To the west adjacent to the scar.

A metal cross standing on a stone base onto which a rectangular metal plaque is mounted. The plaque is engraved with English inscription in black lettering. On the right-hand side near this monument is a cairn partially constructed from molten and torn aluminum. Another plaque pertaining to the crew can be found at St. Peter’s Church in Llanbedr.

In September of 1943, the outcome of World War II was still very much in doubt. The Western Allies had not yet landed in France and were making slow progress up the Italian peninsula. On the Eastern Front, the German Wehrmacht and the Red Army were locked in a deadly stalemate. Likewise, in the Battle of the Atlantic, the struggle between the German navy and Allied shipping continued unabated. The Eighth Air Force was under pressure to help in this battle against the threat of German U-Boats, and so the target for September 16, 1943, was chosen.

The objective was hundreds of miles away from Wales. It was the massive concrete submarine pen at La Pallice France. At this base, up to thirteen boats could be berthed for re-stocking, refueling, and maintenance. These harbor structures were built to the strongest construction specifications of the day, with the roof alone 21 feet thick. Impervious to any other form of attack, the pens of La Rochelle/La Pallice became the target of the 390th Bomb Group. It was to be the group’s fourteenth mission.

The Third Bombardment Division, comprised of eight Bomb Groups (including the 390th), flew the B-17 “Flying Fortress.” It sent 148 heavy bombers against the submarine pens, 93 of which were able to attack the target. Their losses this day were considerable. Four B-17s from the 95th Bomb Group crashed in England – one due to a mid-air collision – after returning from the mission, with another down over France. The 100th Bomb Group lost a bomber over Surgeres, France. The 385th Bomb Group lost one bomber, possibly in the mid-air collision which cost the 95th one of theirs. The 388th Bomb Group suffered the most this day, with at least three crashing in England after the mission; another was lost when it ran out of fuel over the North Sea. The 390th Bomb Group lost one B-17 on the raid.

“Ascend Charlie” of the 390th’s 571st Bomb Squadron was low on fuel and flying in near-darkness. It had left its base at Framlingham in East Anglia with the rest of the Group but had suffered battle damage over France with two injured crewmembers on board. Captain L. W. Doland, the Squadron Operations Officer, was flying alongside “Ascend Charlie” for part of the flight home. Seeing the B-17 was damaged, he ordered the whole flight of planes to slow down and keep Ascend Charlie with them, so that it could be protected against German fighter attacks. Doland, flying almost on “Ascend Charlie’s” right wingtip, saw the copilot, Lieutenant Frederick Broers, leave his seat to administer first aid to the two wounded crew members, who were Lieutenant Robert Schanen and Staff Sergeant Zetterberg. While approaching the coast of England, the pilot, Lieutenant Herbert Turner, gave Captain Doland the “thumbs-up” sign.

But over England, the weather worsened, and darkness was approaching. Lieutenant Turner sent Captain Doland a message using a small blinker lamp, but Doland was unable to decipher it. Then, Doland noticed that “Ascend Charlie” was having a difficult time staying up with the other bombers, and that two of its engines were on fire. Finally, he saw “Ascend Charlie” enter a fog bank, and never saw the Flying Fortress again. “Ascend Charlie” was alone when it crashed into a two thousand-foot peak in the Black Hills of Wales. All ten men aboard were killed.

The crew members were:

• 1st Lieutenant Herbert I. Turner (Ocala, FL), Pilot
• 2nd Lieutenant Frederick M. Broers (Gillespie, IL), Copilot (age 22)
• 2nd Lieutenant Robert L. Schanen, (Port Washington, WI) Navigator
• 2nd Lieutenant Orval Tofte, (Brookings, SD) Bombardier (age 23)
• Staff Sergeant Philip Catania, (Hartford, CT) Radio Operator
• Staff Sergeant Stanley B. Mason (Renovo, PA), Left Waist Gunner age (23)
• Staff Sergeant Alfred C. Monson (San Diego, CA), Tail Gunner
• Staff Sergeant John J. Peterson (Perth Amboy, NJ), Right Waist Gunner (age 26)
• Staff Sergeant Sherman E. Rambo (Philadelphia, PA), Top Turret Gunner (age 28)
• Staff Sergeant Swen A. Zetterberg (Rockford, IL), Ball Turret Gunner (age 19)

Source of information: peakwreckhunters.blogspot.com, www.ww2research.com, www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register

Source of photos: annegriff.files.wordpress.com, wreckhunter of flicker.com

IN MEMORY OF

THE CREW OF FLYING FORTRESS

ASCEND CHARLIE

WHO LOST THEIR LIVES HERE

ON THE NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 16TH 1943

WHILE RETURNING, BATTLE DAMAGED,

FROM ACTION