A named Air Medal awarded to Lt. George M. Rogers of the 524th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bomb Group. Lt. Rogers served as the bombardier of the B-17G “Nightjar N Nam.” On June 27, 1944, during a mission over the marshalling yards at Hazebrook, France, the aircraft was struck by flak, igniting a fire in the No. 4 starboard engine. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out near Contay from an altitude of 26,000 feet. At that time, the Contay area was under German occupation. Fortunately, the crew was rescued by the French Resistance, who concealed them and gradually moved them toward Allied forces. It took Lt. Rogers three months to reach safety. Interestingly, General A.W. Vanaman was along as an observer, Vanaman and four other airmen jumped, landing in the French countryside between Contay and Puisieux on the Somme. The rest of the crew stayed in the plane and returned safely to England once the fire went out. The four airmen were able to evade capture, but Vanaman, who had been injured in the jump, was immediately captured by the Germans. He became one of the highest-ranked American POWs of the Second World War. Despite his fear that he’d be interrogated and give up the classified information he’d been entrusted with, the Germans never questioned him. During his captivity at night he covered his mouth with a bandage in case he talked in his sleep.
I was able to find the evasion and escape files of Rogers and the copilot Lt. Graham L. Sweet which give an eyewitness account of the incident and the experience with the French Resistance.
