Zegveld, The Netherlands
Monument to the crew of San Antonio Rose
Dedicated October 8, 2015
On February 21, 1944, the Morris Marks crew, 336th Squadron, took off on their 6th bombing mission to Brunswick, Germany in B-17 42-3462, the San Antonio Rose. As they approached their target, they came across German fighters and one engine was shot by flak. As the plane began vibrating vigorously, the crew decided to drop their bombs and start reducing power. They soon started losing altitude, but the vibration was increasing. The plane was flying at around 24,000 feet when they got hit again, dropping them to 14,000 feet where the vibration stopped completely. The crew then planned to hide by flying through cloud cover until they could get back to England. After about 45 minutes of soaring through the clouds the San Antonio Rose reached Holland and the clouds became patchy. The crew started zipping from cloud to cloud, but an expanse of clear blue sky meant the crew was now in view of German fighter planes, which began shooting at them, eventually setting the plane on fire.
In an excerpt of a letter to Morris’s mother, one of the survivors, Charles Barnthson, wrote her a description of these last moments:
B-17 42-3462, the San Antonio Rose
“We got into the clouds at 12,000 feet and started back. We flew for about three quarters of an hour and we were over Holland when we ran out of clouds. Right then we were attacked by 12 or 15 enemy fighter plans, at least. It was so quick that we hardly had a chance to bail out. I was standing between Lt. Marks and Lt. Derenburg, the co-pilot. One of the planes hit our controls and they froze with the plane in a climb. We knew the plane would soon stall out, and the only thing for us to do was to abandon ship. By this time, we only had two good engines anyway. Lt. Marks gave the order to bail out and I turned to put on my parachute. I was ready to leave the ship when I looked back. He was getting out of his seat and motioned for me to go ahead. Naturally, I believed him to be coming right behind me. I opened my chute immediately and then maneuvered it so I could see the ship. I waited and watched, but only one man ever came out. He was Sgt. Glover, the right waist gunner. Mrs. Marks, I want to tell you straight. I know you heard other stories, but I watched that ship until it hit the ground and only one chute, besides myself, ever came out. There is no doubt in my mind that I was the first man out, and I know that Sgt. Glover and myself were the only ones to get out. What happened to the other fellows, I can’t tell you. I know we were riddled by bullets and I believe most of the boys were killed before we realized our fate."
The two soldiers in the letter, Staff Sgt. Charles Barnthson and Sgt. Barclay Glover, were captured by the Germans and spent 14 months in a German prison camp before being set free. Flight Officer George Amberg, who was the bombardier, was thrown from the plane and died that day. The other seven soldiers, including pilot Morris Marks, were engulfed in the flames as the San Antonio Rose crashed into a meadow. The text on the memorial reads:
Killed in Action for our Freedom
On February 21st 1944 American B17 'San Antonio Rose' (95th Bomb Group, 336th Bomb Squadron) crashed in the field in front of you. After a mission over Germany the bomber was shot down by German fighters during her return flight to England. Eight crew members perished, two were taken prisoner of war.
2nd Lt. Morris R. Marks (†) Pilot
2nd Lt. Frank W. Derenberg (†) Co-pilot
2nd Lt. Delmar A. Decker (†) Navigator
F/O George J. Amberg (†) Bombardier
T/Sgt. Charles W. Barnthson Flight Engineer
T/Sgt. Harold E. Cook (†) Radio Operator
S/Sgt. Larry M. Cuyler (†) Right Waist Gunner
Sgt. Barclay W. Glover Left Waist Gunner
S/Sgt. Rodney D. Hines (†) Ball Turret Gunner
S/Sgt. Arden L. Miner (†) Tail Gunner
Back row: Morris R. Marks, Pilot; Frank W. Derenberg, Co-pilpt; Delmer A. Decker, Navigator; George Amberg, Bombardier
Front row:: Charles W. Barnthson, Flight Engineer; Barclay W. Glover, Left Waist Gunner; Harold E. Cooke, Radio Operator; J.W. Hewitt, Jr.; William Gray,; Arden Miner, Talil Gunner
Not pictured: Larry M. Culyer and Rodney D. Hines
Note: J.W. Hewitt and William Gray were not on this fateful flight.