POLES PAY HOMAGE TO U.S. FLIERS WHOSE PLANE CRASHED IN WWII

JACKSON -- The people of Poznan, Poland, are preparing to dedicate a memorial to nine Americans, five of whom died after their B-17 bomber was hit by gunfire and crashed in Poland during a World War II bombing raid.

An airman from Jackson, flight officer Odus Charles Litzelfelner Jr., 27, was among the dead. He was the co-pilot when the plane went down Feb. 9, 1945.

To Jack Litzelfelner, a younger brother of "O.C.," or "Odie," as he was called, the dedication June 30 will end a 46-year-old mystery.

"It has bugged me all of these years as to why O.C. stayed with the plane instead of jumping with the rest of the crew," said Litzelfelner.

One of the four survivors, the navigator, Harry H. Schulz of Affton, shed light on the mystery during a recent meeting with Litzelfelner.

Schulz, who was among those who parachuted from the plane, said Litzelfelner had taken over controls of the bomber from the pilot. The pilot was injured when the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and lurched up and cut the tail off another bomber on the 1,000-plane mission aimed at Leipzig, Germany.

Said Schulz: "It looked like the plane was going to try to land, but it went into the ground nose first and instantly burst into flames. Everyone was killed.

Schulz said heavy ice and structural damage caused the crash. He said Litzelfelner could have jumped but he stayed with the plane in an effort to bring it down safely with the injured pilot and three other crewmen, including one whose parachute had opened inside the aircraft.

Schulz said six hours after the planes departed the English Midlands, weather conditions at Leipzig caused confusion over whether to bomb a primary or secondary target and the flight formation broke up.

"There were planes everywhere: above us, below us, in front of us and behind us," recalled Schulz. "We got hit by flak and it threw us into the prop wash of another plane. We cut the tail off the plane and it went down in a tight spin. I doubt if anyone on board survived."

Schulz said that after the collision their B-17 lost two of its four engines. He said the pilot realized that with only two engines he could not fight a strong headwind back to the RAF's Molesworth air base, from which they had departed. So, Schulz said, he was ordered to plot a course from Leipzig to Russian-held territory in Poland.

The crippled bomber made it two miles inside Russian lines. Hoping they were over Russian-held territory, Schulz said the order to jump was given.

Schulz, the bomb-release operator and the flight engineer all parachuted. The waist gunner had jumped after the collision over Germany and was taken prisoner. Schulz and the two others jumped over Poland, where they were taken into custody by apprehensive Russian soldiers and were allowed to return to England after the Russians determined they were Americans.

Schulz said he waited and watched for parachutes of the others aboard; instead, the B-17 made a 180-degree turn and approached the ground low as though Litzelfelner were trying to land the troubled craft.

Four days later, on Feb. 13, 1945, Russian soldiers and officers joined hundreds of Poles who lived on the farms and in the villages near the crash site to watch as five simple, wooden coffins were placed on a horse-drawn wagon for a funeral procession. A Catholic priest conducted funeral services for the airmen, who were buried in Poland.

Schulz said: "We buried five good men that day, and I pray their lives were not given in vain; for that was the war to end all wars," said Schulz.

After the war, the airmen's remains were returned to their families. Litzelfelner's remains were returned four years later and a military graveside service was held at Memorial Park. For his action, Litzelfelner was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

His brother said the Poles cared for the graves and placed flowers on them regularly. He said they wanted to do more but the communist Polish government frowned on any kind of a memorial to dead Americans or Englishmen.

With freedom sweeping Poland in recent years, that attitude changed, and plans were made to erect the memorial. The monument is an obelisk made of stone with a small cross made of the remains of the B-17. On the monument are carved the names of those who died.

Litzelfelner said he's not surprised that 46 years later the Poles still think enough of the American fliers that they want to dedicate the memorial.

"Except for the Civil War, we have never fought a war on our own soil," he said. "Most of us today have never known the horrors of war; of death and destruction, like the people of Poland, England and the rest of Europe. They remember those things and the people who died for their freedom."

Litzelfelner said many Americans have forgotten the meaning of Memorial Day. "We tend to forget the sacrifices that were made during World War II and the families and soldiers of that generation," he said. "Soon they will no longer be with us."

Litzelfelner said he wants to attend the dedication.

"Schulz told me he is going to pay his own way to Poland to attend the dedication, " he said. "But I think the U.S. government and the military ought to arrange transportation for families and survivors of these airmen and representatives from the federal and state government."