Sgt Louis J. Capawana Plaque
Details:
Mounted on a wall. (Exact location unknown.)
A rectangular plaque with a single line border containing an inscription written in French. The plaque tells the fate of Sgt Capawana when he landed in Villeneuve-les-Avignon during World War II.
On August 8, 1944, the "Mediums" of the 340th Bomber Group of the 12th AF bombed the railway and road bridges of Avignon (84), they were met by an intense Flak. The B-25-J serial 43-4013 "8F" was hit by two 88 mm shells, and was cut in two (MACR 7331). The pilot James C. Burrhus, his navigator Alvin H. Yellon and tail gunner James D. Reynolds were killed. The remaining three crew members manage to jump: Radioman J. F. Wheeler was taken prisoner when he hit the ground, while the bombardier R. S. Hirsh and L. J. Capawana, whose parachute was left hanging from a chimney in the Chartreuse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (30), were rescued by the population and taken into account by the Vigan-Braquet maquis. They returned to Solenzara on August 15. Fifty years later, Robert Silve, Brice Peired, and Jean Robin attended the reception of Hirsh by the former members of the Vigan-Braquet in the forest of Rochefort and then at the town hall of Rochefort du Gard (30).
Source of information and photo: www.aerosteles.net
Monument Text:
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Le 8 Août 1944 à 9 heures du matin, l'aviateur américain Louis CAPAWANA, dont l'avion venait d'être abattu, est tombé dans cette cour. Son parachute étant resté accroché à la cheminée, il fut incapable de se dégager. Malgré une considérable présence allemande, VILLENEUVE étant le P.C. de la XlXème Armée, le gardien de la CHARTREUSE, Georges PUEL, aidé de plusieurs jeunes gens, réussit à le dégager et à le cacher chez Madame VASSE dans une des maisons du cloître du cimetière. L'Organisation de Résistance de l'Armée, qui avait un Maquis dans la région, parvint à le sortir de la CHARTREUSE et, huit jours plus tard, à lui faire regagner la CORSE où se trouvait son unité.
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English translation:
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On August 8, 1944, at 9 o'clock in the morning, the American airman Louis CAPAWANA, whose plane had just been shot down, fell in this yard. His parachute remained attached to the chimney and he was unable to free himself. Despite a considerable German presence, VILLENEUVE being the headquarters of the XlXth Army, the janitor of the CHARTREUSE, Georges PUEL, helped by several young men, managed to free him and hide him at Madame VASSE's in one of the houses of the cemetery cloister. The Army Resistance Organization, which had a Maquis in the region, managed to get him out of the CHARTREUSE and, eight days later, to get him back to Corsica where his unit was. |
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
488th Bomber Squadron, 340th Bomber Group, Medium
US Army Air Corps
Wars:
WWII