Friendly fire WWII

[dumontn]

Originally Posted by BABIN

Hello Brian,

Regarding the fate of the crew of this Boston (which was part of the "Lorraine" French Sqdn) :

- S/C Louis RICARDOU (gunner) : killed in the crash
- S/C Hubert CORNEMENT (navigator) : badly wounded in the crash ; lying on the ground, close to the wreck, he was murdered by the SS (probably SS from the 12nd Hitlerjungend) on the morning of 5th of August
- Adj. François DUMONT (W/O) : only groggy in the crash, but slightly wounded on 5th of August ... by the straffing of a Mosquito on the wreck ; he could join the American lines on 17th of August.
- S/C Pierre PIERRE (pilot) : seriously wounded in the crash, he could join the American lines on 15th of August.

I extracted this info from the French magazine "ICARE" n° 176.

Au revoir

Pierre

This crew included my late father Francois Joseph Dumont (1918-1997) who was a rear gunner in 342 Lorraine Squadron .

He married and settled in the UK, had nine children and became a French Diplomat. He received the Légion d'Honneur from President De Gaulle at London Heathrow during the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

I would like to hear from anyone who knew him or has stories from 342 or similar groups.

Regards