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shot down on May 12th, 1944 during a raid on Most
(Brüx) in Czechoslovakia. The plane exploded
in the air near St. Goarshausen in Germany. The
entire crew commanded by Lt. Alexander Kinder
bailed out and survived.
At that time, however, Robert Rosenthal was
no longer flying with the 418th Squadron. He be-
came the Assistant Group Operations Officer of
the 100th Bomb Group and later the Commander
of the 350th Squadron, and now, with the rank of
Major, he began his voluntary second operational
tour. He also occasionally flew, mainly as a Com-
manding Pilot, at the head of his squadron, group
or the 13th Combat Wing. This was also the case
on September 10th, 1944, when he led a stream of
bombers to Nuremberg. Due to heavy flak over the
target, Rosie was forced to break away from the
formation and attempt to return with the serious-
ly damaged aircraft on his own. The subsequent
crash landing behind the front lines in France
saved the crew, but also left Robert Rosenthal
with a broken arm, facial and internal injuries that
put him in a military hospital. He thus missed the
mission the following day, when the 100th Bomb
Group lost thirteen of its aircraft in the air battle
over the Czech-German Ore Mountains during the
raid on Ruhland. Not a single one
of Rosenthal’s 350th Squadron
planes returned. When he learned
of this in the hospital, it remind-
ed him, among other things, of
October 10th, 1943, when, except
for his crew, no one from his unit
made it back…
After returning from the hospi-
tal, Rosie Rosenthal was briefly
involved in the training program
of the 13th Combat Wing and then,
on December 1st, 1944, assumed
command of his original 418th
Squadron. Due to the demands
placed on him by command tasks,
he continued his combat mis-
sions with less intensity. Even
so, he completed a second oper-
ational tour and began his third.
He was on his 52nd combat mis-
sion when he led the 3rd Air (formerly Bomb) Divi-
sion to Berlin on March 3rd , 1945. Above the target,
their aircraft was severely damaged by flak, which
killed the bombardier and the navigator. In addi-
tion, a fire broke out on board. Robert Rosenthal
knew he could not get back to friendly territory, so
he continued east in an attempt to cross the battle
lines there. When the conditions were such that
they threatened an imminent crash or explosion,
he gave the order to the crew to bail. Then he also
left the plane. He injured his legs in a hard landing
in a plowed field in no man’s land. Red Army sol-
diers discovered him lying on his back. With the
help of the Soviets, he managed to return to En-
gland at the end of March, 1945, where he trained
new crews until the end of May. He returned to the
United States on June 7th, 1945.
Here he was to be assigned to B-29 training, but
on November 30th, he was honorably discharged
from the Air Force. However, direct contact with
the horrors of World War II was not to end for
Robert Rosenthal. His wartime experience, high
intelligence, legal education, and, let’s assume,
Jewish ancestry, made him adept at yet another
unusual service to his country and civilization that
Rosie believed in. He returned to Europe in 1946 as
a member of the American prosecution team at
the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals. During
the trip, he met a colleague, lawyer Phillis Heller,
on an ocean liner, whom he married in Nuremberg.
They spent the rest of their lives together and
raised three children.
When the 100th Bomb Group Veterans Organiza-
tion was formed many years after the war, Rosie
became one of its founders, most active members
B-17F-120-BO s/n 42-30758 LD
-
W ”Rosie’s
Riveters“, Lt. Robert ”Rosie“ Rosenthal crew,
418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,
Bremen mission, 8 October 1943
Maj. Rosenthal, now squadron commander, at a decoration ceremony. He attended countless
ceremonies, being decorated for his war service with numerous honors: the Distinguished
Service Cross (for the Berlin mission on Feb 3, 1945), the Silver Star (Munster, Oct 10, 1943) with
Cluster (Oct 3, 1943 - Sept 10, 1944), the Distinguished Flying Cross (completion of 25 missions
on March 8, 1944 - Berlin) with Cluster (July 12, 1944 - Munich / Aug 5, 1944 - Magdeburg), the
Purple Heart with Cluster (Sept 10, 1944 - Nurnberg and Feb 3, 1945 - Berlin), the Air Medal with
7 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross (British), the Croix de Guerre (French), the
ETO Ribbon with 4 Battle Stars (Air Offensive Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland),
the Distinguished (Presidential) Unit Citation, and authorization to wear 3 overseas service
bars, having served 21 months overseas (each bar represents 6 months of overseas service).
B-17F 42-30758, now named “Satcha Lass,”
after an emergency landing near Roedingen, Germany, on February 4, 1944.
INFO Eduard
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943
46
June 2024