AP Was There: US crewmen shot down by Soviets arrive home

Apr 1, 2023, 5:20 AM

FILE - This July 15, 1955, photo shows plane commander Lt. R.H. Fischer, right, and co-pilot Lt. J/...

FILE - This July 15, 1955, photo shows plane commander Lt. R.H. Fischer, right, and co-pilot Lt. J/G D.M. Lockhart, in Kodiak, Alaska, after their Navy Neptune plane was shot down over the Bering Strait by Russian MiGs, June 22, 1955. Several crew members were injured but all 11 survived the crash landing on Alaska's St. Lawrence Island and were rescued by Siberian Yupik Eskimos living on the island, all of whom happened to be members of the Alaska National Guard. (AP Photo,File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo,File)

OAKLAND, California (AP) — Editor’s Note: Sixteen Alaska Native men were honored this week for rescuing the crew of a U.S. Navy patrol plane shot down over the Bering Strait by Soviet fighter jets nearly 70 years ago. With that belated honor, The Associated Press is republishing its story filed July 3, 1955, from Oakland, California, detailing the arrival of seven of the injured Navy crew members.

____

In cheerful spirits, despite wounds, burns and bandages, seven U.S. fliers whose Navy patrol plane was shot down June 22 by Russian jet fighters over the Bering Sea arrived here today from Anchorage, Alaska.

A huddled group of families and friends watched at Alameda Naval Air Station as the seven stretchers were eased out of their hospital plane shortly before 3 a.m. A woman burst into tears.

She was Mrs. Nellie Janke of Alameda, who had caught sight of her husband, chief electronics technician Elmer R. Janke, swathed heavily in bandages. She rushed forward to greet him.

Aviation machinist mate Thaddeus Maziarz of Oakland propped himself up to greet his wife, Ruth, and 6-year-old daughter Carol, and then gaze long and happily for the first time at his son and namesake, Thad Jr., 5 weeks old

And aviation ordnanceman Martin E. Berg of Alameda, despite hands made clumsy and awkward with bandages, clasped his wife in a hard embrace.

The other arrivals, whose families lived too far way to come, are Ens. David G. Assard, Terryville, Conn.; aviation technician Edward Benko, Chicago; airman technician Charles W. Shields, Clawson, Mich., and aviation ordnanceman Donald E. Sonnek, Minnesota Lake, Minn.

Then the group, part of the 11 whose misadventure in northern seas touched off a diplomatic storm while the United Nations was in session at San Francisco, were loaded onto an ambulance bus for the 10-mile ride to Oak Knoll Hospital in the Oakland foothills.

Ensign Assard talked briefly to newsmen about the details of the unprovoked attack on the Neptune patrol plane flying out of Kodiak Naval Station over international waters between Alaska and Siberia. The U.S. plane managed a forced landing on St. Lawrence Island.

“There were two MiGs that attacked us,” said Assard. “We know there were two because Sonnek saw them both.

“All of a sudden, I saw bullets. They sprayed the whole fuselage of our plane. Every tracer bullet I saw was hitting something. Three of the crew members got hit. We didn’t get a chance to fire back although we had ammunition aboard.

“Our port engine caught fire and Lt. Fischer (Richard H. Fischer of Pittsburgh, Pa., the pilot) said we had to ditch.

“When we landed on St. Lawrence Island the bomb bay exploded and that’s when we got burned. The crew was wonderful. We all got out and headed for a gully. Lt. Fischer tried to help us, tending to our wounds.

“After about 45 minutes, some Eskimos came after us in a boat from a nearby village. They said they had seen our plane coming in low with smoke coming from it and knew we were in trouble.”

Capt. Louis King, the Air Force physician who accompanied the men on the flight from Anchorage, said the men stood the trip well and all are in “good condition.”

The Russians, through foreign minister V.M. Molotov, expressed regret at the incident and offered to pay half the damges. This fell short of American demands.

United States News

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and members of the Biden family walk to the grave of the...

Associated Press

Biden attends memorial Mass to mark 8 years since son Beau’s death from brain cancer

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President death of his son Beau, by attending a memorial Mass and visiting his gravesite. Biden, his wife, Jill, and other family members prayed for Beau Biden during the Mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine, the Roman Catholic church where the president worships during weekends at his home near Wilmington, […]

6 hours ago

A worker stands next to a Tesla being charged in Beijing, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. China’s foreign ...

Associated Press

US ends probe into Tesla allowing video games while vehicles are moving, says feature was disabled

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have closed an investigation into Tesla allowing video games to be played on center touch screens while vehicles are moving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Tuesday that Tesla disabled the feature called “passenger play” with an online software update in December of 2021, […]

6 hours ago

Goats graze on dry grass next to a housing complex in West Sacramento, Calif., on May 17, 2023. Goa...

Associated Press

No kidding: California overtime law threatens use of grazing goats to prevent wildfires

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of goats munch on long blades of yellow grass on a hillside next to a sprawling townhouse complex. They were hired to clear vegetation that could fuel wildfires as temperatures rise this summer. These voracious herbivores are in high demand to devour weeds and shrubs that have proliferated across […]

6 hours ago

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. (AP Photo/Jul...

Associated Press

Stock market today: US futures mostly higher ahead of debt ceiling vote, oil falls again

Wall Street pointed mostly higher early Tuesday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling. Futures for the Dow were flat the S&P 500 rose 0.7% before the bell. Biden and McCarthy are now working to gather votes needed to gain […]

6 hours ago

FILE - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Feb. 16, 2023. (AP...

Associated Press

Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried’s arguments to dismiss cryptocurrency charges are meritless

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers made meritless arguments in a bid to convince a judge to toss out criminal charges alleging that the FTX founder stole from investors in his multibillion dollar cryptocurrency fund, federal prosecutors said Monday. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors responded to early May filings in which […]

1 day ago

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, poses for a photo with audience members during a fundrais...

Associated Press

DeSantis kicks off presidential campaign in Iowa as he steps up criticism of Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ron DeSantis plans to kick off his presidential campaign in Iowa on Tuesday, the start of a busy week that will take him to 12 cities in three states as he tests his pitch as the most formidable Republican challenger to former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor’s two-day trip to the […]

1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

...

re:vitalize

Why drug-free weight loss still matters

Wanting to lose weight is a common goal for many people as they progress throughout life, but choosing between a holistic approach or to take medicine can be a tough decision.

AP Was There: US crewmen shot down by Soviets arrive home