[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 109 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING GEORGE C. WILLIAMS AND THE CREW OF THE FLYING FORTRESS

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I wish to honor George C. Williams and 
the crew of the 42-299-28 B-17 Flying Fortress that was shot down over 
Normandy, France, during WWII 75 years ago on July 4, 1943.
  George C. Williams, bombardier from Warren, Trumbull County, OH, was 
killed in action. While assisting the nose gunner, his chute 
accidentally opened inside the aircraft. Pilot Olof Ballinger offered 
up his own parachute, but George refused. It is believed that he 
attempted to fly the plane after all the crew had evacuated.
  Pilot Olof Maximilian Ballinger, of Newton Falls, Trumbull County, 
OH, evaded capture and walked alone, with no compass, over the Pyrenees 
Mountains. He reached safety in Spain in November 1943 and returned to 
the U.S. He eventually moved to California.
  Harry W. Basucher, Jr., of Cincinnati, OH, was killed in action 
inside the plane by enemy cannon fire.
  Copilot John Marshall Carrah, from Chico, CA, evaded capture and 
escaped to Switzerland and then to Spain and returned to the U.S. in 
March 1944 and continued to assist in the war effort. He was a career 
U.S. Air Force officer retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
  Byron J. Gronstall, from Van Nuys, CA, who evacuated the plane, was 
captured by a German patrol. He was a prisoner of war at Stalag 7A.
  William C. Howell, from Goldsboro, NC, who evaded capture, was 
seriously wounded.
  Francis E. Owens, of Pittsburgh, PA, evaded capture but died of 
exposure in the Pyrenees Mountains while trying to assist other crewmen 
through the dangerous passage. He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for 
bravely dragging wounded men out of harm's way.
  John K. Lane, a radio operator from Deland, FL, was captured and was 
a prisoner of war at Stalag 7A and 17B. Francis E. Owens found John K. 
Lane unconscious and dragged him the length of the plane before 
attaching a parachute and pulling the ripcord while assisting him out 
of the aircraft.
  Paul McConnell, the navigator from Montgomery, AL, evaded capture.
  Albert Wackerman, from Salinas, CA, was killed in action by enemy 
fire aboard the B-17.
  A documentary was created about these 10 brave American aviators and 
will be featured at an event in Warren, OH, on July 2, 2018, at the 
Samuel E. Lanza Veterans Resource Center.
  The son of copilot John M. Carrah, who has done extensive research, 
heard first-person accounts from his father, and assisted in filming 
the documentary, will speak after the documentary viewing. This event 
is sponsored by the Tribune Chronicle with assistance from Warren city 
councilman John Brown.
  The bravery of the crew of the 42-299-28 B-17 Flying Fortress was 
indicative of so many of their generation who risked life and limb to 
liberate Europe from an evil unlike anything our country and allies had 
ever faced.
  We can never repay them for their service and sacrifice, but this 
United States Congress and our Nation are forever grateful for their 
actions and the actions of so many others like them.

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