The Last Mission of the Wham Bam Boys: Courage, Tragedy, and Justice in World War II

by Gregory A. Freeman

Before the famed Nuremberg Tribunal, there was Rüsselsheim, a small German town, where ordinary civilians were tried in the first War Crimes Trial of World War II.As the tide of World War II turned, a hitherto unknown incident set a precedent for how we would bring wartime crimes to In August 1944, the 9- man crew of an American bomber was forced to bail out over Germany. As their captors marched them into Rüsselsheim, a small town recently bombed to smithereens by Allies, they were attacked by an angry mob of civilians -- farmers, shopkeepers, railroad workers, women, and children. With a local Nazi chief at the helm, they assaulted the young Americans with stones, bricks, and wooden clubs. They beat them viciously and left them for dead at the nearby cemetery.It could have been another forgotten tragedy of the war. But when the lynching was briefly mentioned in a London paper a few months later, it caught the eye of two Army majors, Luke Rogers and Leon Jaworski. Their investigation uncovered the real human cost of the the parents and a newlywed wife who agonized over the fate of the men, and the devastating effect of modern warfare on civilian populations. Rogers and Jaworski put the city of Rüsselsheim on trial, insisting on the rule of law even amidst the horrors of war.Drawing from trial records, government archives, interviews with family members, and personal letters, highly-acclaimed military historian Gregory A. Freeman brings to life for the first time the dramatic story. Taking the reader to the scene of the crime and into the homes of the crew, he exposes the stark realities of war to show how ordinary citizens could be drawn to commit horrific acts of wartime atrocities, and the far-reaching effects on generations.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Aviation

256 pages, ebook

First published May 24, 2011

Reviews

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very different read about the bombing campaign over Europe during World War 2. One usually reads of the missions and high death rate from combat, and the ones lucky enough to survive being shot down spending the war as a prisoner, but this book shows a very dark side to the bombing campaign.

The 9 men flying the Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma'am were on their first combat mission, with the exception of the bombardier/navigator who volunteered to take the place of two crew members absent that day and whom none of the other men knew. After successfully dropping their bombs on target, they had the bad luck of being hit by flak and had to bail out after they realized they would not make it back to friendly lines. After being rounded up by locals, they went to a Luftwaffe base where one man was taken to hospital and was spared the fate that awaited the other 8 men.

While being on their way to an interrogation camp, they had to leave the train carrying them when they reached the town of Rüsselsheim, that suffered heavy bomb damage from an RAF raid the previous night. There they were mistaken for Canadians and thought to have taken part in the raid the night before, and in an instant the locals went into a frenzy and for the next 2 hours, beat these young men in the most vicious and brutal way (this part is hard to read), until they thought they were all dead, but miraculously, two members of the crew survived to escape and spent the rest of the war as POW's, too afraid to tell what happened to them for fear of being executed.

When the war's end seemed near, the Allies started sending teams out to investigated accusations of war crimes. The Rüsselsheim Massacre became the first case to be prosecuted and was to set the standard for the remaining crimes by it's fairness of the victorious Allies. The part of the case was interesting reading, where 5 of the 11 defendants were executed for their part in it, with one man being later also hung for his part. As with mob violence, there could have been many more guilty persons. Ironically, the two surviving crew members learned about the trial in the newspapers back in the USA, and were not part of the trial.

This is an overall good book and an important read. The book is well researched and written, however, the author put in a large part in one chapter about the US Army's executioner during World War 2, Sgt, John Woods. He goes into great background detail about this man, yet many of the details are untrue about Woods' life before joining the US Army and how he came to have the job as the official Army executioner.

This book is just another reminder, that in war, there really is no winners.

[David Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly well-researched and well-told story that is not easy to read because it delves deep into the horrors that non-combatants can inflict in frustration, anger and fear on defenseless POWs. In 1944, German civilians had started to feel the full force of the Allies air supremacy and most German cities had suffered greatly. Greg Freeman explores a brief period in one such city when a mob of citizens had the opportunity to vent their fury on 8 defenseless prisoners who were being marched through the city.

In a little more than two hours, six defenseless fliers would be dead, and an entire city would be marked for a crime that would result in the first war crimes trial of the Second World War. Freeman does an outstanding job of bringing both the horrors of that evening, and the following trial a year later, into clear focus.

Great case study of mob violence and the notions of innocence and guilt.

[James Mayo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is exactly twice as long as it should be. Large sections of the early half of the book basically relate well-known facts or ideas about the air war over Europe as well as basic information about the war in general. And then there are the parts the author just fills in. Hint: watch out for italics.

The author makes no attempt to tell story objectively, referring to the executions as stringing them up (hanging). In the preachy, moralizing introduction to the book, the author dismisses the moral debate concerning the civilian casualties of the bombings. The fact is, strategic bombing was nowhere near as precise as we were told. Thousands of non-combatants were killed. But in his mind, if they lived in a town where there was a factory, then they probably worked there and deserved to die.

Were this fliers wrongfully treated? Absolutely. But to use the author’s logic, if it’s okay for civilians to die, wouldn’t it be okay for civilians to kill the fliers? And to answer the juvenile question he posed at the end, yes, Americans would’ve have done the same thing if they had been bombed repeatedly. We’re all animals.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is an account of the nine-man crew of a B-24 shot down over Germany on their very first combat mission in 1944. After being captured, the men were being transported to a Luftwaffe POW camp when their train journey was interrupted by bomb damage. The crew were forced to disembark from the train and walk through the town of Russelsheim, Germany which had been recently bombed. As they marched through the town they were assaulted by local townspeople in retaliation for the recent bombing and all, but two men were killed.

The book also chronicles the efforts of two American Army officers who investigated the incident, leading to a war crimes trial after the war. It was the first war-crimes trial of WWII and, interestingly the prosecution was conducted by Leon Jaworski, who later in life, was the Watergate Special Prosecutor. It also explores the human cost of war, examining the experiences of the crew's families and the impact of modern warfare on civilian populations. Drawing on trial records, government archives, family interviews, and personal letters, Freeman reconstructs this tragic event and its aftermath, bringing to light a lesser-known episode of WWII. I thought I would be subjected to a lot of legal judiciary proceedings that would have made for dry reading, but Freeman gives a layman's view and the technicalities of the prosecution of these people made for interesting reading. It was incredible to read about the horrific actions taken by a mob of civilians, and to delve into some of the reasons why they acted the way they did. War truly is hell, and this author did a phenomenal job of presenting this story in its fullness.

[Anthony Bracciante · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the Little known story of an American Bomber crew in World War II that were taken prisoner after being shot down on their first mission and subsequently while being marched under guard to a POW camp had 6 of their members beaten to death and 2 others left for dead by the citizens of a German city that had been attacked the night before by British bombers. The principal actors and events of the mob action that led to the Americans deaths are identified and very well detailed. The eventual investigation, trial and punishment is documented; and the book discusses the implications that mob violence continues to show to our present day. This is a thought provoking book that raises many questions about the moral implications of war, mob actions and the quest for justice.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

By chance, through some ordinary activities, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet and spend some time with the daughter and grandson of one of the survivors of this harrowing story - tail gunner Brown. One day we began talking about WWII and they shared their father's/grandfather's story. I was so intrigued by their telling of his story, I grabbed this book to learn more details. I felt Freeman did a good job researching and filling in many details for me. Having met the wonderful Brown family members, this story was a little more personal for me. A very interesting read.

[Sonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good accounting about the murder of members of an Allied bomber crew in Germany during WW II. I had heard of the firestorms that raged in some German cities after a bombing. I had always assumed that the fires were an unintended consequence of the bombings. But according to this story, the firestorms were intentionally created. Interesting! Proves the old adage about assuming.....

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

WW11 true story, not pretty but real.

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Military historical journalism at its finest. I've read several of Freeman's books where he finds an untold story and delivers a fascinating tale.

[Don Paske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good account of how probably good people can be excited to become cold-blooded killers.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts telling the story and background of the men who flew the Wham Bam bomber on a fateful mission. You feel some connection to the characters as they suffer and some of them are killed after they were captured. The main focus on the book is what happened and the trial that became the first war crimes trial after world war II.

The book explains the story and the issues well. It is one of those stories that slipped from history a bit and I'm glad to see that the story has been preserved with the writing of this book.

The book talks briefly in describing itself as having some examples to compare to modern issues about civilian violence against foreign military members. While there is a little talk of this towards the end of the book the focus remains on what happened and barely scratches the surface on modern application. I appreciated the author raising some questions about modern application but not trying to beat anyone over the head with his opinion of how this history and the lessons we may take from it apply to us today.

An enjoyable read overall after doing some reading on the Nuremberg trials. This book will keep your attention and is fairly brief.

[Bonnie Carruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to write a review of this book and then decided to quote from the introduction because it explains the thesis of the book very well and connects the past with the present.
".....also opened a new chapter in the debate over the rules of war and what can reasonably be expected of a civilian populace battered by incessant attacks from their enemy.The question raised by this debate still resonates today; only the locales and technology of war has changed."
The debate remains do the ends justify the means. And is vengeance the right of every victim.

[Jimbethhoward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interested in reading about Jaworski of Watergate fame's WWII role. High emphasis on his and other's Christian faith. Would guess Freeman is a believer.

[Dave Scrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story of the fate of the Wham Boys.