Rushsylvania native Staff Sargent Everett Culp, pictured in the second row at the far left, is joined by his fellow service members in Roy A. Larson’s crew 358BS and the B-17F named Old Tex at Alexandria Army Air Base in November 1943. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
BY WILL RICKETTS
SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER
Rushsylvania, Ohio, May 20, 1941, it’s 8:15 p.m. in the high school auditorium, my great uncle Harry Goldburg would serve as a junior usher for the 41st annual commencement exercises. The class of 1941 would graduate 30 young men and women, their class motto “Onward and Upward”.
That night, a young man named Everett Edward Culp would graduate and on Dec. 3, 1942, he would enter the Army Air Corps.
Long Beach, Calif., Aug. 31, 1943, a new Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, Serial Number 42-39785 is delivered.
Walla Walla, Washington, during the month of September 1943, a 10-man crew would take possession of B-17G 42-39785 naming it Thru Hel’en Hiwater.
New York City, Oct. 5, 1943, game 1 of the World Series. It’s 1:30 p.m. in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. 68,676 fans are ready to watch the first place American League, New York Yankees, with a record of 98-56-1, who would be playing against the 1st place National League St. Louis Cardinals with a record of 105-49-3.
Billy Jr. is flying B-17 Bombers in the European Theater. At the top of the 8th inning the Yankees were winning 4-2, 36-year-old #9 Debs Garms a pinch hitter for the Cardinals had just struck out. As Red Farmer is speaking over the Gillette sponsored Mutual Radio broadcast, there is a rumble in the background of four big bombers flying over the stadium. Two minutes later, two bombers flew over again.
The fans cheer and Red Farmer would describe to those tuned into the World Series on the radio how it was nice to see what those war bonds were paying for and to buy more war bonds. A picture is snapped, some video is taken.
In attendance during the flyover among the fans is New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, a WWI Army pilot. Initially, he appreciated the panache of the young men, but admiration gave way to duty as mayor of New York City, he would end up calling the US Army Air Force brass, saying the pilot should be properly disciplined, endangering the lives of the citizenry of New York in that manner.
When the bombers touched down at Presque Isle airfield in Maine, Pilot 2nd Lieutenant Jack W. Watson and the three other pilots were confined to quarters while court martial proceedings were undertaken.
Oct. 6, 1943, an Associated Press photo appears in The New York Times of a B-17 bomber clearing the left field flagpole by 25 feet. The pilot flying the bomber in the photo is 2Lt Jack Watson, the plane is Thru Hel’en Hiwater. In the nose of the bomber is 2Lt Harrold Rocketto, a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, maybe a little payback to the Yankees for beating the Dodgers in the 1941 World Series or just high spirits of young men heading off to war.
They were released a few days later they couldn’t afford to lose crews or bombers due to youthful indiscretion. Five days after the flyover, they are flying to England. The four bomber pilots received a letter of reprimand and a $75 fine each. Unknown to all but the authorities, due to wartime news restrictions the flyover incident went almost entirely unreported.
Alexandria Army Air Base, Alexandria, La., November 1943. The Roy A. Larson’s crew assigned to the 358 Bomb Squadron poses for a photo in front of a B-17F named Old Tex, including Staff Sargent Everett Edward Culp.
Thru Hel’en Hiwater is assigned to the 303rd Bombardment Group and the 358th Bomb Squadron. Based out of Molesworth, England, it flew its first mission on Nov. 26, 1943, the target was the city area of Bremen, Germany.
Jan. 11, 1944, the Watson crew, flying B-17F 42-29524 of the 358BS called Meat Hound the plane on its 27th mission. Lt. Jack Watson and his crew were flying in the lead group on its sixth mission with two targets for that day.
Target one was A.G.O. Flugzeugwerke, A.G. Visual bombing target two was a FW-190 Assembly & Component Plant, both targets were located at Oschersleben, Germany. Forty crews were dispatched for this mission, with a bombing altitude of 20,000 ft.
Thru Hel’en Hiwater was piloted by Captain Merle R. Hungerford. Aboard Meat Hound something would go wrong. The plane was last seen by the formation at 1329 hours.
Nine parachutes were reported over the Netherlands, most making delayed jumps. Four of the men drowned and four were captured and taken prisoner. Lt Clayton David the Co Pilot successfully evaded capture and returned to England on May 25, 1944. Lt Watson was able to return the damaged plane alone to a fighter field in Metfield, England.
2Lt John C. Doty, the original Co-Pilot for the Watson crew was flying on a B-17G 42-30865 piloted by 1Lt Paul W. Campbell. The plane would crash near Nordhausen.
Doty, Campbell, 1Lt John P.D. Nothstein, T/ Sgt Stanley J. Backiel were all captured and taken prisoner. Nothstein was later repatriated. 2Lt William J. Milner, Sgt Dante DiMartino, S/Sgt John W. Brooks, S/Sgt James F. Hoy, S/Sgt Alexander Wisniewski, and S/Sgt Edward J. Cassidy would be killed.
One of the worst days for the 303rd to date, which lost 11 B-17s, four would abort, including Hiwater. Lt. Larson would receive a replacement crew and Meat Hound would never fly again.
Feb. 19, 1944, the Roy A. Larson Crew is assigned to the 358 Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group.
Thru Hel’en Hiwater being piloted by 2Lt Wendell Z. Ferguson pilot and 2Lt John C. Putiri would return on Feb. 28, 1944, fly mission 114, the target was Bois/Coqueral, Crossbow Targets (V2 Rocket Sites); it would be the plane’s 15th mission.
Culp described what happened on their 15th mission and the plane’s 28th mission:
“The navigator and bombardier had been substituted out for this mission. There were flying in the No. 5 position, in the vicinity of Werl, Germany.
“Receiving a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire, Culp had not seen the incoming flak burst from his position, when the fourth burst entered the wing, it caused the No. 1 engine to burst into flames, the entire left wing quickly caught fire, then the fire burst through the fuel tanks causing an explosion that hit the top turret gunner and pilot.”
“Culp stated ‘I was sitting right behind the explosion, which made an awful noise.’
“An order was given by the pilot for the crew to bail out. As a radio operator their job during bail out was to give the ball turret gunner his chute and make sure the gunner got out OK.
“As Culp looked towards the ball turret there was no airplane section left there. During the explosion, Culp had been thrown into the tail section near the tail wheel just before the tail separated from the fuselage.
“After freeing himself from the control cables wrapped around him, he stood up and floated out of the tail section at 23,000 feet. Watching the plane spiral towards earth he turned over once saw the sky, turning over the second time he seen trees.
“Pilot 2Lt. Roy A Larson, Bombardier 2Lt Milton Feinman, Top Turret Gunner Sgt Thomas J. Campbell never made it out of the plane. Tail Gunner Sgt Herman L. Hodge would die a day after being taken POW from injuries sustained after landing on rocks during bailout when his chute only partially opened.
“Co-pilot 2Lt Ronald E. Duncan, Navigator 2Lt Herbert E. Levy, Ball Turret Sgt Lee R. Brim, Left Waist Gunner Sgt Arthur W. Schinker, Right Waist Gunner Sgt Duane P. Thayer and Radio Operator Sgt Culp would all spend the rest of the war as a POW’s.
“Culp would arrive at Stalag 17-B prison camp in Krems, Austria, on May 3, 1944. He would be liberated on June 9, 1945, along the Inns River.”
Throughout the remainder of the war, every B-17G Everett flew on would be lost on a mission. Shoo Shoo Baby went down on April 24, 1944, just two days after Everett and Thru Hel’en Hiwater went down, six months after the flyover, the rest would follow before the end of the war.
The Culp family had five sons, each of whom served, and a daughter, Virginia. Everett’s twin brothers Carl and Carlos were each drafted by the Army at age 20. Carl was wounded in France, receiving the Purple Heart. Carlos was accidentally killed on June 9, 1945, on VE Day in his barracks while his unit was cleaning their guns. After graduation, Bill Culp joined the US Air Force in 1948, serving four years. He would be stationed in Europe during the Berlin Air Lift. John Culp would be stationed at Camp Gordon, Georgia.
After being greeted by his wife, Ella and old classmates at the train station in Bellefontaine, Everett would learn from his wife in their car of Carl being wounded and Carlos being killed on the same day as Everett was liberated.
Everett and Ella would raise two boys Russ and Ed and a daughter, Linda. A member of the Rushsylvania United Methodist Church, Everett would become an assistant scoutmaster for Rushsylvania Troop 51, also serving Rushsylvania as mayor and a member of the water board.
He was a member of the 303rd Bomb Group (H) Association Inc. The Eight Air Force Historical Society and the Logan County Historical Aviation Organization. In 1988, Everett retired as the pressroom superintendent at the Bellefontaine Examiner after working there for 37 years.
In October of 1988, he would be invited to the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton to attend the arrival of a restored WWII survivor B-17G 42-32076 named Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, originally named Shoo Shoo Baby. the crew would add a third Shoo due to their already being two Shoo Shoo Baby’s, including the one Everett had flown on.
His first wife Ella would pass in 1990. In 1998, he and his second wife Merrilyn, would return to Krems and follow the path of the POW’s forced march to Braunau, Austria.
Culp passed away Nov. 2, 2014.
“I hope this article honors him, his crew, and all the men of the 303rd and the bombers that flew missions until the job was done and Thru Hel’en Hiwater,” Ricketts said.
Thru Hel’en Hiwater (SUBMITTED PHOTO)