This was in the Scranton Times: Man who saw bomber crash seeks kin of soldier killed BY BILL WAGNER STAFF WRITER 08/26/2007 Email to a friendPrinter-friendly A resident of Switzerland who endured World War II under Nazi occupation in Holland is seeking relatives of an Old Forge airman, Americo A. Crespolini, who died when his bomber was shot down. More than 60 years ago as a young Dutch schoolboy, John Meurs watched in horror as an American heavy bomber crashed behind his house in the village of Apeldoom. It was Sunday, Nov. 26, 1944. Mr. Meurs has been researching the deadly day in Army Air Force history when Crespolini was killed. In an e-mail, he asked The Times-Tribune for help locating family members of the long-dead airman so he can give them details of the event. Mr. Meurs, though only age 9 at the time, remembers well how the U.S. 8th Air Force, which he still calls "the Mighty Eighth," sent more than 1,000 bombers into the skies over Europe that day. It was, he recalls, Thanksgiving Sunday in Holland, though the Nazis occupied the country. The bombers' target was a synthetic fuel plant near Misburg, Germany, which Mr. Meurs said was the last of its type remaining for the Germans. The attackers would appear to be targeting Berlin, then divert toward Misburg. The ruse, Mr. Meurs said, failed to fool the German defenders, chiefly because two bomber groups were temporarily without fighter escort and came under attack by German fighters who rushed in from the Berlin area. The Americans lost 35 heavy bombers, B-24 Liberators and B-17s, he said. "Within a quarter of an hour, the Germans downed 15 bombers of the 491st Bomb Group and five of the 445th Bomb Group. The sky was suddenly filled with debris of exploded aircraft, and with airmen descending under the white canopies of their parachutes. Later, the 491st would call that day their 'Black Sunday' as they had never lost so many aircraft on a single mission." Most heavy bombers carried a crew of 10, which meant the raid had cost the Americans at least 350 men. The Luftwaffe also paid a heavy price, losing about 100 fighters of the 500 launched, Mr. Meurs said. It was not Mr. Crespolini's plane that fell near Mr. Meurs' backyard. His bomber, from the 445th Bomb Group, a B-24 Liberator, crashed near Sorsum in Germany. Three crew members parachuted to safety and were taken prisoner. Mr. Crespolini, the waist-gunner, lost his life in the crash. His record is among those being researched by Mr. Meurs, who is seeking relatives who might be interested in the wartime fate of a family member. One of those relatives is John A. Crespolini, of Duryea, who says he is aware of Mr. Meurs' quest but has not yet been in contact with him because of computer problems. The Times-Tribune provided him Mr. Meurs' e-mail address. Mr. Meurs said his research shows that Mr. Crespolini's mother, Barbara, lived at 211 Alicia St., Old Forge. Her son initially was buried near the crash site in Germany. After the war, he was reburied in the American Military Cemetery in the Ardennes in Belgium. Later, Mr. Meurs says, his remains were returned to Old Forge for burial. His name is on the borough's honor roll of war heroes, and Mr. Meurs has entered his name on the rolls of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Mr. Meurs describes himself as a Dutchman living in Switzerland, researching the fate of the 35 bomber crews of the 8th Air Force who did not return to their bases on that November Sunday in 1944. His e-mail address is meurs.john@bluewin.ch. Contact the writer: billywag144@yahoo.com