Name: Don Maurice Gordoni

 

Service number: 12012562

 

Born: 1918, Delaware

 

Hometown: Cook County, Illinois

 

Family: 

 

 

Rank: Technical Sergeant

 

Function: Radio operator

 

Division: 8th Air Force

 

Squadron: 337 Bomber Squadron

 

Group: 96th  Bomber Group, Heavy

 

Enlistment: 14 November 1941, Wilmington, Delaware

 

Status: MIA

 

Date of death: 28 Juli 1943

 

Place of death: North-Sea

 

Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster 

 

Grave Number: Walls of the Missing

 

Cemetery: American War Cemetery Margraten, The Netherlands

 

Other information:

 

 

 Don is believed to be killed inside the B-17.

 

AC 42-30141

B17F-90-BO. 337th Sqdn. AW-"Liberty Bell"

 

The book Snetterton Falcons has statements from several witnesses to AC 42-30141 Nicknamed "Liberty Bell" going down. According to the book it states......After liberation from prison camp, Wolford provided this testimony for squadron leader Virgil Emerson's mother: ...We were flying at 19,000 feet near  Heligoland when first attacked. For the same reason (being the lead crew) that we had Major Emerson as co-pilot, we had two navigator, Dean Howell and Dave Humke. Lt Bob Anderson, our usual co-pilot  was flying as tail gunner. German planes attacted before we were aware of their presence. Bob Anderson fired a few bursts and then we were hit. This first attack by enemy planes killed Lt Anderson and destroyed about half the plane's tail surface. Wolford goes on to explain his belief that this same burst further destroyed every gunner and gun behind the bomb bay. Fulton and Emerson dove to 7000 feet hoping to lose the Germans : but Luftwaffe fighters hung on tenaciously." Never have I seen such piloting as Major Emerson and Captain Fulton did with that crippled bomber. "  Wolford wrote. "But it soon became apparent that we must abandon ship."unable to drop life rafts, the men had to jump with faith in their Mae Wests. Two navigators joined Wolford in parachuting from the nose hatch. While still descending, Wolford could see the two navigators parachuting below him and he saw three men, two of whom he believed to be Emerson and Fulton, leave the plane before it struck water. That was the last he saw of any of the crew.  Wolford was in the water for over 8 hours before being rescued by a German Air-sea plane. 

  

Another account from Frank Cardamen witnessed the incident from Tarfu's ball turret. "...Major Emerson was on our left wing when the Germans hit us. Emerson leaned out the co-pilot's window and saluted just before the plane went into a dive" 

  

Waist gunner Al Neff watched the Liberty Bell's struggle from his window position in Lt Jim Sanders' Rum Boogie. Neff's best friend, Don Gordoni, was aboard the stricken Fort. Neff remembers Liberty Bell, having fallen out of the lead, was on our left and a little behind so I had a terrifying view of the whole scene....The right engine was on fire and those who bailed out pulled their rip cords too fast.... most chutes burned as they opened.

 

Al Neff also said that Don Gordoni had a wonderfull voice, and used to sing everybode a sleep in the hut. 

Before the war Don used to play the voice of Jack Armstrong (All American boy), during the early days of the radio-show.

When his voice started to change he lost the job but developed a beautifull singing voice.

(I'm trying to find a fragment of this radio-show so we can hear Don's voice. Any info is welcome).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of Al Neff, who was Don's best friend. By clicking his picture you can see the website that his daughter Vicki has made. There is also some info about Don Gordoni on page 11 of the website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MODEL    SERIAL #    A/C NAME    GROUP    SQUADRON    MACR REPORT #

B-17F    42-30141    LIBERTY BELLE    96BG    337BS    140

Notes:

42-30141    Delivered: Cheyenne 16/4/43; Smoky Hill 25/4/43; Walla Walla 30/4/43; Smoky Hill 10/5/43; Dow Fd 28/5/43; Assigned: 337BS/96BG [AW-B] Andrews Fd 1/6/43; Snetterton 12/6/43; MIA Oschersleben 28/7/43 Pilot: Capt Milton Fulton, Co-Pilot: Maj Virgil Emerson, Navigator: Don Humke, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Lloyd Hume, Radio Operator: Don Gordoni, Ball Turret Gunner: Rhae Postlewait, Waist Gunner: Chas McDermott, Waist Gunner: George Guest, Tail Gunner: Lt Bob Anderson, obs/nav-Lt Dean Howell {339BS} (10KIA); Bombardier: Larry Woolford (POW-picked up by Germany. an seaplane eight hours later); Enemy aircraft, crashed North Sea, six bodies washed up weeks later; MACR 140. LIBERTY BELLE.

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)

 

VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 78 : The aviation industry in Germany is targetted but bad weather hampers the raids. The targets are :

 

1. 182 B-17's are dispatched against the Fieseler Works at Kassel, Germany ; 

58 hit the target at 1027-1054 hours; they claim 27-15-22 Luftwaffe aircraft ; 

7 B-17's are lost, 4 are damaged beyond repair and 54 damaged ; 

casualties are 15 WIA and 71 MIA.

 

2. 120 B-17's are dispatched to the Fw 190 plant at Oschersleben, Germany ; 

37 hit the target; they claim 56-19-41 Luftwaffe aircraft ; 

15 B-17's are lost , 1 is damaged beyond repair and 64 damaged ; 

casualties are 11 WIA and 134 MIA.

 

This is the deepest US bomber penetration into Germany to date. 

The raid achieves good results however, 22 B-17's are lost as fighters score first effective results with rockets. 

 

105 P-47's, equipped with jettison-able belly tanks for the first time on a mission, escort the B-17's into Germany ; 

other P-47's, going more than 30 miles (48 km) deeper into Germany than they have penetrated before, meet the returning bombers.

They surprise about 60 German fighters and destroy 9 of them ; 

1 P-47 is lost.

 

 

Plane information:     

 

            Serial number: 42-30141        

            Type: B-17F

            Nickname: Liberty Belle

            Destination: Oschersleben

            Mission: Operational

            MACR: 140    (I have this MACR, so feel free to contact me when you want to read it)