James Vernon Goss was born on 18 September 1921 in Georgia. He was the son of Leonard Washington Goss and Gertrude Ford. Both his parents were born in Georgia. James had a sister, Frances. Leonard was an insurance agent.

Jim enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces as a Private on 16 July 1942 at Atlanta, Georgia. He had completed four years of high school. His service number was 14094062 then became 0-712557. After completing his basic training he was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 100th Bomb Group, Heavy-418th Bomb Squadron, Thorpe Abbotts, England.

The Atlanta Constitution

Atlanta, Georgia · Sunday, March 05, 1944

Graduated from Selman Army Air Field, Monroe, Louisiana, and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. James V. Goss, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Goss, of Rome.

On 10 November 1944 1st Lieutenant James V. Gross was the Navigator on the crew aboard a B-17G #42-106986 Flying Fortress "Sack Artist". The ship left from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, England with a target of Weisbaden, Germany. The plane was damaged by flak over the target - called for fighter escort and heading to the nearest airfield in France. The crew were forced to bail out in the vicinity of Trier, Germany at 13:30. There was one casualty - Lt. Goss was killed by a flak fragment.

MACR: 99934

Was re-interred in the US Military Cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg.

Additional 100th Service Notes

Status: KIA

MACR: 10356

CR: 10356

Comments: 10 NOV 44 WEISBADEN (HIT IN HEAD BY FLAK)

Comments and Notes

Memo 1:

CREW

A/C #42-106986 MACR #10356, MICRO - FICHE # 3816

1ST LT JOHN F. LUNDQUIST P POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM, TAPS: 27 JUN 1987

1ST LT WILLIS C. DICKERMAN CP POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

1ST LT JAMES V. GOSS NAV KIA 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

1ST LT DONALD G. MESTON BOM POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

CPL JOHN S. WILLIAMSON, JR ROG POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

CPL IRVING WELLS TTE POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM TAPS: 05 APR 1978

CPL JACK W. MOORE BTG POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM TAPS: 13 MAR 1979

CPL JAMES L. RAYNOR WG POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

CPL PAUL J. AMON NG NOC

CPL IVAN F. HUNTER TG POW 10 NOV 44 WIESBADEN & INGELHEIM

418th Sqdn. This crew joined the 100th on 17 Jul 1944 and were on their 34th mission on 10 Nov 44.

PARTIAL MISSION LIST OF LT LUNDQUIEST CREW

DATE: LAST_NAME: FIRST_NAME: RANK: POSITION: TARGET: CREW_NBR: MISSION # PLANE_NBR:

7/28/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MERSEBURG 90 168 6092

7/29/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MERSEBURG 90 169 6092

7/31/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MUNICH (AERO ENGINES) 90 170 6092

8/2/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P TERGNIER/LaFERE 90 171 97230

8/3/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P TROYES (RAIL YARD) 90 172 6092

8/4/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P HAMBURG (OIL) 90 173 6092

8/5/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MAGDEBURG 90 174 6092

8/11/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P VILLACOUBLAY 90 178 6092

8/13/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P NANTES - GASSICOURT 90 179 38175

8/14/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P LUDWIGSHAVEN (OIL) 90 180 6092

8/15/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P VENLO 90 181 6092

8/18/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P PACY sur ARMANCON 90 182 6092

8/24/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P RUHLAND (OIL) 90 183 6092

8/25/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P POLITZ (OIL) 90 184 6092

8/27/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P BERLIN (RECALL) 90 186 31895

9/1/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MAINZ (RECALL) 90 188 46092

9/5/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P STUTTGART (AERO ENGS) 90 190 46092

9/18/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P WARSAW 90 197 106986

9/19/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P SZOLNOK (FROM RUSSIA) 90 198 106986

9/25/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P LUDWIGSHAVEN 02 199 106986

9/27/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P MAINZ 90 201 106986

9/30/1944 LUNDQUIST J.F. LT P BIELEFELD 90 203 106986

Mission Log For Ivan F. Hunter

(Last 12 missions courtesy of Mr. Ivan F. Hunter in 1994....pw)

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 7/28/44 MERSEBURG

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 7/29/44 MERSEBURG

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 7/31/44 MUNICH (AERO ENGINES)

HUNTER I.F. 97230 S/SGT TG 8/2/44 TORGNIER/LaFERE

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/3/44 TROYLES (RAIL YARD)

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/4/44 HAMBURG (OIL)

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/5/44 MAGDEBURG

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/11/44 VILLACOUBLAY

HUNTER I.F. 38175 S/SGT TG 8/13/44 NANTES - GASSICOURT

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/14/44 LUDWIGHSAVEN (OIL)

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/15/44 VENLO

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/18/44 PACY sur ARMANCON

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/24/44 RUHLAND (OIL)

HUNTER I.F. 6092 S/SGT TG 8/25/44 POLITZ (OIL)

HUNTER I.F. 31895 S/SGT TG 8/27/44 BERLIN (RECALL)

HUNTER I.F. 46092 S/SGT TG 9/1/44 MAINZ (RECALL)

HUNTER I.F. 46092 S/SGT TG 9/5/44 STUTTGART (AERO ENGS)

HUNTER I.F. 6986 S/SGT TG 9/18/44 WARSAW

HUNTER I.F. 6986 S/SGT TG 9/19/44 SZOLNOL (FROM RUSSIA)

HUNTER I.F. 6986 S/SGT TG 9/25/44 LUDWIGSHAVEN

HUNTER I.F. 6986 S/SGT TG 9/27/44 MAINZ

HUNTER I.F. 6986 S/SGT TG 9/30/44 BIELDFELD

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/6/44 BERLIN (SPANDAU)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/7/44 HAMLIN MARSHALING YARDS (target of opportunity)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/9/44 MAINZ

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/12/44 BREMEN

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/15/44 COLOGNE (MARSHALING YARDS)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/17/44 COLOGNE (MARSHALING YARDS)

HUNTER I.F S/SGT TG 10/18/44 KASSEL

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/26/44 HANOVER

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 10/30/44 MERSEBURG (OIL)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 11/6/44 NEUMUNSTER (MARSHALING YARDS & AC)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 11/9/44 SAARBRUCKEN (MARSHALING YARDS - SEC TARGET)

HUNTER I.F. S/SGT TG 11/10/44 WIESBADEN & MAINZ

EYEWITNESS: "A/C #986 was damaged by flak over the target at 1239 hours. #1 and #3 engines were windmilling.

At 1242 hours pilot called for fighter escort and asked for a heading to nearest friendly airfield. Aircraft left the formation at 1243 hours at 5009N and 0810E and headed back alone."

Several crew members reported Lt. James V. Goss was killed by a shard of flak which pentrated his steel helment. All crew members with the exception of Lt Goss successfully bailed out and were taken prisoner.

Mission No. 33

November 10, 1944

Copyright 2000 by Clark Dickerman

I have been asked to write an article about my experiences in World War II, as a member of the 100th Bomb Group. I have read several excellent articles by our members of their experiences including details of how missions were set up and run, so to avoid repeating this I will skip to the point where our plane was hit by several simultaneous bursts of flak.

I was expected to be a relatively light mission and it seemed as so it really was going to be. However after turning on the IP and heading toward the target , our leader aborted and we were ordered to fill in the spot vacated by the alternate lead. No sooner had we moved into place when we were hit by several bursts of flack. Numbers 1, 3 and 4 engines were hit at one time and we were unable to feather any of the props. The vibration was severe and it was hard to read any of the instruments, we told the crew to throw out anything they could to lighten the plane, increased the manifold pressure on No. 2, and headed west towards occupied France. Our navigator, James Goss, was killed by the same bursts that knocked out the engines, so we didn’t know the shortest heading to take, but knew that France was west. Our altitude was about 30,000, so we headed west and were only loosing about 300 to 400 feet per minute and felt that we had a fighting chance of making France. We had flown about fifteen or twenty minutes when No. 2 caught fire and the order to bail out was given.

It was my first (and last) parachute jump, but after the chute opened it was rather nice and peaceful. The view was great with no scary feeling of height. As I floated down, I could see a small town at the base of a hill that was covered with woods. I landed in a clearing at the top of the hill and at the edge of the woods – gathering my chute up I hid it under some branches and leaves and headed into the woods. It wasn’t long before I could hear people yelling and shouting, so I picked out a good clump of bushes, away from a path, and got under them. We had been told that if possible don’t be taken by civilians or SS Troops, so I stayed in my bush until dark and headed out in a westerly direction. I continued for three days, first traveling by night and then by night and day with small rest breaks. The time of year was November, it was cold with occasional snow flurries, misty and not the kind of weather for an electric heated flying suit without electricity. During my third day, I was crossing an open field, when two German soldiers came around a bend in the road and saw me. They called me over and asked if I was an American. I thought it was pretty obvious from my flight suit, but said "Ja wohl". I told them I hadn’t eaten for three days and they each gave me a sandwich from their packs. They were like our GIs and not SS, in fact after supper, seeing my condition, one of them gave me his air mattress and he slept on the floor.

During the following days I was transferred from one outpost to another, ending up in a fairly large city in a civilian prison, in a cell all to myself for about a week. During that time I had made friends with a German civilian prisoner and we played chess to pass the time. Finally some Luftwaffe people picked me up and took me to the interrogation center. I was only there a few days as I was the last of our crew and they didn’t seem too interested except to ask "With such a fine German name, what are you fighting against the father land for?"

My next stop was at the Red Cross center where we were issued a complete set of GI clothing, including hat and overcoat. I would be remiss if at this point I did not give credit to the Red Cross. Not that the clothing we received wasn’t great, but the Red Cross food parcels that were furnished us to fill out the German rations kept us reasonably healthy. The German civilians were short of food and the Red Cross trucks from Switzerland were often waylaid yet they kept coming.

After the Red Cross center we were put on a troop train and sent to Stalag Luft III, at Sagan. This was an older original Luftwaffe camp for Airmen. It seems the Luftwaffe got the best of everything, and the camp showed it. There was a library with English books, a theatre for the prisoners to put on plays, athletic field and equipment. It was still a prison camp, and the one that the movie "The Great Escape" was based on. On arrival in the camp and after entrance to our section we were walked between rows of prisoners to see if any of them recognized us. Those not recognized were interviewed in an attempt to be sure we were really prisoners. The camp was divided into four separate compounds, which originally were separated by Nationality, but as the camp became filled this was not done and I ended in the British Compound. I believe there were about 10,000 prisoners in the camp. The camp was run by the "X" organization, which kept the secret radio, received and approved escape plans, and held meetings in each barracks to inform us of the latest news from BBC, and other items. Life at Sagan was not too bad, the main problem was food. The German rations were very meager, as I am sure so were the rations to the German populace. German rations consisted of thin soup, a few potatoes and an occasional rutabaga. If it were not for the Red Cross parcels to supplement the German food, we would all have been in bad shape. A parcel weighed 10 pounds and contained butter or oleo, coffee, canned meat, biscuits, jam, chocolate, powdered whole milk in each box. We were all given notebooks and pencils by the Red Cross, and we kept lists of recommended restaurants, recipes, anything to do with food. Food above all else was the main topic of conversation in the camp.

In early January, about midnight, we were told to break up camp. The Russians were on the move and the Germans were moving us west. The camp at Sagan was about ½ way between Berlin and Breslau. The barracks were divided in rooms of about 10 men to a room, and each room knocked down the beds, bed slats etc. and made crude sleds or toboggans on which to put bedding and to make a pass by the Red Cross warehouse to pick up extra Red Cross parcels. Ropes were made from sheets to pull the sled. Fortunately there was plenty of snow for the sleds. The march was a forced march with short breaks for two or three days until we were loaded in small freight cars and finally we ended up at Nurnberg.

The camp at Nurnberg was empty and anything but plush. The barracks contained bunk beds, three high – but the problem was that there were no bed slats. We used the sled ropes and tore up more sheets for rope and made slings to put our blankets on. The idea worked and held, but I was still glad I was not on the bottom bunk! Toilet facilities were bad, there were only two water spigots for the whole group, and the main food was a thin maggot infested soup. After a month or two at this resort, Gen. Patton’s Armored Divisions were making a push in our direction and we were on the march again.

The second march was much different from the first one. The weather was early Spring, there was no forced marching-everything was relaxed. Our guards were old Wehrmacht soldiers who realized the war was all but over, our commanding officers ordered us to stay together and not try to escape as we would only screw up the war effort. The pace was slow, sometimes we would spend a day or two at some place to allow troop movements to go by. Although we did not have food with us, we had all kinds of cigarettes from the Red Cross packages and we would trade for food with the civilians. Cooking was done singularly, or in groups of various sizes. My friend and I were a cooking team and I can remember one time when we were camped for several days near a town to allow a troop movement, that the food trading became more difficult as the natives were traded out. So my buddy and I took a hike away from camp, stopping at farmhouses to trade. As we were walking along the road, one of our German guards came by on a bike and he waved to us and we waved back! At one farm the farmer was fixing a bike and we helped him and then he took us in and gave us a nice meal. Overall it was a pleasant time. The weather was mild, we ate well (I even remember fresh eggs), but eventually it was over and we arrived at Moosberg, several miles east of Munich.

Moosberg was the final destination for many of the prison camps located throughout Germany. The first ones to arrive were housed in barracks, but they soon filled up, and by the time we arrived there was a large and growing tent city. Our crew was finally together with the exception of one of the gunners, but we had reports that he had made it OK and was probably in another camp. We were only there a few weeks when Patton’s 13th Armored arrived late in April and had a skirmish with some German SS troops. But the fighting was soon over, and from the camp we could look down on a small town and see the American Flag raised from the tallest building. It was the most spine tingling experience that I have had, and to this day, the sight of our flag being raised brings back this memory. General Patton himself came into camp with his troops. He was all spit and polish and gave a speech to all the prisoners.

We were flown out on C-47’s, put on ships at Camp Lucky Strike and entered New York harbor, past the statue of liberty with fire boats spraying water and whistles blowing. It was quite a homecoming!

--

WILLIAMSON, Mr. John Samuel Jr., 92, of Midlothian, Va., died on June 20, 2013. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., the son of the late John S. Williamson Sr. and Marie Zipfel Williamson. John, called "Jack," lived with his wife of 64 years, Phoebe, in Chester, Va., where they were dedicated members of Chester Baptist Church. After faithfully and lovingly caring for his wife through a terminal illness, Jack later moved to Midlothian, Va., where he became a beloved member of Winfree Memorial Baptist Church. A World War II Army Air Corps veteran, Jack served as a Radio Operator in the 100th Bomb Group, known as The Bloody One Hundredth, and survived seven months as a German Prisoner of War. After being liberated by Allied Forces, he returned home to the United States, fulfilling his promise to God to cherish every day as a gift. Jack would often say that "Every day is a good day. Some days are just better than others." Looking back over his life, Jack never regretted a single moment or decision, believing that his experiences, even his time as a POW, shaped the person he became and the life he enjoyed to the fullest. He always ended his conversations by telling us, "I love you, and I'm so very proud of you." His cheerful spirit, his loving generosity and his constant faithfulness remain an inspiration to his family and everyone who had the honor to know him. He was preceded in death by his wife, Phoebe Taliaferro Williamson; and his daughter-in-law, Gail Zion Williamson. He is survived by his son, John S. Williamson III and his wife, Linda; daughter, Cathy MacQuarrie and her husband, Chuck; granddaughters, Jennifer Williamson and Kristin MacQuarrie; grandsons, John Williamson and his wife, Brenden, Ryland MacQuarrie, and Eric Williamson and his wife, Becky; great-granddaughters, Avery Williamson, Eleanor Williamson and Ali Williamson; great-grandsons, Owen Williamson, Connor Williamson and Jack Williamson. The family will receive friends at the Chester Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home on Sunday, June 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. Funeral services will be held Monday, June 24, at Winfree Memorial Baptist Church at 1 p.m., with interment following at Sunset Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Winfree Memorial Baptist Church, 13617 Midlothian Tnpk., Midlothian, Va. 23113, or Chester Baptist Church, 4317 School St., Chester, Va. 23831. Condolences may be registered online at www.jtmorriss.com. -

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My father, Paul J. Amon, was a waist gunner in this crew when it arrived in the 100th in June/July 1944. Dad was removed to the spare gunner pool upon arrival in the 100th when the crew was reduced to 9 crewmen.

Paul J. Amon, Jr. amonpj@aol.com

Birth Date: January 5, 1915

Death Date: April 26, 2009

Place of Death: Tompkins Memorial Health Center, Ft. Dodge.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 1, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Callender, with Rev. Kent Wallace officiating.

Burial will be at the Callender Cemetery, with Military Graveside Rites conducted by the American Legion Post #431 of Gowrie.

Visitation will be after 4:00 p.m. Thursday at the Palmer Funeral Home, Gowrie.

---

Ivan Francis Hunter was born in Roland Twp., Webster Co., Iowa.He graduated from Gowrie High School, with the Class of 1933. Ivan served in the United States Army Air Corps, during World War II. He was a Tail Gunner on B-17's and also a POW. Following his honorable discharge, Ivan returned to the Gowrie area, where he continued farming. On Feb. 12, 1947, he was united in marriage to Deloris Murrine Piltingsrud at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Callender. Ivan also worked at the soil conservation service as a soil tech in 1959, and retiredfrom that in 1975. Ivan continued farming until 1985. His wife passed away in 1994, and Ivan moved into Gowrie in 1995. Ivan was a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church for over 66 years, American Legion Post #431, V.F.W., Military Order of the Purple Heart, American Ex-POW org., D.A.V. Ivan was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clisters, Good Conduct Medal, American Capaign Medal, 4 Bronxe Stars, WWII Victory Medal, and Prisoner of War Medal. His Bonb group was cited the Presidential Citation Badge.

I am sadly reporting the death of Ivan F. Hunter. He was a tail gunner in the 418th squadron of the 100th BG. He passed away on April 26, 2009. I received a remembrance card from one of his relatives. I had the the great pleasure of meeting Ivan Hunter about 2003 when he visited with us on one of his driving trips. SSG Hunter was on Lt. John Lundquist crew which was on its 33rd mission when the plane was hit by flak. Ivan bailed out and was a POW for the rest of the war.

Memo 2:

Lt Goss killed by shard of FLAK penetrating his helmet.

Calhoun Times-15 March 19450-Lt. James V. Goss Killed in Action

James V. Goss, First Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, was killed by flak while on a bombing mission over Germany, his parens, Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Goss, of 301 Kingston Avenue, Rome, learned recently in a letter from one of his crew mates, who is interned in Germany.

The information came from First Lt. Willis C. Dickerman, co-pilot of the B-17 Flying Fortress on which Lt. Goss was serving as navigator. The letter was written from a German prison camp to Dickerman's mother in Buffalo, N. Y., and was forwarded to Mrs. Goss.

Lt. Dickerman explained that their plane was shot down over Germany , and that he and all the crew except young Goss parachuted to safety and were interned. "James Goss was killed instantly by flak, he never knew what hit him, and we could do nothing for him, " Lt. Dickerman said in his letter.

Mr. and Mrs. Goss were notified by the War Department in November that their son had been missing since 10 November, but had no further information until last week.

Enlisting in the Army Air Corps in July, 1942, the Rome navigator began his training in February, 1943, and had been overseas since June of last year. He had almost completed his assigned number of mission at the time of his death. His parents had a letter written two days before the fatal trip in which he said that he had completed 32 of his 35 missions, and they assume that the one on which he was killed was either his 34th or 35th. (NOTE: It was his 34th.)

For his service in aerial combat, Lt. Goss had been awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters for "meritorious achievement," and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded his outfit.

Lt Goss was the grandson of Rev. and Mrs. A. M. Goss, of Calhoun, Route 3.

1Lt James V. Goss was awarded the following commendations: ★ Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters ★ Purple Heart ★ World War II Victory Medal ★ American Campaign Medal ★ Army Presidential Unit Citation ★ Army Good Conduct Medal ★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign

Lt Goss is buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg.

A grateful nation honors his service and keeps his memory alive.

This story was created by researching numerous records. These included census records, World War II Army Enlistment Record, Findagrave.com, Newspapers.com articles, Honorstates.org, ancestry.com, The American Air Museum archive, 8th Air Force, 100th Bomb Group, 418th Bomb Squad records, etc.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories?

LT James Vernon Goss