WWII Family History Found on Internet Auction

Granddaughter uncovers lithograph of Grandfather’s historic B-17 bomber on

Manion’s International Auction House website

Kansas City, Kansas (May 2, 2007) – On December 20, 1943 an act of humanity took place in the skies over Europe. A B-17 bomber was severely damaged during a bombing run over Germany, and was limping its way back to England.

A German ME-109 moved in on the injured bomber, and it appeared she would be finished off. As the Luftwaffe pilot approached, the tail gunner did not fire. As he drew closer, the German pilot saw blood dripping from the .50 caliber tail guns.

The gunner, Staff Sergeant Hugh Eckenrode, had been hit in the neck by flack and had died from his wounds.

In a true act of wartime honor the pilot of the German plane escorted the disabled bomber to safety, saluted the pilot of the B-17, and returned to his base. The US Bomber, “Ye Old Pub”, had made it home safely and the story has remained a mainstay in WWII aviation lore.

Nearly 65 years later, the Granddaughter of the fated tail gunner discovered an item on an Internet auction that would provide a momentous connection to the events of that day, and would instantly become a family heirloom.

“I had been searching for any artwork on this plane for probably 10 years,” said Eckenrode’s Granddaughter Diane Edmondson.

A visit to www.manions.com provided her with a print of a painting depicting the historic event – signed by pilots of both planes.

“There are no words, I cannot express the gratitude, “ she said. “I am dumbfounded, I don’t know what to say…when I first saw it I was in tears.”

The print was presented to her father with similar emotion.

“The flak had caught my Grandfather in the neck, which killed him,” she said. “Because of my Grandfather’s death, the pilot felt mercy on his plane and basically turned them around, put them in the right direction, and sent them home.”

“We presented my father with the painting yesterday,” she said. “For my Dad to actually have this in his possession, I can not begin to tell you what it means to him…it has no dollar amount, it’s beyond value.”

“My Dad is a 21 year Master Sergeant in the Air Force and he does not cry…when he saw it, it literally brought him to his knees

“I want you to know how grateful I am because it means so much to my Dad,” she said. “He has my Grandfather’s Purple Heart and all of his other medals. He even has his New Testament he had carried. To actually have a visual of what the man went through…I am so beyond shocked, I don’t know what to say.”

“A lot of people don’t realize, these guys were kids,” she said. “They sacrificed everything. It’s stories like this that give the rest of us hope; yes he was a German, yes yes he was an enemy, but he was a person and he had humanity. Because of him how many other people survived to have children and grandchildren. It’s just amazing, the threads that came from these men.

These 10 men, out of one hour of one day, changed the course of history. What we need to do is we need to make it better; we need to prove them right.”

###