Brown, Sydney Eugene, Sgt

Deceased
 
 Service Photo   Service Details
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Last Rank
Sergeant
Last Primary AFSC/MOS
AAF MOS 611-Aerial Gunner
Last AFSC Group
Air Crew (Enlisted)
Primary Unit
1944-1945, Status - POW/MIA
Service Years
1943 - 1945
USAAFEnlisted srcset=
Sergeant

 Last Photo   Personal Details 

228 kb


Home State
Florida
Florida
Year of Birth
1924
 
This Military Service Page was created/owned by SSgt Robert Bruce McClelland, Jr. to remember Brown, Sydney Eugene, Sgt.

If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
 
Contact Info
Home Town
Gainesville, Florida
Last Address
Windsor, Florida
Date of Passing
Apr 10, 2009
 
Location of Interment
Windsor Methodist Cemetery - Windsor, Florida

 Official Badges 




 Unofficial Badges 




 Military Associations and Other Affiliations
Air Force Memorial (AFM)Military Order of the Purple Heart
  2016, Air Force Memorial (AFM) - Assoc. Page
  2016, Military Order of the Purple Heart - Assoc. Page


 Additional Information
Last Known Activity:

On Aug 24, 1944, B-24 "Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma'am" of the 854th Bomb Sq., 491st Bomb Gp. was shot down over Germany on their 1st combat mission. All 9 crew members parachuted safely to the ground even though 1 had been wounded in the stomach and another injured his ankle upon landing. They were soon captured, beaten somewhat, interrogated, and locked up in Greven near where they had landed. The wounded man was sent to a hospital and the other 8 were put on a train to take them to the Dulag interrogation center. They had to stop in Rüsselsheim because the tracks ahead had been damaged by allied bombing. On the morning of Aug 26, while being marched through Rüsselsheim to catch a train on the other side of town, they were viciously attacked and brutally beaten by a mob of townfolk who were furious that their city had been severely bombed by the RAF during the night. One local Nazi leader even shot some of them. They were assumed to be dead and were put in a cart and taken to the cemetery for burial. One German was giving them the coup de grace with a 2-by-4 when he was interrupted by an air raid alarm, which allowed 2 of the crew to survive and escape. However, they were recaptured several days later and sent to a POW camp and survived the war.
After the war, 13 Germans w
ere tried for these murders. All but 1 were found guilty and 9 were sentenced to hang, 3 to prison terms. However, the 2 sisters who were the main instigators of the attack had their death sentences commuted and served 8 years in prison. One condemned man was released on a technicality. The lead prosecutor in the case was Leon Jaworski, who later gained fame as the special prosecutor in the Watergate case.
Sydney Brown w
as 1 of the 2 crewmen who survived the incident.
He was the tail gunner on his crew.

   
Other Comments:

Sources:
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&tf=F&q=34792548&bc=sl&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=5172763
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=466&mtch=1&cat=WR26&tf=F&q=34792548&bc=,sl,sd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=48570
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=36041496
Book: "The Last Mission of the Wham Bam Boys, by Gregory A. Freeman, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rüsselsheim_massacre
http://b-29s-over-korea.com/Russelsheim/Russelsheim01.html
 
 

   

 2016, Military Order of the Purple Heart
 
Title
Not Specified

Join Year
2016
   
Crest
Association Type
Military National

Website
http://www.purpleheart.org/
Contact Phone Number
(888) 668 - 1656

Contact Email
MEMBERSHIP@PURPLEHEART.ORG
Year Established
1932

Owner
Not Specified
HQ Address
MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART
5413-A,B & C BACKLICK RD
SPRINGFIELD, VA 22151-3960

To Join the MOPH Contact Email
MEMBERSHIP@PURPLEHEART.ORG

All other MOPH inquires
Contact: communications@purpleheart.org


Last Updated: Jun 25, 2021
   
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