July 15th - Part 1 - Burial in Adžine Livade

On July 15th there was another large attack on Ploesti, with more than 600 B-17 and B-24 bombers. On this mission, ten aircraft crashed in Yugoslavia. Two were B-17s from the 483rd Bomb Group.

Plane No. 42-102429 crashed near Kragujevac, in the village Adžine Livade. The entire crew perished. 

Victor Vlahovich Michael Bellonio Edward Gusciora Arthur Ryan Charles Navarro Leolass Stewart Bernard Fletcher Robert Watkins Stephen Barton Alfred VanDeren Jr.

In a photo from the burial, we can see villagers, with a sign from the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland (Chetniks). The names of the airmen are written on the crosses.

The crew of the second aircraft, No. 42-97653 was more fortunate. Over the target, two of its engines and fuel lines were damaged. The Flying Fortress continued to fly until it ran out of fuel. The crew bailed out near Jagodina.

William Killpatrick Leo Brooks Richard White Jr. William Harrell Robert Wilson Laurence Norton Lenard Brothers Norman Brooks Jr. Russell Burney Roy Bowers

Pilot Killpatrick and copilot Brooks exited the aircraft last and were immediately found by Chetniks. They remained in hiding for a few days before going to Pranjane from where they were evacuated on August 10th.

The remaining airmen took refuge with a different Chetnik brigade. They spent 10 days in the village of Mišević, where they recovered from wounds. They started a slow journey to Pranjani, where they arrived four days after the major evacuation on August 10th. After waiting for 12 days, they were evacuated on August 27th, the second evacuation flights of the Halyard mission.