On to Corsica

So we're finally heading to Europe on vacation later this summer. I fear that we have few family vacations left with Dan, now that he is in college, so we're doing it this year while he can still join us.

My goal for the trip has always been to visit the spot where Dad's B-24 went down in Corsica, and to decorate the graves of his fellow crewmembers who failed to survive the landing (most of them).

I had reached a dead end in my search. While there is a wealth of information on the Internet on B-24s and their fates, as well as Missing Air Crew Reports with details of plane wrecks, Dad's plane is on neither. Some mad Googling led me to a Facebook of a student of World War II on Corsica, so I sent him a message on the odd chance that he might be able to help me out. The results were beyond anything I could have hoped for:

Joe, as you do in America call me Dominique ,
now about the B-24 in which your Father crashed, Here are the results of my inquiry.
It is thanks to my friend Frank Allegrini that i found out the story of this B-24 assigned to the 458th BG 829th BS.

A few years ago, Frank (Archeologist) warned by some Corsican eyewitnesses and informed by a former American newspaper obituary column went to the beach and found some wreck parts of the plane. He had also been in contact with Judi Korkuc Gniewosz who is the Daughter of David Korkuc who had saved some crew members. But i don't know the names.

As you certainly know, we didn't find any MACR telling the B-24 "42-78127" Tyer's Flyer loss and that's why we do not have the confirmation of the position crash.
We are sure at 99% that she was Lt Vaessen B-24, i also wrote to the French Gendarmerie Archives but there too there is no report.

So we think that the crash site was on the beach of Argentella, Crovani bay nearby the town of Galeria on the west coast of Corsica. (Google Earth)

In reading the obituary newspaper, i saw that Lt Vaessen was from Dixon lee Illinois, so with nerve i wrote to several Dixon Lee admnistrations, city Hall, companies, firms and miraculously one company named IT replied, a Certain Mr McBride told me that he was in contact with a relative of Lt Vaessen and bingo i got a photo of Lt Vaessen given by his nephew Greg Cavanaugh who was a Marines in Vietnam.

About Lt Richard Duer, there too i wrote to the Mayor of Marinette Wisconsin and again bingo i got a photo.

Here is the list of the crew members who were in the plane, in red the KIA in black the survided ones.

• Vaessen H William 1st Lt 0-536855 829th BS 485th BG Pilot KIA

• Sipes R William 2nd Lt 0-705827 829th 485th BG Copilot KIA NC

• Wittenbrink E George S/Sgt 36446168 829th BS 485th BG Radio Opr KIA NC

• Duer N Richard 2nd Lt 0-703456 829th BS 485th BG Bombardier KIA

• Witham L Harris Sgt 35753847 829th BS 485th BG Nose Gunner KIA NC

• McGregor W Jack Sgt 35613832 829th BS 485th BG Ball gunner KIA NC

• Curtis W Carl S/Sgt 15195606 829th BS 485th BG Engineer NC

• Falerics M Wayne 2nd Lt 0-712782 829th BS 485th BG Navigator NC

• Korkuc David S/Sgt 32769227 829th BS 485th BG Tail Gunner vivant

• Kristan J John Sgt 36650977 829th BS 485th BG Top Gunner NC


NC means No contact with the families.

Now you must know that on the beach there is no more evidence of the crash, just the beach, if you dive you'll have a chance to see some wreck parts. (not very deep)
In a camping site you'll see these propellers, and with Frank you'll have a chance to find out a very small piece of metal.

In July 1944 All the men who died had been buried in the American cemetery of Bastia Corsica, but in April 1945 when the USAAC left Corsica for Italy all the WWII American remains have been transferred from the cemetery of Bastia to the American Cemeteries of Nettuno Rome and Firenze Italy.

There are no more American graves in Corsica.

Dominique sent this pictures of the beach at Argentella:



Google Earth leads me to believe that the beach is on the spot marked "B" on Google Maps, about a two-hour drive from Ajaccio, where we plan to stay on our visit.



Google Earth gives this picture of what I think is the same beach:



This spot has the water on both sides of the beach, with that little pond, so it looks right.

It's amazing to think that the propellers at the top of the post, from the photo sent by Dominique, are likely from Dad's plane.

Sadly, I am unable to find any of Dad's lost crew members listed as being buried in any of the American cemeteries in Europe, so I may be unable to visit their graves. Dad always credited the pilots with saving his life. I can't thank them for him, but it would be nice to decorate the graves. Maybe something will turn up.

I was home this weekend, and we found this old photo of Dad in uniform, which I had never seen. We sent a scan of it to Dominique.



I hope to be able to see Dominique or his friend Frank while we are there. What an incredible stroke of luck to find probably the only person in the world who had the information I needed. It was very nice of him to respond.