Written by: MGG Project Team
Created: 11/18/05
Story ID: 240
Times Viewed: 1382
Norman Raymond Gellerman was born in December 1917 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His siblings remember him as a lively, good-humored, hard-working young man who was fond of cars and spending time with his family and friends.
When the US entered World War II in 1941, Norman joined the US Army Air Force. Shortly before he departed for basic training, Norman married Virginia Prayfrock of St Paul.
Perhaps it was Norman’s interest in automobiles that permitted him to train as a flight engineer; after all, Norman and his friends had once restored an ailing Dusenberg and enjoyed driving up and down St Paul’s streets in the rejuvenated car. Following his training, the mechanically adept Norman was assigned to be the flight engineer and top-turret gunner aboard a B-24 aircraft, part of the 482nd Heavy Bomb Group, 36th Bomb Squadron of the 8th Air Force.
Following the formation of the Carpetbaggers in November of 1943, Norman was among the first augmentation groups to be assigned to the Carpetbaggers in December of that year. The Carpetbaggers were a secret air unit that flew missions by night. Their aircraft were painted matte black, so they could fly by moonlight without reflecting the light of the moon or of anti-aircraft searchlights. Carpetbagger missions often involved dropping leaflets to the people of occupied France, giving details of Allied progress in the war. In addition to leaflets, the Carpetbaggers made carefully planned drops of weapons, ammunition and provisions to the French Résistance fighters.
Based at RAF Harrington, Norman worked aboard a B-24 nicknamed “Pistol-Packin’ Mama”. The plane was under the command of Lieutenant Frank McDonald. McDonald and the other members of the crew called Norman “Boss”, given his intricate knowledge of the aircraft and his duties as the flight engineer.
On the morning of March 2, 1944, Norman had a powerful premonition that he wouldn’t survive the next mission. The premonition inspired him to give many of his possessions to other men in the unit.
On that night, Pistol-Packin’ Mama was flying a mission to drop material to the Résistance in the Aisne Valley in the Picardy region of northern France. The German occupying army had been alerted to the presence of Allied aircraft in the area, and as Pistol-Packin’ Mama was flying stealthily over the city of Doullens, it was detected by a German anti-aircraft squadron who fired upon the plane.
The plane caught fire and Norman Gellerman worked frantically to stem the flow of fuel to the burning engines, delaying an explosion. Meanwhile, McDonald tried with all his might to gain enough altitude to allow his crew to parachute from the plane. Despite the efforts of the crew, the plane crashed in a field west of the rural town of Hem-Hardinval. Norman was killed on impact. Tragically, his premonition had come to pass. He was the Carpetbaggers’ first combat casualty.
Norman’s death had not been in vain, however. His efforts to forestall an explosion had saved the other seven members of the crew, including Lt. McDonald.
Later that month, Norman’s family in St Paul were informed that Norman was missing in action. It would not be confirmed that Norman was indeed killed until after the conclusion of the war, but the circumstances surrounding Norman’s death were never revealed to the family.
Despite Norman’s brief marriage to Virginia, they parented two children, including a son who was born three months after Norman had died. As time passed, the details of Norman’s death took on a life of their own. Family folklore produced various descriptions of what had happened that night in March of 1944, but none were substantiated. The family didn’t even know the exact location where Norman’s plane went down.
For over 50 years, the death of Norman Gellerman appeared well on its way to being consigned a mystery of history. In the late 1990s, all of that began to change. Norman’s grandson, Kevin Gellerman, sought to learn the truth.
At the outset, Kevin had great difficulty finding information. First, the Carpetbaggers officially became the 492nd/801st Bomb Group in April of 1944, a different unit number than Norman’s original designation, so the paper trail had become blurred. Secondly, a fire at the National Archives in St Louis in 1973 destroyed the complete military records of Norman Gellerman and countless other service veterans.
Kevin’s search may have proved entirely fruitless had it not been for the Internet. Through various connections made online, Kevin was able to pinpoint Hem-Hardinval as the location of his grandfather’s fatal plane crash. And much to Kevin’s surprise and delight, he learned that the village of Hem-Hardinval had erected a monument to his grandfather’s memory, and that the townspeople hold a commemorative ceremony at the location every March 2. Kevin was invited to participate in the ceremony in March of 2004, the 60th anniversary of the fateful night.
Following his research and journey, Kevin was able to share all he had found with his family, including with his father, Norman Jr., and with his grandmother, Virginia. Kevin’s findings have become a great source of pride for the entire family.
[Editor's Notes: The details of Kevin’s research and travels are recorded in the short documentary, "Searching for Norman: a grandson’s journey." View clips from this film.
Stay tuned for more opportunities for storytelling via film...
Rapidly changing technology has revolutionized filmmaking in the past few years. Amateurs and professionals alike have access to first-quality equipment that can create or integrate digital images from a wide variety of sources, including the Society’s vast collections. Through an innovative blend of interviews, archival film footage, and historic photographs, documentarians will capture the imagination and interest of viewers across the generations.
To promote this innovative medium, the Project will sponsor workshops and invite the public to create and submit their films. Outstanding examples will be presented to the public in a series of statewide film festivals. The Society will also seek a broadcast media partner for statewide on-the-air distribution. The best films will be released on DVD. These new technologies bring new participants and audiences to public history and the legacy of the Greatest Generation will reach far into the future.]
Edited:
Written by: MGG Project Team
Created: 11/18/05
Story ID: 240
Times Viewed: 1382
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