Michael Darter's Blog – June 2015 Archive (2)

On a windy and foggy winter’s day, 17-year-old Dutchman Cornelius Ellen was standing on the Texel dike when the wind blew Eugene’s parachute over the Texel Island shore. When my brother splashed down, Cor reported that he was pulled further and further out into the Wadden Sea by a fierce wind that lifted his still connected parachute up like a half-moon out into the sea until he was “Gone With the Wind.”  What happened after that is still a big mystery.  There are several possibilities. -…

The situation was desperate onboard the severely damaged and badly smoking B17F Lonesome Polecat II as it headed out over the Wadden Sea towards England – losing altitude fast. The Polecat had fought a fierce aerial combat battle over Germany and was saved at the last moment when the American P51 escorts found them and drove off the enemy aircraft. Pilot Fred Delbern had ordered a bailout but only the three upfront crewmen had bailed out over Germany; the five crewmen in the rear of the…