246461 SSgt. Earl Cornell "Sonny" Fahl United States Army Air Forces 338th Bomb Squadron 96th Bomb Group from:Vermont Earl Fahl, Sonny, my fondly-remembered uncle, was born in 1924 and passed away in 1981. He lied about his age to enlist early and served as a B-17 tail gunner, arriving in England during the summer of 1943. These early days of the war were deadly for the heavy bombers. Usually without fighter escort, they were exposed to the full strength of the Luftwaffe in full daylight.
If I recall correctly, his ship was shot up once so badly of France that they had to bail out shortly after returning across the Channel. Later in 1943, on 13th of December (my mother's, his sister's birthday), he was shot down again on a mission to Kiel, Germany. Enroute to the target their plane (a B-17F SN: 42-30602, named "Dry Run IV") was damaged by flak. On the return, a Ju-88 finished the job. The crash site was near Groningen, Netherlands. Unusually, the entire crew successfully bailed out. Sonny spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Stalag Luft XVII-B.
After the war, he returned to live in St. Albans, Vermont. I'm told that he was able to meet with several of his former crew mates.
|