| Sources |
- [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com).
Harold C. Kornman
Birth: Jun. 6, 1917
Death: Mar. 5, 2004
Bridgewater
Beaver County
Pennsylvania, USA
(age 86)
Husband of Eva Mae (Swartzlander)Kornman
Former Townsend Corp. President Harold Kornman died Friday at age 86. Kornman, a World War II veteran, Joan Klein, a fellow Reeves Bank board member and bank executive, remembers Kornman as top-notch. Former Reeves President Robert Rimbey credited Kornman with helping the bank grow during more than two decades on its board."The most important thing I found in him was dignity and integrity. He certainly had it," Rimbey said.As a young Army Air Corps navigator, in 1944, Kornman escaped German forces who shot down his B-24 bomber over Belgium and captured his fellow crew members. With the help of the Belgian and French underground, he eluded the Germans and found safety with British forces after D-Day."He did not do a lot of talking about it," said a longtime Brighton Township neighbor, Carolyn Renninger, although she said he later returned to Europe to visit the farm where he'd hidden.After the war, the Rochester native returned to Beaver County to balance night school at Geneva College with an industrial engineering job at Townsend in New Brighton. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and worked his way through the Townsend ranks, being named president of the fastener manufacturer in 1967.A highlight of his career was a 1970s detente-era visit to negotiate a three million Dollar know-how agreement between Townsend and the Soviet Union on fastener production techniques.Kornman remained president of Townsend after it was acquired by Textron Inc. and retired in 1981 as chairman of Textron's Townsend Division.
Childred : daughter and son-in-law, Sherry and James Boyd, Virginia Beach, Va.; a son, Dan Kornman, Frankfort, Ky.; two grandsons, Scott and Brian Boyd, and a sister and brother-in-law, Nancy and Jeff Conner, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Following info provided by John Dowdy
Navigator 1st/Lt. Harold C. Kornman EVD
Hometown:
Squadron: 579th 392th Bomb Group
Service#
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. Gordon L. Hammond POW
Target: Hamm Germany
MISSING AIRCREW REPORT: #04171
Date Lost: 22-Apr-44
Serial Number: #42-52605
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter:"J-BAR"
Aircraft Name: NO NICKNAME 2nd Mission
Location: Belgium and Holland
Cause: enemy aircraft attack Crew of 11 10POW 1EVD
The marshalling yards at Hamm were assigned for this mission with (27) aircrews being briefed between 1300-1330 hours and taking off starting at 1530 one of the first late missions ever flown with recovery being after nightfall. On this date the 392nd's losses in aircrew casualties would be high.
MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: Returning eye-witness accounts stated "aircraft was hit by fire from enemy aircraft attack near Hamm and No. 4 engine oi fire. Parachutes were seen to come out of the plane in this area. Later (3) to (5) more chutes were observed as plane made way towards coast, following formation by and behind, now with wing on fire. Finally, at about 51 -07N, 02-41 E, ship was seen to blow up and crash into marshy area below. Before this happened, 3 or 4 additional chutes were seen". (Note: All (11) crewmen on this aircraft were later accounted for as having bailed out of the stricken plane with possibly (4) having parachute( immediately after the target and on the withdrawal leg, and the remaining (7) bailing out on the route out over Belgium and Holland. This conclusion is based on the German Report #KU1494 which noted that the latter group (with the exception of LI Kornman who evaded and never was taken prisoner) was captured near the towns of Oostkeerke and Wevelghen, and the earlier jumpers were never accounted for ii this last crewmen group, these being "at large" and captured elsewhere in Germans.
According to 1/Lt Hammond, this was to be Capt. Everhart's last mission and Maj. Keilman (579th Sqdn. Commander) told Everhart that he "was to instruct [Hammond] in leading, in that [Hammond] was to be my next lead pilot." Maj. Robert L. Cox, Operations Officer of the 489th Bomb Group, was along as an observer. Hammond flew the plane for 1 hour and 40 minutes while it was on fire, to the Belgian Coast, until he was forced to bail out "when the end of the right wing melted off.
In a letter to Mrs. Hammond dated May 20, 1944, 2/Lt John F. Chatten provided this information: "Yes, Gordon Lee was flying co-pilot in the lead ship. The crew happened to be mine, with the exception of myself. We had just bombed the target when enemy fighters made an attack. They only made one pass at us but the lead ship's right wing caught afire. Immediately we saw several chutes come out. The plane, apparently still under control, flew all the way to the coast with 2 or 3 of our own ships protecting it. At the coast we saw several more chutes come out. It was nearly dark and I believe they stood a very good chance of escaping after landing. There was no opposition at the time they bailed out. It is the belief of everyone who saw the accident that all the boys got out safely."
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: German Report #KU1494, date( 3 May 1944, Air Base Command at Coxyde, summarized the downing of this aircraft and capture of various crewmembers. The plane was reported to have exploded while still in the air and crash near the town of Oostkeerke, (4) kilometers northwest of Dixmuiden at 2115 hours. A total of (5) crewmen were taken prisoner near this crash site of Oostkeerke - Cox, Hammond, Sands, Everhart, and Weber while (2) others were captured nearby the town of Wevelghem - Fowler and Beard. This report continued to note that (5) additional crewmembers were considered "escaped, and still at large" - Kornman, Rinke, Ross, Beseda, and Andrews. This report also recorded the cause of the ship's downing as due to flak and it was identified further as belonging to the "392 Group, Wendling, 118". On the ultimate apprehension of Sgts. Ross, Rinke, Beseda, and Andrews who were initially reported by the Germans to be "at large and these being crewmembers who had successfully bailed out earlier (during the route outbound after target and over Germany presumably), only the capture circumstances of Sgt. Ross were given in a German Report #728A, dated the following day of 23 April from a Wehrmacht 2nd Infantry Battalion element. This account was sent to the ?Main Prisoner of War Camp for Enlisted Men II Limbury/Lahm' and stated: "Today the American Aviator Jack R. Ross, No. 1806429 Home address; Linnie Quellen, E. Rusk, Mexia, Texas who bailed out near Roosbach/Oberwesterwald on 22 April 1944 was delivered by Cpl. Gross. The Mayor of Roosbach was instructed to send all articles taken from the Prisoner of War to the main Prisoner of War Camp IIIA without further delay. Enclosed are two identification tags". This same report also listed the capture of Sgts. Rinke, Beseda, and Andrews, but did not disclose where or when. The home town addresses of these latter crewmen were reported, however, as: Rinke, Hoover Road, Warren, Michigan; Beseda, Zelma M. Beseda, General Delivery, Godley, Texas; and Andrews, N.M.T. Andrews, RFD #1, Fairmonte, North Carolina. One last account given on Lt. Kornman , the lone crewmember who managed to evade capture was made by Lt. Hammond on 23 October 1945 after the latter's repatriation. His report noted Lt. Kornman, the Navigator, as bailing out near Brussels, Belgium, that the plane had caught fire (100) miles east of the Rhine and crashed into the English Channel (Note: it is speculated that ?west of the Rhine' was meant?) - and that while he (Hammond) was A-2 Officer of Stalag Luft Ill, West Camp, later, he could never find Lt. Kornman's name on any list of prisoners to various (POW) camps in Germany. Additional accountings in these German reports had some POW ?File Numbers' on (5) of the captured airmen: Sands, RW. File No. 1230/44; Everhart, P.W. File No. 1231/44; Hammond, RW. File No. 1292/44; Fowler, RW. File No. 1293/44 and Beard, RW. File Jo. 1292/44.
Crew of 42-52605
Capt. Wyeth C. Everhart Command Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Gordon Lee Hammond, Jr Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Harold C. Kornman Navigator EVD
2nd/Lt. John E. Sands Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Alfred P. Rinke Engineer POW
T/Sgt. James W. Beard Radio Op. POW
T/Sgt. Jack R. Ross Gunner POW
T/Sgt. William E. Andrews Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Robert G Fowler Gunner POW
S/Sgt.John F. Beseda Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Fred J. Weber Gunner POW
Major Robert L. Cox OBS POW
Inscription:
CAPT US ARMY AIR FORCES VETERAN WWII
Burial:
Beaver Cemetery and Mausoleum
Beaver
Beaver County
Pennsylvania, USA
Plot: Section: 12 Lot Crypt Number: 18 Grave Tier Number: C
Created by: San
Record added: Nov 28, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 44876762
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1917 - 2004 (86 years)