TWO AIRMEN FROM SOUTHESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Sergeant Adam Berasley of Minersville and Sgt. Claude M. Custer, Pottstown gave first aid to the seriously wounded pilot of the their Eighth Air force B-17 Flying Fortress “The Chariot”, in a display of crew teamwork that kept the flak battered bomber in formation and brought it safely back to base from a bombing attack on an industrial target at Munster, Germany. The Co-pilot and top turret gunner handled the crippled controls when heavy anti aircraft fire coming up after the bomb run knocked out one engine and disabled another, and put the pilot out of action. “We all knew we were in a rotten spot,” commented Sergeant Berasley, “We had one engine shot out and another almost gone, but the whole crew was determined we should keep in formation. We knew that the enemy fighters could do to our crippled Fortress flying back alone. Sgt. Custer and I helped get our pilot out of the flight deck, where he could be given effective first aid.”

The wonderful thing about it all was that everybody on the crew was doing his part perfectly,” Added Sgt. Custer. “We saw two B-17’s nearby go down from flak and two rockets whiz dangerously close to our tail, but we stuck right with our group.” After a safe landing at base in spite of a flak-blown out tire, the entire crew received a commendation from the squadron commander and the group operations officer. The airmen fly with a unit of the Third bombardment Division, cited by the President for the first AAF shuttle flight from England to Africa. Both Sgt. Custer the Forts waist gunner and Berasley, the radio operator and gunner, have received an award of the Air Medal for “meritorious achievement” in aerial combat. Sgt. Berasley entered the Army Air forces in February 1943.

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