Hello all, Some of you will be familiar with the following project from Facebook. Along with my friend Geert Van den Boagert I'm part of a small non-profit association here in Normandy called "Sur les Traces de Bud Owens" (In the Footsteps of Bud Owens). Owens was a waist gunner in B-17F 42-29928 when it was shot down over Normandy on the 4th of July 1943. Three of the crew of ten died in the crash, two others were quickly captured and the remaining five successfully evaded and made their way via various routes, with the help of many brave locals, towards the Spanish border. All of them made it except Owens, who died of exposure in the Pyrenees in October 1943. His body wasn't recovered until 1950 and he now rests in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. Our association is raising funds to sponsor a commemorative hike/voyage from la Coulonche (where the 'plane came down), to Paris, then Toulouse, Andorra (where Owens died) before continuing to Barcelona and then back to Belgium for a small ceremony at Owens' grave site. The methods of transport will be as close as possible to those used by the evaders in 1943- some walking, some motor transport, some trains. The toughest part will be a three day hike in the Pyrenees. The plan is to take a party of six, including young people of the same age group as the Eighth Air Force airmen, two from France and two from the USA. The voyage will be filmed with a view to making a full-length documentary. As for the purpose of the trip, it is mainly a means of raising awareness and appreciation of the some of the hardships suffered by those who fought against Nazism. As that generation leaves us, we are hoping that this will provide a tangible experience that the participants can then share, either directly or through the documentary, with others. Funds are needed to pay for transport and accommodation, a guide in the Pyrenees, filming and editing the documentary. So if you could share this with as many friends as possible, that would be great We have a blog here and for those who use Facebook our page is here. Any questions regarding the project, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks in advance, Sean
Hi Sean, A great project – well done on bringing it forward to its present status. I often watch the film ‘Memphis Belle’ from the comfort and safety of my living room armchair and am always amazed that those guys just kept on going, raid after raid, for several years prior to the Normandy Invasion – and that was the USAAF – RAF Bomber Command had been taking severe losses on raids for an even longer period of time. Adequate fighter protection only came on stream late in the day, after many brave crews had been lost from both air forces. What was the target of the raid on which the aircraft was lost? On behalf of the Administration Team here, I wish you every success in this endeavour which well deserves the support of Forum readers. Regards, Pat
Thanks Pat. Le Mans, there was an engine factory there (in Arnage), the Gnome-Rhone plant which had been taken over to produce engines for BMW, specifically for Focke-Wulf aircraft apparently. 42-29928 was attacked before they reached their target and thus crashed with a full bomb-load. Cheers, Sean
Thanks Sean, You probably have it already, but I found the Pilot's E&E Report on the NARA Site here. He was 1st Lt. Olof M. Ballinger of Newton Falls, Ohio. It makes for some pretty harrowing reading. The group seems to have split up on the trip over the Pyrenees, which was probably a contributing factor to 'Bud' Owens dying of exposure. Regards, Pat
Thanks Pat, Yes we have it but it doesn't hurt putting a link so others can see it Thanks for that. There are some interesting details within but handwriting isn't always the best... Ballinger's story is incredible. He was left behind in a shelter, he decided after a time to go it alone (thereby missing the bad weather which cost others their lives), continued across the Pyrenees alone with no compass! He died in an automobile accident in 1955. We're actually quite lucky in that along with Ballinger's account, we have a tremendous amount of work already done by Warren Carah, the son of the co-pilot, along with a book by André Rougeyron, himself a resistant, <ho gave a lot of details about the men's time in Normandy. Thanks for your support and interest. Cheers, Sean
Great project. Only thing I would suggest is changing the facebook page. Add a 'sticky' to the top of the page to include more information on who he was and what happened. It takes too much looking and clicking to figure out what this is all about. It just doesn't 'POP' It's a remarkable and tragic story but I feel the page does not really do this justice. Which is unfortunately rather typical for FB any way... people don't read, you need to get their attention first.
Hello there, Small update.... hope it's OK puting this here. We currrently have an auction running on ebay for a signed print of B-17s from 381st Bomb Group. Link here for further details. The print (below) was kindly donated by Aces High studios and whoever wins will also receive (later, of course) a signed photo of the documentary team in Andorra. If you, or anyone you know, is into aviation prints please have a look and pass this on to as many folks as you can. Only four days left..... Thanks in advance. Sean http://budowens.blogspot.fr/
Nice print Sean, Wish I could afford to up the bid for you, but the starting price is a bit beyond me just now :s Best of luck with the auction. Regards, Pat
Yep, for me too. I quite like the print but the more we raise from it the better. All the goodwill is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sean
Hello there, We've now set up a Go Fund Me page so if anyone wants to contribute, please do. Any amount large or small will help. Please share this with anyone you think may be interested. Thanks in advance, Sean http://budowens.blogspot.fr/
Thank you. I spent a very interesting two and a half hours at Ridgewell yesterday. I'll update the blog and FB page in due course. Cheers, Sean
Hello there, Things are prgressing quite well but I thought I'd draw attention to another way we're trying to raise funds, this time with the help of our friend Nigel. This may be of interest to some here. Many, if not most, folks on here will be familiar with Paul Woodadge's book about Angoville au Plain. For anyone interested, the artist who painted the cover illustration, Nigel Stewart, has nine copies left of the limited edition print run for €120,- each; These are high resolution giclée on 50x40cm Ilford gloss print paper. They're shipped unframed in a card tube. If interested, please contact Nigel at nigel.normandy@gmail.com. Using the password "Bud", 30% of each sale will go to the In the Footsteps of Bud Owens project. Nigel also does commision work such as portraits of relatives. Here's an example: Again, please contact Nigel directly if interested. Thanks, Sean