Tag: WWII

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Rendezvous With The Gestapo

Hilton G. Hilliard. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Permission to use by Ann Hilliard Ussery.
Hilton G. Hilliard. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Permission to use by Ann Hilliard Ussery.

As his body plummeted towards the Normandy landscape at 250 feet per second, Sgt. Hilliard was likely praying to God that his chute would open. He had been trained to clear the plane before pulling the cord. Sgt. Hilliard saw for only an instant that several of his crew mates managed to jump out of the damaged aircraft before it began its downward spiral and broke in two. Glancing up, he figured enough time had gone by to clear the damaged bomber. He pulled the cord and felt a rush of excitement and relief when the chute opened and caught the wind to slow down his descent. Those feelings were short-lived. Now he realized that he was at risk of being shot by the Luftwaffe attack fighters such as the Messerschmitt Me-109s and the Fw-190s or killed by the German’s anti-aircraft guns’ flak which had crippled his aircraft and worst of all, he had absolutely no control over the situation.

This is the story and fate of the top turret gunner, Hilton G. Hilliard (1920−1985), and the crew on the B-17F Heavy Bomber which was shot down over France on the evening of 29 May 1943.

Did You Know?

The 1949 film Twelve O’Clock High tells the story of the aircrews of the United States Army’s Eighth Air Force. Although a fictional story (the main character portrayed by Gregory Peck, Frank Savage, is loosely based on Colonel Frank Armstrong, who commanded the 306th Bomb Group), the film was generally recognized by the former combat crews as one of the most realistic portrayals of the B-17, its crew, and the hazardous missions flown out of a fictional English airfield called Archbury. For those of you who have seen the movie, you’ll remember it starts in post-war London when former Major Stovall (Dean Jagger) finds the Robin Hood toby mug in an antique shop. He purchases the mug, sets it in the basket of his bicycle, and peddles out to a country lane. Stovall stops next to a fence, gets off his bike, and gazes out to what is clearly a dilapidated airfield and flight tower. The scene then fades out and morphs into World War II as the American B-17s are taking off for daylight bombing raids into Germany. The field he is looking at is the former RAF Chelveston airfield, base for the 305th Bomb Group and its four bomb squadrons including Sgt. Hilliard’s squadron. Today, the airfield has been developed into a renewable energy field. However, you can see traces of the old airfield when comparing the 1944 aerial photo to a current image.

Let’s Meet Hilton G. Hilliard

Hilton Hilliard was born in 1920 in South Carolina. His parents, William and Ruth Hilliard, moved their family of three boys and two girls to Dublin, Georgia where, except for his war years, Hilton spent his entire life. He was not quite six feet tall but had blonde hair and green eyes. Hilton was very handsome and could easily have been mistaken for one of Hollywood’s leading actors. In order to help support the family, Hilton dropped out of school after finishing eighth grade. A series of jobs led to his last vocation as a lathe turret operator prior to his enlistment.

Once war was declared against Germany and Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the three Hilliard boys enlisted (Edward in the Navy and Lanier in the Army). Enlisting on 10 February 1942 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, Private Hilton Hilliard was sent to U.S. Army Air Forces basic training for six weeks. The smart guys volunteered for aerial gunnery school because they knew it was the quickest way for a non-com to earn extra stripes and an increase in pay grade. After his training, Pvt. Hilliard was assigned to the Eighth Air Force and followed his unit from base to base until they were transferred to England and assigned to their permanent airfield, RAF Chelveston. See the Chelveston memorial here. Read More Rendezvous With The Gestapo

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The American Mayor of Paris

William C. Bullitt, first US ambassador to the Soviet Union 1933-1936. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). PD-US Government. Wikimedia Commons.
William C. Bullitt, first US ambassador to the Soviet Union 1933-1936. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). PD-US Government. Wikimedia Commons.

I always enjoy returning to a subject that connects us to my forthcoming book Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi Occupied Paris (1940−1944). Today, you will meet someone who was born during the latter part of the 19th-century. The men and women born just before the dawn of the 20th-century were an interesting group. They were heavily influenced by three principal world events: World War I, the Bolshevik/Russian Revolution, and the Great Depression. No one was influenced more than the first and only American who became mayor of Paris: William Christian Bullitt Jr. (1891−1967).

Did You Know?

On 14 June 1940 as the Wehrmacht marched triumphantly into Paris and turned down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, a young German officer watched in disgust. Later, Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg relayed his feelings to General Franz Halder. The 33-year-old officer told the general and others that Hitler deserved to die. He was advised to keep his feelings to himself because as long as Hitler’s military victories continued, Germans would never support a coup. Four years later on the morning of 20 July 1944, Stauffenberg tried unsuccessfully to assassinate the Führer. He and many of the other ring leaders were captured, tortured, and executed for their part in the plot. The initial planning of the operation took place years earlier in Paris at the Hôtel Continental. It is one of the stops in first volume of Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters?

William C. Bullitt

Despite being born in Philadelphia to a very rich and pedigreed family (his ancestors included Patrick Henry and Pocahontas), Bullitt grew up in Europe. He was fluent in French and German. His maternal side was German and Jewish and his mother spoke French at home. After graduating from Yale University (and dropping out of law school after his father died), Bullitt became a correspondent for the Philadelphia Public Ledger and covered World War I events in Russia, Germany, Austria, and France. After the United States entered the war, Bullitt worked for the State Department and their intelligence service where he was noticed by President Woodrow Wilson. He was picked by Wilson to attend the 1918 Paris Peace Commission but subsequently resigned in protest over the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (his testimony before Congress helped defeat the treaty).

Louise Bryant. Photo by anonymous (c. 1917). Yae University Library. PD-Expired Copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Louise Bryant. Photo by anonymous (c. 1917). Yale University Library. PD-Expired Copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

Bullitt’s second wife, Louise Bryant (1885−1936), was a journalist who wrote Six Red Months in Russia. She had been married to the radical journalist John Reed until his death in 1920. Bullitt had been good friends with Reed and in 1924, married Reed’s widow. Their marriage lasted only six years before he filed for divorce—he alleged his wife was having an affair with another woman. Bullitt gained custody of their only child, Ann (1924−2007). The story of Louise and John Reed is told in Warren Beatty’s 1981 movie Reds.

William Bullitt and his daughter, Ann. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
William Bullitt and his daughter, Ann. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Bullitt became close friends with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and when Roosevelt became president in 1933, Bullitt was named as the first ambassador to the Soviet Union (Watch William Bullitt arrive in Moscow here.) During Wilson’s administration, Bullitt had gone on a special mission to negotiate diplomatic relations between the United States and the new Bolshevik regime. Roosevelt felt that Bullitt had made a favorable impression on the Bolshevik leaders to the point where they would accept him as ambassador. Despite his initial support of the revolution and the Soviet Union, Bullitt became disenchanted with Stalin and his government (Watch Bullitt’s speech here.) He remained ambassador until 1936 when Roosevelt brought him back and assigned Bullitt to France as ambassador. Read More The American Mayor of Paris