officer was not fluent in the language of the prisoner. The reception officer would endeavor to persuade the prisoner to answer all the questions on the form…. And would transmit this form together with his assessment of the character of the prisoner to Major Junge…who in turn would detail the most suitable member of his staff top conduct the questioning. These interrogations were sometimes held in the cells, but more often in the rooms of the officer detailed. Usually such interrogations were quite short, as, for instance in the case of an air gunner, who would have little information; but sometimes in the case of a pilot or prisoners who were particularly security minded, the interrogations might continue for three or four days, often twice per day.

The interrogation officers would compile in the form of statements, the information which they had gleaned as a result of their oral examination of the prisoners, and these statements would then be forwarded to the German Air force Operations staff.

Source: http://www.b24.net/pow/dulag.htm

On insert date, Orrin’s wife received a telegram from the US Government informing her that Orrin was a prisoner of war in Germany.

Orrin was subsequently transferred to “Stalag Luft I” at Barth near the Baltic Sea.

Source: http://www.b24.net/pow/maps.htm

According to a website on prisoner of war (PW) camps in Germany:

By Jan. 1944, 507 American Air-Force officers were detained there. The strength of the camp grew rapidly from this date, until April 1944 when the Red Cross reported 3,463 inmates. [Orrin arrived in March 1944.] New compounds were opened and quickly filled. Nearly 6000 PWs were crowded into the camp in Sept. 1944, and at the time of the liberation of the camp 7717 Americans and 1,427 Britons were returned to military control.

… Early in 1944 the camp consisted of 2 compounds designated as South & West compounds , containing a total of 7 barracks, in which American officers & British officers and enlisted men were housed. … The South compound was always unsatisfactory due to the complete lack of adequate cooking, washing, and toilet facilities. [Orrin was in the South compound - Barrack 1 - Room 6.]

… Guard towers were placed at strategic intervals.

… Each barracks contained triple-tiered wooden beds equipped with mattresses filled with wood chips. A communal day room was set aside in almost every barracks, but equipment was negligible. Lighting was inadequate throughout the camp, and since the Detaining Power required the shutters to remain closed from 2100 to 0600, ventilation was entirely insufficient.

… Stoves for heating and cooking varied in each compound, except that facilities in all compounds were inadequate. Many of the buildings were not weather proof, and the extremely cold climate of northern Germany made living conditions more difficult for the PW.

… Prior to April 1944, treatment was considered fairly good. Followng the April meeting of the Protecting Powers however, the German attitude towards PWs became more severe. New orders regarding air raids were issued by the Germans. These required all personnel to be inside when the "immediate warning" siren was blown. As a result, 3 cases of German patrol guards shooting at men inside the camp occurred during May. At the same time the Commandant issued regulations authorizing guards to use firearms, to avenge what they termed "insults to German honor". The German interpretation of this order was extremely liberal, and more shooting developed.

… Red Cross parcels, when available, were issued at the rate of one per person per week.

… The German food ration, up until 1 Oct. 1944, consisted of 1200 to 1800 calories per man. The ration was gradually cut until it contained only 800 calories. In Sept, Oct., and Nov. 1944, Red Cross supplies became so low, that they too, had to be cut. During this period, men were put on half-parcels each week. A shipment was received in Nov. and PWs then drew the normal parcel each week during Dec. ( in addition to a Christmas parcel). In Jan. the parcel supply again took a drop, and the men received 1/2 parcel week. From 3 March 1945, until the last of the month, no parcels were distributed, and German rations deteriorated to an extent that toward the end of the month, men became so weak that many would fall down while attempting to get from their beds. American "MPs" were placed around garbage cans to prevent the starving PW from eating out of the cans and becoming sick.

… Until this "starvation" period, the normal daily menu would consist of about 6 potatoes, one-fifth of a loaf of bread, margarine, marmalade, a small piece of meat (usually horsemeat), 2 vegetables (cabbage, parsnips, beets or turnips) tea & coffee, and an amount of sugar. In addition, a thin barley soup was frequently served.

... One bath-house containing 10 shower-heads represented the only facilities for over 4,000 officers to bathe

… The climate in the region was extremely cold, and both the number of stoves and the amount of fuel issued were insufficient to maintain good health.

… All incoming mail at Stalag Luft 1 was censored at Stalag Luft 3 until Jan. 1945. Some pieces of mail received at the camp had been in transit 6 & 7 months, and normally men would be in the camp 7 months before receiving their first news from home. The average time in transit from the United States was 19 weeks. Toward the end of the war, the transit time was longer due to the transportation tie-up.

... Officers were permitted to send 3 letters and 4 postcards per month, while the enlisted men were allowed to send 2 letters and 4 postcards per month.

… Representatives of the International Red Cross visited the camp approximately every 4 months.

Source: http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag1.htm

For a complete description and photos of what it was like at Stalag Luft I, see: http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag1.htm

The POWs did a number of activities for recreation, including playing football and baseball, participating in educational and artistic activities, and attending musical and theatrical entertainment. Following is a copy of the program for a musical comedy “Hit The Bottle” performed at camp on July 3, 1944:

Orrin spent 14 and 1/2 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft I, as “a guest of Germany”, as soldiers said.

According to a website on Stalag Luft I:

On 30 April 1945 the [German Commandant]…had orders to move the camp to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Russians. The SAO [leaders of the PWs]…stated PWs would not move unless force was used, and the Commandant finally agreed to avoid bloodshed.

At about 2200 that evening, the guards turned out the perimeter & street lights. A few moments later these same guards were observed marching out of the camp leaving the gate unlocked, As soon as this news was conveyed to the SAO, he formally took over the camp, The following morning the PW "military police" of the camp were put in charge of all guard stations, to see that the men remained orderly and stayed in the camp. Another organization was formed to serve as exterior guards to prevent wandering parties of Germans from coming into camp.

On 1 May 1945 contact parties were sent out to make contact with Russian advance troops. After 2 or 3 days of having Russian commanders of scouting parties visit the camp, the Russian commander of the area was finally reached, and arrangements were made to provide food for the PWs.

Although the actual liberation was performed by the Russians, no effort was made by them to evacuate the PW from the area.

On 6 May 1945 Colonel Byerly, the former SAO, left camp with 2 officers of a British airborne division and flew to England the following day. After reporting to 8th Air Force headquarters on the conditions at the camp, arrangements were made to evacuate the liberated PWs by air. This operation was completed on 15 May 1945.

Source: http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag1.htm

According to a website on Stalag Luft I, the evacuation involved over 200 B-17’s carrying over 9,000 POWs:

When we assembled in the Orderly Room we were told by the briefing officer that we had one more mission to fulfill. Our mission would be to fly into Northeastern Germany to rescue our Pow airmen from Stalag Luft I. The Russians had liberated the camp but seemed to be hesitant about releasing the American POW airmen. They were not being at all cooperative with their Western Allies. The briefing officer told us that we were flying into an airstrip at Barth airdrome, a few miles from Stalag Luft I and just south of the Baltic Sea. Here we would load the POW's aboard our B-17's and fly them to the Bordeaux area of France where they would be put on ships and sent back to the good old U. S. A. “The name of this operation is 'Revival,'" he said. "The Russians don't seem to want to cooperate in releasing our American airmen POW's so we're going in and getting them. The 91st sent forty-one B-17G's to Barth on the 13 of May, 1945. If each B-17 carried thirty POW's as we did, twelve hundred and thirty American POW airmen were freed and sent on their way home that day. And Operation Revival lasted three days.

… In three days U.S. EIGHTH AIR FORCE heavy bombers have brought out over 9,000 Allied prisoners from Stalag Luft No. I at Barth, Germany located on the Baltic Sea north of Berlin.  .Approximately 1,500 were British prisoners and 7,700 American -- many of the latter from U.S. EIGHTH and FIFTEENTH AIR FORCES.  Over the weekend more than 200 heavy bombers under the command of Brig. Gen. William M. Gross of Riverside, Calif. were assigned to the shuttle service. 

Source: http://www.merkki.com/rescue.htm

For further information and photos, see:

Stalag Luft I Online

POW Research – from 392^nd Bomb Group

Medals of Honor

Orrin was discharged from the Air Force with the rank of Captain in 1946.

As a result of his service he received the following medals of Honor

• Air Medal
• Prisoner of War
• Purple Heart

A description of these medals follows (compliments of Jean Adams Heinrich):

For more information about the Prisoner of War Medal, see: http://www.merkki.com/powmedal.htm

Orrin’s Journal – August 7, 1942 to March 4, 1944

Orrin kept a journal from the day he enlisted to two days prior to his being shot down over Germany.

Click here to read his hand written memories.

Orrin’s Return to Germany in 1987

After 42 years, Orrin had an opportunity to return to the area in Germany where he had parachuted after his plane was shot down on March 6, 1944.

An article in the Antigo Daily Journal, Antigo, Wisconsin (December 23, 1987), describes Orrin’s search for the place he landed:

A search spanning 43 years and two continents landed Orrin Heinrich of Antigo in the pages of a German newspaper recently. Heinrich, a retired fur farmer, visited Vechta, Germany in an effort to locate the site where he landed after being shot down in his B-17 bomber during World War II. The reason — take a few pictures, talk with the people he met, and thank them for their benign treatment of two wounded American airmen. The trip was unsuccessful, but was splashed across the pages of the Vechta newspaper, proving perhaps that the scars of a world at war have been healed.

… The trip back to Germany, arranged partly at the urging of Heinrich’s son Joseph, released a flood of memories. Heinrich’s search took him to researcher Hans Schlomer and author Fritz Burge, who remembered an airplane crash in Steinfield, a town in Vechta County. It sounded promising. Local townspeople such as 90 year old Franz Trumme and Heinrich Pohlking remembered the capture of two American flyers and the incident had been included in a Steinfield historical record. But it was a false trail. The pilot captured at Steinfield had only been 22 years old.

Heinrich says the mix-up was understandable, since 40 B-17 bombers were shot down in about two minutes over the Vechta area that day. “The whole area was just loaded with stories of picking men up and locking them up and waiting for the army,” Heinrich says. “Things were so changed. Most of the small farmers were gone replaced by large farms.”

The former airman says that he wished he had rented an airplane to fly over the area, since the landmarks he remembered might be more easily discovered from a vantage point similar to that of a B-17 bomber. There is still hope. In the German newspaper article people who could remember the capture 43 years ago were asked to contact local researchers or Heinrich. “If I could have found that young boy who spoke English, he’d be 57 now, that would have made me happy,” Heinrich says.

Click here for photos of the visit.

Following is a copy of the article in the German newspaper, followed by the translation:

Following is a copy of the article in the Antigo newspaper:

Son Joseph’s Visit to Thorpe Abbotts, England in 1989

In 1989, Orrin’s son Joseph Heinrich, and Joseph’s wife Jane, visited the 100^th Bomb Group memorial museum at Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, East Anglia, England.

Click here for photos of this visit.