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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Czech city of Pilsen was site of World War II bombing raid by Rev. Bob Uzzel Lodge 6, Cottonwood
Since the death of Senator George McGovern at the age of 90 at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, hospice on October 21, 2012, much attention has been given to his long life and career, including his military service during World War II. Already a private pilot, McGovern volunteered for the Army Air Corps soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. However, there were not enough airfields or training planes to accommodate him until 1943. He married Eleanor Stegeberg on October 31 of that year and arrived in Italy shortly afterward. Italy was his base for the 35 missions he flew in the B-24 Liberator christened the Dakota Queen after his new bride. On December 20, 1944, he learned that the target for his bombing raid was the Škoda works in the Czech city of Pilsen, which was heavily defended because it was a principal manufacturer of arms for the Germans. Pilsen, or Plzeň, is a city in western Bohemia and now the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic. It is located about 90 km west of Prague at the confluence of four rivers—the Radbuza, the Mže, the Úhlava, and the Úslava—which form the Berounka River. The city is known worldwide for Pilsner beer. Following Czechoslovak independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918 the German-speaking minority in the region hoped to be united with Austria and were unhappy at being included in Czechoslovakia. Many allied themselves to the Nazi cause after 1933, in hopes that perhaps Adolf Hitler might be able to unite them with their German-speaking neighbors. During the Nazi occupation from 1939 to 1945 the Škoda Works in Pilsen was forced to provide armaments for the Wehrmacht. In January 1942, over 2,000 Jewish inhabitants, most of Pilsen's Jewish population, were deported to the Nazi extermination camps as Terezin. According to Stephen E. Ambrose’s 2001 book The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany, on December 20, 1944, an hour away from the Škoda Works,
Dakota Queen’s Number two engine (inboard on the left wing) quit. With only three engines functioning, McGovern had to struggle to keep up with the formation. He told his co-pilot Bill Rounds: “So we’re minus an engine. Let’s keep going.” They did. Heading over Pilsen and approaching the drop point, flak hit the plane, causing number three engine to begin throwing oil and smoking badly. As Dakota Queen lost altitude, the pilot ordered everything loose thrown out of the plane to lighten it up and gave any crew member who wished to bail out the opportunity to do so. None did. They made an emergency landing on Vis, a fifty-eight-square-mile mountainous island forty miles off the Dalmatian coast. With both McGovern and Rounds on the controls and the two good engines overtaxed, the plane was bought in as slow as possible without stalling. They pressed the breaks as hard as possible. They wheeled off at the very end of the runway, going pretty fast. Eventually, they bogged down in the wet clay and stopped. The crew piled out of the plane. Some of them threw themselves on the ground and kissed it. McGovern and Rounds embraced. On May 6, 1945, near the end of the war, Plzeň was liberated from Nazi Germany by the 16th Armored Division of General Patton's 3rd Army. Also participating in the liberation of the city were elements of the 97th and 2nd Infantry Divisions. Other Third Army units liberated major portions of Western Bohemia. The rest of Czechoslovakia was liberated from German control by the Soviet Red Army. Elements of Third Army, as well as units from the First Army, remained in Pilsen until late November 1945, assisting the Czechs with re-building from the war. After seizing power in 1948, the Communists undertook a systematic campaign to suppress all acknowledgement of the U.S. Army's role in liberating the city and Western Bohemia. This continued until the Velvet Revolution of 1989 when the
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Communists were removed from power. Since 1990, the city of Pilsen has organized the annual Liberation Festival, taking place in May, which has already become a local tradition. On May 13, 2009, a memorial dedicated to the Czechoslovak soldiers who fought on the western front was unveiled on Husova Street by officials from the Pilsen Regional Authority, the City of Pilsen, and Military Car Club Pilsen. Honored guests included Czech and American war veterans, officials from Czech Armed Forces, and dozens of Pilsen residents. —SPJST—
Victor Peter Memorial Scholarship to be awarded
The Victor Peter Memorial Scholarship is a $500 scholarship granted by The Czech Heritage Society of Texas to a graduating Texas high school senior. The money is given to the recipient upon proof of registration in a four-year program of studies at a college or university. The applicant must submit the following:
1. A copy of his or her high school transcript.
2. Two letters of recommendation. One should be from a high school teacher attesting to the student’s academic promise. The other should be from an adult attesting to the student’s interest in Czech culture.
3. A 200-word autobiography (Times New Roman font, 14-point, one-inch margins on a separate sheet of paper.) 4. A 100-word statement explaining what he or she plans to study in
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college or at the university, and what he or she plans to do in terms of a career. (Times New Roman font, 14point, one-inch margins on a separate sheet of paper)
5. A list briefly explaining up to 10 ways in which he or she has had contact with Czech culture. The list should be in order of importance, with the first item as the most important. Even seemingly small things may be included, such as learning how to make kolaches or visiting Czech festivals. (Times New Roman font, 14-point, one-inch margins on a separate sheet of paper. A line should be skipped between each numbered item in the list.) 6. An original, 300-word essay. Topic may be either: “A Family Member Who Represents Czech Heritage” or “A Family Member Who Contributed to the Czech Heritage in the United States.” (Times New Roman font, 14-point, one-inch margins on a separate sheet of paper.) 7. A cover sheet including the student’s name, address, phone number, and high school’s name, address and phone number.
All items must be submitted together in one envelope postmarked no later than February 28, 2013, and sent to: The Czech Heritage Society of Texas Victor Peter Memorial Scholarship Pat Parma 3311 Carolina Way Richmond, Texas 77406-9680 —SPJST—
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