July 12-14, 2022 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/13/2022
Fantastic fresh to the market World War II 303rd Bomb Group POW Air Medal and Purple Heart medal grouping. The medals belonged to Roland J. Bender (also spelled "Rollin" and other variations in the records). Bender enlisted in the Army Air Corps on August 13, 1942 and his misadventures began during training when he was injured in a B-17 crash during a combat training mission in which 4 other fliers were killed. The crash was recorded in several newspapers in Florida, where he was training at the Avon Park Army Air Field, as well as his home state of Wisconsin. Throughout the training records, Bender is listed as a radioman, gunner, and ball turret gunner. After he graduated training Bender traveled overseas to England with the 358th Bomb Squadron of the 303rd Bomb Group. The 303rd Bomb Group needs no introduction, as the group distinguished themselves in combat and earned the name "Hell's Angels". Bender was assigned to the crew of Lt. Chet H. Jameson and began flying missions in 1944. On November 26, 1944 Bender and the rest of the men in Jameson's crew would have their wings clipped by the Luftwaffe. On that day, railway, transport and oil industry installations in the cities of Altenbeken, Bielefeld, Misburg, Hamm, Osnabruck, Hanover, Gutersloh, and Herford were selected as targets for more than 1000 B-17 and B-24 bombers. Bender's B-17, tail number 42-97972, was assigned Altenbeken as their primary target and he is listed as the ball turret gunner. His plane was attacked and severely damaged by 2 Luftwaffe fighters on the approach to Altenbeken. After a fire broke out between engines number 3 and 4 in the right wing, the pilot gave the order to bail out. The entire crew was able to exit the aircraft in time and deploy their parachutes. The B-17 exploded in the air with the full bomb load a short time later and debris fell to the ground in the Kalldorf district of the municipality of Kalletal, on a field between the federal highway 514 and the Kukenbrink. Bender and the other crew members were taken prisoner in the surrounding communities. He would spend the rest of the war in Stalags 4, 5, and 7A. This was their 7th mission assigned to B-17 42-97972. Ironically, the personnel of the 358th Bomb Squadron were photographed in front of B-17 42-97972 on November 21, 1944, just 5 days before the aircraft was destroyed. The grouping includes Bender's unengraved and unnumbered Purple Heart Medal, complete with lapel pin, ribbon bar, and contained in its original coffin case. His Air Medal is also unengraved and is accompanied by a ribbon bar and a pair of aircrew wings marked "A.E. CO. UTICA N.Y." and "Sterling" on the reverse contained in the Air Medal case. The medals are accompanied by their original onionskin orders as well as a file of paperwork which was compiled by our researcher and includes scans of newspaper clippings, a crew photo enlistment records, and scans of the 18 page MACR. This is a great grouping from one of the most well known Bomb Groups of the 8th Air Force. CONDITION: Medals present well, wings have broken clasp, and there are scuffs on the cases. Onionskin orders are fragile and have been folded in the case since the war. Overall very good. PROVENANCE: Roger Bender Collection. JLD
Item Dimensions: 6 - 1/2" x 3 - 1/2" x 3"
Paperwork
File of Research