April 12, 1944
Richard's B-24 was attacked by a lone fighter while returning from a bomb run over Belgium on his 20th combat mission.
On April 12, 1944, Richard's 20th combat mission, his B-24 was attacked by a lone German fighter while returning from a bomb run over Belgium. The fighter's attack was devastating, and the crew was forced to bail out.
When the plane was hit, Richard bailed out. He was assisted in an escape attempt by Belgian civilians who risked their own lives to help downed Allied airmen. Despite their efforts, he was soon captured by German forces.
"As he was hanging under his parachute, the thought that came to his mind was: 'Today is my brother Ingwer's birthday.'"
After capture, Richard was transported through the German POW system. On June 19, 1944, he arrived at Stalag Luft IV in Gross Tychow, Poland (now Tychowo, in present-day Poland). He would remain there until February 7, 1945, when the camp was evacuated ahead of the advancing Soviet forces.
Stalag Luft IV was a German prisoner of war camp for Allied airmen, located near Gross Tychow in Pomerania (now Poland). It held primarily American and British Air Force NCOs. The camp was evacuated in February 1945, and prisoners were forced on a brutal winter march westward, known as "The Black March."
Richard spent nearly a year as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft IV. His letters home, carefully written on censored postcards, reveal the daily reality of life in a German POW camp.
Continue: As a POW