Strana 7
Griswold, Cullerton's Mustang was hit by about
four rounds from a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun
in the fuselage tank. The aircraft caught fire
after being hit, and the pilot managed to bail
out. Griswold saw the parachute open and
the impact on the ground, but he did not see
Cullerton flee from the impact site.
He was captured by an SS unit after coming
down. German soldiers disarmed him and
after a brief discussion among the soldiers,
the officer shot him in the stomach with the
words "The war is over for you". He was found
wounded by a German farmer who took him
to the hospital. There he was treated and
hospitalized, and after a few days he escaped
from the hospital. He stated that he had jumped
out of a window into a pile of sheep manure.
On April 20th, advancing American troops found
him hidden under a bridge near Feuchtwangen
in Bavaria. American soldiers verified his true
nationality by the usual question about Boston
Red Sox baseball player Ted Williams and
handed him over to the paramedics.
Bill Cullerton was an ace with five confirmed
kills. He shot down his first two Bf 109s on the
16th of August, 1944, another B 109 on November
2ndand was also credited with an Fw 190 near
Wernigerode on the same day. His last kill,
another Fw 190, was on April 4th 1945 in the
Halberstadt area. Just four days before he
was shot down near Ansbach. He also claimed
fifteen enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground
and nine damaged. In terms of the number of
aircraft destroyed on the ground, he was the
second most successful pilot of the 355th FG.
For his service, Cullerton was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the Silver
Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the
Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. His flying
career was followed by the local (Chicago)
press, which also noted Cullerton's near-
miraculous rescue, described in an article
entitled ‘Capt. Cullerton's Return Hailed as
Near Miracle.’ After the war, John J. Kevil
Jr. wrote a biography about Cullerton entitled
‘The Last Dragon of Steeple Morden’.
He retired as a civilian with the rank of
captain in the Air Force. He returned to his
grandfather's fishing business and married
his ‘Miss Steve’, Elaine Stephen. Their wedding
again did not escape the attention of the
local press. They lived together in Elmhurst,
a suburb of Chicago, but later moved on several
ocassions. They raised five children, three
daughters and two sons, and had nineteen
grandchildren. In the 1950s, Bill Cullerton
founded the Cullerton Co., a company selling
outdoor and fishing equipment. From the 1970s,
he hosted the Saturday morning talk show
Great Outdoors on Chicago's local radio station
WGN for two decades. He retired as a host in
1999, when he handed over his hosting position
to Charlie Potter and retired.
He was not only a businessman and a popular
talk show host, but he was also a pioneer in
fishing tourism and conservation. A nature
lover, he was an advocate for environmental
protection in Illinois and other states west of the
Great Lakes. He was instrumental in restoring
the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, now
a United States National Grassland in Illinois,
and was involved in the creation of an artificial
reef on the shore of Lake Michigan that
improved the habitat for native fish. He was also
a founding member of the Illinois Conservation
Foundation and was later inducted into its Hall
of Fame, as well as the Freshwater Fishing Hall
of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. On May 9th,
2000, Illinois Beach State Park and North Point
Marina in Zion, Illinois, were named the William
J. Cullerton Complex in his honor. Two P-51D
Mustangs flew over the 4,160-acre complex
during the opening ceremony.
Willian J. Cullerton died on January 12th,
2013, and is buried in Bronswood Cemetery in
Oak Brook,
The citation for his Distinguished Service Cross states:
The President of the United States is pleased to award the Distinguished
Service Cross to William J. Cullerton (0-706360), Lieutenant Commander,
United States Air Force, for extraordinary gallantry in connection with
military operations against an armed enemy while serving as a pilot of
a P-51 fighter aircraft with the 357th Fighter Wing, 355th Fighter Group,
Eighth Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on the 2nd of
November, 1944. On that day, Lieutenant Cullerton shot down two enemy
aircraft. Lieutenant Cullerton's unquestionable gallantry in aerial
combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service
and brings great credit to himself, the Eighth Air Force, and the United
States Army Air Forces.
MODEL & STORY
Bill Cullerton in front of ‘Miss Steve’, probably
in the spring of 1945.
Aerial view of Steeple Morden base.
The control tower at Steeple Morden base.
Crew Chief Jerry Seidl with ‘Miss Steve’, also probably in the spring of 1945.
INFO Eduard
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March 2026