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15th Jul 2021

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Jensen, Vernon

Posted on 14 September, 2021 by in ,

 

Vernon Jensen born 1923.  This information is from memory and notes that I took while we were doing a DVD interview of your service during WW II.

 

Vernon enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 10 December 1942.  He was a radio operator- machinegunner on a B-17 with the 15th airforce flying out of Foggia Italy.  On his second mission flying over Udini Italy to bomb a air strip he was shot down by a German 88 mm artillary shell.  He was picked up by Yugoslavian partizans (commumists).  They received from the US government about 1,000 dollars in money or military hardware for each flyer that they helped back to the American lines.  They guided him about 500 miles through German territory in the mountains to I believe Spain to fly back to England.   This information now is from memorie.  I think Vernon said that he was not allowed to go back to his outfit in Italy the 463rd bomb group because if he got shot down again the Germans may find out that he had been shot down before and made it back to American lines so they might torture him to find out what he knew about the partisans that helped him.  I believe that he said he went to the Pacific after that.

 

Vernon told me that he met Josep Broz Tito communist partisan leader during the war and President/ Prime Minister/Dictator of Yugoslavia two times during the war.  Vernon told me of a book about WW II that he liked which was  “500 forgotten men”  Vernon bought 7 DVDs of his interview for his family and they liked them very much.

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