Olin Houghton was born on January 4, 1925 in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a Gunner on the B24 'Jenny Ann' doing WW2.
B-24 “Jenny Ann” (41-28768) of the 747th Bomber Squadron, 456th Bomber Group, 15th Air Force departed Storna Airfield (Foggia, Italy) on October 20, 1944 on a mission to bomb the airfield in Bad Aibling, Germany. On the return flight, due to maintenance problems, the plan made a controlled emergency landing on a Po Delta Barrier Island. The B-24 Commander, 1LT Dickie spit the crew into three groups in order to best evade the enemy. One group, with the help of local Italian citizen fisherman were able to escape and evade capture. The local group was lead by the “Cicolani”, Achille Siveiro.
After the war, Roberto Rosselini, the famous Italian movie director, directed the movie “Paisan” or “Paisa” which depicted life as a partisan in Italy during the war; one part of the movie the Italian citizens who helped the crew were included as movie extras to included “Cicolani”.
In 2014, 2LT Sciaroni and the three Italian citizens, Giovani Achille Siviero “Cicolani” e di Francesco e Sergio Mantovani, were honored as heroes in the US Congress. The memorial was dedicated on November 7, 2021 in the town of Porto Tolle.
The Crew of B-24 “Jenny Ann” included:
1st LT David J. Dickie, Pilot, POW
2nd LT Paul J. Delecour, Co-Pilot -POW
2nd LT Richard H. Sciaroni, Navigator - Escaped
2nd LT Woodrow W. O’Brien, Bombardier, - POW
Sgt James S. Pentecost, Engineer/Gunner – POW
Sgt. Leonard C. Meton, Radio Operator/Gunner – Escaped
Sgt Albert J. Deerwald, Gunner – Escaped
Sgt. Olin B. Houghton, Gunner – Escaped
Sgt Chester W. Nowak, Gunner – Captured
Sgt Carroll D. Presnell, Gunner – Captured

Reference: Missing Aircraft Report (MACR): 9213

A memorial in Porto Tolle, Italy remembers the crew and the Italians who assisted them.

S/SSGT Houghton escaped to return to duty. However, on December 11, 1944, flying in B-24 (42-51146) “Green S” of the 343rd Bomber Squadron, 98th Bomber Group, on a mission to bomb and oil refinery in Austria, The aircraft was hit and he bailed out and was captured. He spent the rest of the war at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth Germany.
FROM FIND A GRAVE:
O. Barker Houghton, 80, died on October 25, 2005 in hospice, under mesquite trees in the arms of his beloved wife, Peggy (The Hon. Margaret M. Houghton, ret.), surrounded by family and friends, and with the Catalina Mountains in the background in Tucson, AZ.
Born in Boston, MA, on January 4, 1925, he was the son of the late Robert Lloyd and Antoinette Barbour Houghton. He received a BA in English from Bowdoin College in 1949 and received MA's from Florida State University and the University of Oregon in education and special education, respectively.
Barker enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and served as a ball turret gunner in a B-24 stationed in Italy. He survived a plane crash in Italy, was MIA until he escaped down the Po River in October 1944. Six weeks later over Austria, Staff Sgt. Houghton parachuted from a disabled B-24, was captured and became a POW in Stalag Luft I, which was liberated when WWII ended.
Working throughout his life to give the gift of literacy, he was both a teacher and an educational consultant. Barker was always himself and has left wonderful memories with friends and family. He cared deeply about the common good. All children loved him. No one ever forgot having met him. He was a truly authentic person. He loved the outdoors, the Boston Red Sox, the Arizona Wildcats, and photography and has left a gallery of images from his journeys and adventures.