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From "S.F. Flyer Lauds B-26 Bomber Raids," by Harold V. Boyle AP Staff Writer, San Francisco 'Examiner June 8, 1943: A USAF BOMBER BASE IN ALGERIA, June 2.- (Delayed)- Speedy sub winger B-26 Marauders - they fly like a bumble bee, but pack the wallop of a mule - have made a name for themselves in the Mediterranean combat and the boys who fly them praise them as the best medium bombers in action. In tryouts back home this short winged bomber drew some criticism by its reported heavy acccident rate, but pilots who have flown it against the Germans say it is a safe and durable ship in trained hands. REALLY SOLE. "The way it has been bringing us home from missions all beat up by flak really sold us on it, " said Lieut. CS. Church, of 461 Urbana Drive, San Francisco. "We like it the way it perfoms now and we don't want them to put any gadgets on it to slow it up." " Those engines really have power - best on any bomber, " said Lieut. A.J. Riley of Hammond, Minn. COMBAT RECORD: Citing the combat record of the Marauder in this theater, Major William A. Adams of Natchez, Miss., a ground officer said, "From the very start when they came up here as a green outfit they've done the best job imaginable on targets everywywhere from Bizerte and Tunis to Sardinia and Sicily. They are formidably armed with heavy fifty caliber machine guns and have proved time and again they can take care of themselves when attached by enemy fighters." Lieut. C.S. Church, 27, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmot B. Church of 461 Urbano Drive, San Francisco. A graduate of the University of Washington Law School, he was employed by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company before enlisting in December, 1941. His wife, the foformer Miss Joyce Crow, lives in Fort Worth Texas. From "Memories that they can't forget," The Modesto Bee, Monday, May 25, 1992, A-15: Soft landing in a haystack - Curtis S. Church, a retired insurance company executive and part-time high schooool teacher, lives in Modesto. On Auust 22, 1943, I was operating out of Tunisia, North Africa when I was shot down and became a prisoner of war. It was my 46th mission and the target was Villa Liperno, a railroad yard near Naples. There were two groups flying B-27s, the Martin marauder, a medium bomber with a bad reputation. it was called the widow maker, sometimes the flying coffin. it was shaped like a cigar and flew like one. It was the prostitute of the Army Air Corps because it h had no visible means of support. We had coverage from 75 P-38 fighter planes. Our flight over the Mediterranean was uneventful but as as we passed the coast of italy we picked up flak. I received a direct hit, which caused me to lag. By applying more power I managed to keep up. The other group dropped their bombs and turned back with P-38 escort. We continued on to target without escort and were then jumped by 60 or 70 enemy fighters, ME109s. They came in three at a time from the rear. I was later to learn we lost four bombers that day, while the Germans lost 25 or 30 fighters. My crew claimed four kills, but these were not confirmed because we did not return to base. They shot out my side window, windshield, instument panel. My left engine was shut down and then my bomb bay was on fire. I rang the alarm to abandon ship and gave enough time for the crew to get out, then went to the bomb bay myself to parchute down from 12,000 feet. The view was spectacular. I was floating in and around fluffy clouds and the silence was deafening. Then - suspended on the parachute - the fighter planes attacked me. Closer to the ground I picked up small-arms fire and then landed on the side of a haystack for a very soft landing. I was a prisoner of war of italians and the Germans for 21 months. Herman William Tripp--Remembering......6th Cousin Curtis Stephen Church, who did more than his share.
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Tripp Families of North America
1916 - 