Donald S. Downie, Jr. entered the service in Mississippi. He served in the 571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomber Group, as a Sergeant during World War II. On June 29, 1944, Sgt Downie was on a mission aboard B-17 #42-97830 as a Ball Turret Gunner. After bombs away, the #2 engine was lost over the target due to flak. A break in an oil line caused the loss of the #3 engine later. #1 engine was lost, just before reaching the Dutch coast 12 miles north of Amsterdam. The plane ditched near 5230N, 0415E. At that point, all the crew members were unharmed except for minor bruises. The airplane remained afloat for approximately 10 minutes.

Before ditching the pilot had managed to contact Saffron Walden, a British rescue station, and informed them he was about to ditch. Additional signals were obtained from the bomber's fighter escort, who informed Saffron Walden that eight of the crew were in two dinghies, about 20 miles west of Alkmaar. A high-speed launch was immediately despatched. HSL 2551, a rescue boat, arrived three hours later.

It had unhesitatingly taken a course into a German minefield and it was so close to the Dutch coast that the crew could see German soldiers patrolling the harbor walls of IJmuiden. None the less they managed to haul the men aboard, as well as the body of Lt Mayall.

The American fighter escort was forced to head back to base, as they were running low on fuel. Their replacements had not yet arrived when a Ju 88 which had been watching the operation swooped down on HSL 2551, shattering the craft and setting it ablaze. One other crew member, 2Lt Mayall was killed and two others wounded, while four of the HSL were killed also.

s Fortunately, they had managed to send a distress signal, which was picked up by two other HSLs. They rescued all the survivors. But unfortunately, Sgt Downie’s remains were never recovered. His name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov