A
German Pilot Escapes to the 363rd Airfield
Luxemburg,
Oct. 29, 1944
 |
| Jack on the tail of a Heinkel 111 bomber |
Dearest
Alice,
It
has been a beautiful day here. The sun has been out all day & consequently
we have been pretty busy. I didn’t even have a chance to go to church. We had
lots of excitement here today. I took a lot of pictures. I sure hope they come
out good as some of them were really important shots. Well all the excitement
was about a German who flew a plane in and cracked it up on our field. Boy it
liked to have scared us silly when he first came over as we thought it was a
strafe job & here we were out in the open. Nobody still knows why he came
over but there are lots of rumors going around. I got about 3 feet away from
the pilot & got a good picture of him.[1]
 |
| “Everyone poured out onto the field to see it.” |
 |
| “I got about 3 feet away from the pilot.” |
The Squadron
history explains the motives of this young German:
At about eleven o’clock in the morning
a JU-188 was sighted approaching the field. It came in very low over the runway
and was gaped at by all, and received no response from the anti-aircraft guns.
Then, after turning to make an approach to the field for a landing, the guns
opened up as he was coming in and put a few holes in the fuselage and damaged
the plane so that it had to make a crash landing! Everyone poured out onto the
field to see it, and the pilot got out unhurt and with apparently friendly
intentions. Upon investigation it was revealed that he was of Jewish descent,
at which time he was discharged from the German Army and went to work as a
civilian at an aircraft plant. A few days previous to his landing here, he had
heard via the grapevine that he was to be sent to a concentration camp, so at
the first oppurtonity [sic] he
climbed into the plane, which was a brand new one, just off the production line
at the factory at Leipzig, took off for Allied territory, and made good his
escape by landing at Luxembourg.[2]
As they moved
through France, American troops took German prisoners of war. When there were
too many to be housed in England or France, they were sent by returning troop
ships to the U.S.[3] In addition to Jack’s photo of the pilot, squadron photos
include two other Germans, one a youthful pilot, who must have passed through
their base en route to prisoner of war camps.
 |
| A young Nazi pilot |
 |
| On the right a “Kraut P[O]W” |
Next
Move, Belgium
Jack never
tired of telling this story about his buddy Winkler.
We
were on the move. After several bases in France, we went into Luxembourg and
into Beauvechain, Belgium. The night of the move to Belgium the food was rather
sparse, so Wink had confiscated a gallon can of what was supposed to be fruit
cocktail. We were sitting around the third floor of an old chateau waiting for
Wink to open the can. When he finally got it opened it turned out to be diced
carrots. So out the window went the can and the contents.[4]
 |
| Château de Meldert/Kasteel van Meldert Photo courtesy of Bruno, Belgische Burchten en Kastele [Belgian Citadels and Castles][5] |
The squadron
history explains about the castle.
Although the castle in which we were
living made a very impressive mark on the landscape and on the minds of all,
[it] afforded quite comfortable quarters for those on the first three floors,
which included the officers and the first three grades of enlisted men
[including the crew chiefs]. The attic, where the rest of the men lived was not
very livable, being cold, damp, and in rainy weather—wet! As a result, it was
decided best for the squadron as a whole to live in tents again.[6]
A first
impression of Belgium
Somewhere
in Belgium, Oct 31, 1944
Dearest
Alice,
Well
here we are in Belgium now. Boy we sure do get around don’t we! I guess now you
know why I have been so busy the last couple of days. Wink & I are trying
to write these letters by flashlite & it’s quite a job. In my opinion this
country can’t compare with Luxemburg. It doesn’t seem to be nearly as modern
& clean. I sure enjoyed it up there. I am going to enclose some souvenir
money. This is Limey money. I have some other I will send later. The large note
is what is called £ or a pound note worth about $4.00. The small one is 10' or
10 schillings worth about $2.00.[7]
Belgium,
Nov. 4, 1944
Dearest
Alice,
Here
it is Saturday night & not very much doing here. We are in our tent
listening to the loud speaker. There is some pretty music on now. You asked
about the field jacket in one of the pictures. That is what we call a “battle
jacket.” They are Limey jackets & were issued to us in England when we
turned our blouses in. I like mine pretty well & just wear it for good. Of
course it sure doesn’t get much wear Ha.[8]
 |
| Jack saved this jacket all his life. Perhaps it's the field jacket he mentions. |
Jack's encounters with local people were limited. As
the weather worsened that was about to change.
[1] Jack J. Kellar
(Luxembourg), letter to “Dearest Alice” [Alice (Streeter) Kellar] (Santa Rosa,
California), 29 October 1944.
[2] 380th
Fighter–160th Tac. Rcn. Squadron History, February 1943–August 1945 ([unknown place]: [unknown publisher], printed by A.
Roßbach, Eschwege, Germany, [1945]), 63.
[3] “German
Prisoners of war in the United States,” Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_United_States
: accessed 1 July 2018), World War II > Background.
[4] Jack J.
Kellar, “Autobiography,” 1998; two ninety-minute cassette tape recordings; held
and partially transcribed by the author.
[5] “Kasteel van
Meldert,” Belgische Burchten en Kastelen
[Belgian Citadels and Castles] (http://www.burchten-kastelen.be/ :
accessed 3 July 2018) > Prov. V laams-Brabant > Kasteel van Meldert >
photograph.
[6] 380th Fighter–160th
Tac. Rcn. Squadron History, 68.
[7] Jack J. Kellar
(Belgium), letter to “Dearest Alice,” 31 October 1944.
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