World War II Honoree

Harry D. Everhart

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Martinsburg, West Virginia

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: STAFF SERGEANT. HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ARMY AIR CORPS JULY 10, 1943 AT CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA. SERVED AS A B-17 ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ BOMBER TAIL GUNNER ASSIGNED TO THE 350TH BOMB SQUADRON, 100TH ‘BLOODY HUNDREDTH’ BOMB GROUP, U.S. 8TH AIR FORCE ‘MIGHTY EIGHTH’. HIS UNIT WAS BASED AT THE THORPE ABBOTS ROYAL AIR FORCE AIRFIELD ENGLAND, UNITED STATES ARMY AIRFIELD STATION #139. ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 HIS BOMBER WAS SHOT DOWN DURING A BOMBING RAID ON THE RUHLAND SYNTHETIC OIL REFINERY, RUHLAND-SCHWARZHEIDE, GERMANY. HIS FLYING FORTRESS WENT DOWN WHEN IT WAS ATTACKED BY A LARGE FORMATION OF GERMAN FIGHTERS AND CRASH-LANDED AT KRETSCHAM-ROTENSEHMA, GERMANY ABOUT 5 KILOMETERS FROM KOVARSKA, CZECH REPUBLIC. THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND GERMAN AIR FORCES, LATER KNOWN AS ‘BLACK MONDAY’ TOOK PLACE AROUND MIDDAY AND WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST AIR BATTLES FOUGHT OVER THE ORE MOUNTAINS IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. THERE WERE 9 CREWMEN ON BOARD, 8 PERISHED IN THE DISASTER AND HE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED WHEN THROWN OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE CRASH-LANDING. HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES AND TRANSFERRED TO A GERMAN HOSPITAL IN NUENSTEIN FOR MEDICAL CARE. AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, HE WAS TAKEN TO THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, STALAG 4F WORK CAMPS AT HARTMANNSDORF-CHEMNITZ, SAXONY. REPATRIATED AND RETURNED TO MILITARY CONTROL AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1994, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘BLACK MONDAY’, THE CITIZENS OF KOVARSKA, CZECH REPUBLIC UNVEILED AND DEDICATED A MEMORIAL, HONORING THE AIRMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THAT GREAT AIR BATTLE.