To the brave men of the B-24D, SACK-TIME SALLY, 42-40749

Hardly anyone can be stand above the Dutch in their heartfelt remembrance of the sacrifice of their WWII liberators.  People of all ages, including school children, still lay flowers and wreathes upon the graves of American and other Allied servicemen every year in honor of their sacrifices for Dutch freedom.  Recently a Dutchman contacted me and wanted to post a story about his village’s new memorial to airmen who were killed there during WWII.  I’m happy to post this story written by Johan Kuiper in October, 2011

Anxiously all eyes of the residents of Opeinde, Netherlands were drawn to the giant aircraft circling above their heads and fighting off three German ME 109’s.   One of the German fighters was hit by  .50  caliber  ammo  from  the B-24  and went down,  but the two remaining fighters sent shells ripping through the bomb bay, setting the bomber on fire.

Within minutes the flames spread and the residents of the village counted as five men jumped out of the burning plane.   Seconds later an explosion tore the tail off the aircraft.  At that moment the B-24 stood still in the air before slowly nosing down.  SACK-TIME SALLY was no longer in the firm hands of her pilot, Lt. Roy Braly.

The engines screamed as the aircraft dove to earth.  The B-24 slammed into the meadow of farmer Kees Van der Meulen.

By the end of the day on November 26 , 1943,  four brave men were found dead under the wreck,   one man was found in the tail section and one of the men who had bailed out was found dead in a meadow miles away from the B-24.  His parachute had caught fire.  Only four men were able to land   their parachutes amongst the local villages.   Pilot Roy Braly and gunner John Filenger were captured immediately by German troops.  Bombardier Merlin Verberg was picked up by the female Dutch Resistance member Tiny Mulder, who hid him at her parents’ house.

The last man on the loose was navigator, James McGahee. His parachute had gotten stuck in a tree, and with the help of a young man he got free and ran.  By the evening he was safely in the hands of the friendly Dutch Resistance, who hid him in a church for three nights followed by three weeks on a farm.

Just before Christmas he met his friend Merlin Verberg again, but on their way to freedom, the German Gestapo arrested them and sent them to Stalag Luft 1, a prisoner of war camp where they stayed until the war was over.

As a young man I knew the story of this giant bomber, because both of my parents were residents of Opeinde.   Many years later I learned from a village researcher the name of the B- 24, SACK-TIME SALLY, and the names of her brave crew.

About three years ago, I noticed an appeal from Mrs. Rachel Hughes, who asked about her great-uncle, Sgt. George Scott, who was killed in that aircraft disaster.  I could give Rachel a lot of information, and I started to research more, too.  With help from Mr. Clint Gruber (co-pilot of the IRON-ASS), I became friends with navigator Lt. James McGahee.  He had never told anyone about his war years, but now he was ready to deal with his terrible memories of that time.

May 5, 2010 was the first time in nearly 68 years that Lt. James  McGahee was back in the Netherlands.  He was given a hero’s welcome by the residents of Opeinde, and the privilege of uncovering the monument which now honors the six USAAF and four RAF men (from a 1942 crash) who lost their lives here.

From several sources and people we learned where McGahee was hidden and who helped him.  McGahee could step into the farm and into the church where he stayed back in 1943.  His most emotional visit was to the crash-site.  The meadow has not changed, nor the family who owns it.  Even today small parts of the giant bomber can still be found in the soil.

The visit has given McGahee some peace, and he now can deal with this tragedy.  He has also met Mr. Laur Dolhain, who has adopted the grave of Edward Goodall at the cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands.  During the war the crewmembers always kept an eye on Edward, as he was the youngest.  Now Mr. Laur Dolhain is keeping an eye on “ the  Kid “ as McGahee called Edward Goodall.

From the Netherlands, by Johan Kuiper, in memory of the SACK-TIME SALLY crew.