"Masters of the Air": WWII Air War Casualties in Gettysburg National Cemetery

The headstone of Lt. Thomas Baum in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Baum served with the 389th Bomb Group. He was shot down over St. Nazaire, France, on December 5, 1943. Baum was buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery in 1949, one of dozens of WWII air war casualties buried here.

NPS Photo

"Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground."
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944

With these words General Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force paid tribute to the men of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and their role in securing air superiority over Nazi-occupied Europe. Air Superiority, that paved the way for D-Day, the Allied liberation of Nazi-Occupied Europe, and Allied Victory in Europe. More than 26,000 servicemen of the USAAF gave their lives in the skies over Europe during WWII. The battles and campaigns that these men participated in were some of the most important battles of the war, not on the ground, but thousands of feet above the earth. Many thousands of these men are buried in Europe in American cemeteries alongside their brothers-in-arms. In the years after World War II, at the request of next-of-kin, over 171,000 fallen Americans were brought back to the United States for their final burial. Nearly 600 of them were interred in Gettysburg National Cemetery, just a short distance from General Eisenhower's Gettysburg farm. Some of those 600 gave their lives in the air war above Europe. Here are a few of their stories.

Born on November 9, 1920 to parents Geroge and Hilda Baum in Altoona, PA, Thomas Baum was one of many first generation Americans that fought in WWII. Both of his parents were German speaking Austrian immigrants. Thomas himself attended Cresson High School, and by 1940 still lived with his parents now residing in Cambria County, PA. On December 22, 1941, as part of the nationwide response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Baum enlisted in Philadelphia, PA. At the time of his enlistment he stood at 5’ 4”, weighed 146 pounds, and had a high school diploma; before his enlistment he worked as a driver. Baum shipped to Europe where he flew as a pilot aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber named “The Oklahoman” assigned to the 566th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force. Baum and the crew of the Oklahoman flew in support of Operation Tidal Wave in August 1943 to destroy the Ploiesti Oil Refineries in Romania. On December 5, 1943 Baum flew yet another mission over Nazi-occupied Europe, this time his B-24 was hit by German anti-aircraft guns and exploded. Only one member of the Oklahoman’s crew survived, 1st Lt. Harley Mason. Thomas Baum was initially buried overseas at the Nantes Military Cemetery in France before his family made the decision to bring him home. He was buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery on October 28, 1949.

Thomas Baum is not the only bomber pilot buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery, Leechburg, PA native Captain Elmer Oglietti served as the commander of a B-26 Marauder medium bomber squadron in the Mediterranean Theatre during the war. Medium Bombers often flew close air support missions to troops on the ground which is exactly what Oglietti and the men of his squadron did. Flying as a part of the 441st Bomb Squadron, 320th Bomb Group Oglietti and his men flew as part of a variety of campaigns throughout 1942 and 1943 such as anti-submarine patrols, Operation Husky, the Allied liberation of Sicily, and Operation Avalanche supporting the landings at Salerno Italy. In January 1944, the 320th participated in CAS supporting the 5th Army as part of Operation Shingle, the Allied Landings in Anzio Italy, the effort to liberate Rome. While the Anzio landings went almost exactly as planned, the Germans launched a fearsome counterattack using reserve divisions stationed in the region. It would take the Allies four months to break out from the initial Anzio beachhead, a breakout made possible by CAS missions flown by medium bombers. In March 1944, at the height of the Battle for Anzio CAS was needed now more than ever. That month the 320th completed 18 combat sorties flying every day weather allowed. On March 22, Oglietti prepared for a raid against the Poggibonsi Railroad Bridges, it was his 4th mission that month. tragedy struck as Elmer’s Marauder crashed on takeoff. He was mortally wounded in the Crash and succumbed to his wounds on March 24th, 1944. He was 23. On May 27 the Pittsburgh Press listed his death as a casualty in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. On September 18 the Pittsburgh Press reported that Captain Elmer G. Oglietti was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Elmer was cited for his courage and his devotion to duty. He was initially buried overseas before being interred at Gettysburg National Cemetery on March 10, 1949.

The missions that American bombers flew during WWII proved vital to destroying the Nazi war machine, but that could not have happened without fighter escort. Allied leadership knew that Air Superiority over Europe was paramount to the success of the Daylight Precision Bombing Campaign, but in its earliest phases American bombers suffered heavy losses at the hands of German Luftwaffe fighters. Ike and the leadership of the Army Air Force knew that this campaign could not succeed without the support of a long range escort fighter. In Ike’s Memoir Crusade in Europe he writes “the German devised new tactics and methods and began to use his fighters in large concentrations against our units. Our percentage of losses began to mount rapidly. On June 13, 1943, the U. S. Eighth Air Force attacked Kiel with 76 planes, without fighter support, and lost 22. A later raid by 291 planes suffered a loss of 60. With each plane shot down went also a minimum of ten officers and men. In the face of such percentage losses it became certain that but for the mass production of the long range efficient fighter we would have to modify our bombing program and could not have proceeded into Germany itself only under cover of darkness or bad weather.”

Frederick J. Dorsch grew up in Pittsburgh, PA during the Great Depression. He and his brother William participated in programs run by the Sarah Heinz House, a charity dedicated to supporting the youths of Pittsburgh. Fred Dorsch graduated from the Carnegie Technical School in 1940, and joined the USAAF a year later on July 1, 1941. Dorsch Completed Flight Training at Maxwell AFB in Alabama before commissioning as a 2nd Lt. He then shipped to Europe and was assigned to 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group 15th Air Force based in Sae Severo, Italy flying a P-51B Mustang named Miss Sallie III. The P-51 Mustang proved to be just the fighter Ike and Allied high command needed, as its long range capability allowed it to fly with American bombers all the way to the target and back. During Dorsch’s time with the 15th Air Force he flew 143 missions providing fighter escort for 15th Air Force Bombers flying raids against Targets in Southern Europe and Germany. Over the course of these missions he tallied an impressive 8.5 air-to-air victories earning the title of Fighter Ace. A distinct monaker given to pilots with five or more victories.

On October 29, 1944, Fred flew fighter escort for a raid against Regensburg Germany. On the return leg of the mission, Fred, at the controls of his Mustang Miss Sallie III, called the flight leader on the radio about the return course to base. There was no answer from Fredacknowledging he heard the flight leader's response. Captured German records later revealed he was killed when his P-51 Crashed into the mountains near Grunau, Austria. On August 15, 1946 The Pittsburgh Press ran a headline reading “Medals Take Place of Reunion for Brother Fred Won’t Be Back.” His brother William, a Veteran of the Pacific Theatre received a Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star, Two Bronze Stars, A Flying Medal with 19 Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart posthumously awarded to his Brother Frank. The Citation for the Silver Star read “Captain Frederick J. Dorsch, Jr. (ASN: 0-443765), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action against the enemy as a Fighter Pilot of the 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, Fifteenth Air Force, in action against the enemy in aerial combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Action during World War II. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army Air Forces.”

These stories are just a few examples of the heroic American airmen who gave their lives during World War II, and who were ultimately laid to rest in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Their service helped pave the way to victory for the Allies, proving that the USAAF were the true "masters of the air" in the Second World War.

Today, some of these men lay buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery, near the same place Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address, where he hailed the men who gave what he called “the last full measure of devotion." Lincoln's words noted that the dead of Gettysburg fought so that democracy "shall not perish from the earth." The fallen airmen of the Second World War fought and died for the same cause, preserving freedom and democracy in American and Europe alike.