Memorial

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Charles Fiery attended high school for four years and was a paymaster.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Baltimore, Maryland on 26 March 1942.

Statement from Sgt John R. Lantz, right waist gunner and only survivor: "We flew just over the Dutch/German border when we hit on very heavy hostile fire. Our #3 engine was hit and lost a lot of oil, I could see it from my right waist position, it hit the right stabilizer. The engine stuttered and the Pilot decided to turn and fly back to England. Than engines 2 and 4 gave a sign of jamming and Pilot Nason decided to try start engine #3 again. Meanwhile we flew into the German clouds to avoid contact with the German fighter planes.

On the return the plane kept losing height. Some time later, Nason heard from bomb aimer Charles Fiery "we were over water".

Slowly they came under the bad weather clouds. "In the distance German fighters were looking for prey. The pilot wanted to get back up in the clouds for cover and ordered co-pilot Joe Byser to restart the feathered #3 engine. I (Lantz) saw it was covered with oil and it bursted into fire immediately. The next engine no. 4 was leaking fuel, a full burning right wing or exploding wing fuel tank was eminent. Nason gave the bail out order.

"I saw radio operator Sgt. Ralph Lab jump out feet first through the aft escape hatch in the floor, followed by Belly Turret Gunner Sgt. Paul Stonich and Right Waist Gunner Sgt. Ray Beus. I hesitated, called in on the intercom for the latest status, but no one replied. By now the plane was really falling down from the sky, with difficulty I could crawl towards the hatch and get out".

Lantz fell through the low clouds and pulled his ripcord. Under the clouds he saw other parachutes, but far off. Debris of the aircraft were smoking in the water. Hanging on his parachute he yelled for help into direction of two fishing boats (the BU -Bunschoten- 57, saw some 10 parachutes and turned to Lantz' position). On his left, a small Dutch harbor patrol police boat turned also towards the scene. On this boat were policemen Pronk and Kuit, underway from Spakenburg to Enkhuizen.

The patrol boat was seen by a German boat and Lantz was taken prison. Some months after the incident the dead body's of five crew members where found in the Zuiderzee. Their names are Nason, Anagnos, Fiery and Harrah. The other four crew members where never found.