Missing Aircrew Report 15 Dec 1943

My name is Roy Bozych and I am the Historian for the WWII 323rd Bomb Group. On December 13, 1943, our Bomb Group was on a mission along with the 386th Bomb Group to bomb the Schiphol Air Field in Amsterdam which was under the control of the Germans.

F/O Raymond Roberts was flying as a co-pilot with the 386th Bomb Group, 555th Squadron and they were leading the mission. FLAK (enemy ground fire) was reported as heavy and accurate. F/O Roberts B-26 Martin Marauder was hit and shot down. Everyone on the aircraft was killed except for the pilot who was blown out of the plane when it exploded. He was captured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

Roughly two years ago as a new development in Schipol was being prepared, the crash site was discovered. A Dutch group involved in recovering crashed allied planes (CRASH) was called in at the time to assist. CRASH has a memorial to the crew (they retrieved one of the planes guns) in their museum and is involved with local citizens and groups in developing a memorial to the crew to be dedicated in May of 2010. They wish to be able to invite family members of the crew to the dedication. I and another individual are attempting to assist them in locating family members of this crew which made the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice that is deeply appreciated by the Dutch.

I have attached a copy of the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) for your records that was filed when F/O Roberts B-26 was shot down. His Mother Mrs. Malinda Roberts was listed as his next of kin. In doing a records search I found your website and saw that Mrs. Roberts died in 1976. We are attempting to find any other living relatives of his to inform them of what is happening and to extend an invitation to them to attend the ceremonies next year in Amsterdam. I was wondering if you would have knowledge of any relatives or could help us locate them. An article should have been run in your local newspaper a couple of weeks ago. But so far no responses have been received.

Flight Officer Raymond C. Roberts, T-120450 currently rests at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

Any assistance you could give us would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail or phone. I can be reached at 708-974-9239 between 9 AM and 2 PM.

Sincerely,

Roy Bozych
Historian
323rd BG & 454th BS
http://www.323bg.org
historian@323bg.org
or
rrbozych@att.net