"Down in the Swamp of Santes, France"
-A Tribute To Lt. Robert Matyasz, 55th.FS/20th.FG-
By:Joss LeClercq
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Didier Potié and I were frequently told about a plane which had crashed in a swamp near Santes during the Second World War. The various witnesses didn't agree about the date, type of plane, citizenship and fate of the crew. The range varied from the German "Stuka" to the British "Lancaster" bomber. But they all agree to say that the plane had dug out a big hole, and was rapidly covered up with water. From other sources, we knew that a U.S. fighter, a P-38 "Lightning" had fallen 2 kilometers south-east of Santes on the 16th of March 1944. This information seemed to correspond with accounts that a twin-engined aircraft had force-landed between Santes and Wavrin. The purchase of the P-38 pilot 2nd.Lt. Robert Matyasz' Individual Deceased Record File enabled us to clarify the whole case. Robert Matyasz was born on April 28, 1921, son of Michael J. and Lillian M. Matyasz, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He joined the U.S. Army Air Force on the 30th of August 1943, with 135 flying hours already logged in his log-book. He received his training at the following stations : Williams Field, Chandler, AZ from 30 August to 10 September 1943, Muroc (later Edwards Air Force Base, CA) from 10 September to 9 October 1943, Salinas (CA) in transit on the 9th and 10th of October 1943 and at finally Lomita, CA up to the 23rd of December 1943. Then, 2nd Lieutenant Matyasz was assigned to the 8th Air Force, in England. On the 12th of February 1944, the young fighter pilot arrives to the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, at King's Cliffe. This Group is equipped with twin-booms, twin-engine Lockheed P-38 "Lightning". 2nd. Lieutenant Matyasz flew his first mission with the 20th.FG on the 23rd of February 1944. He flew that day as the wingman of Captain Maurice McLary. Matyasz had the radio-code "Towntalk Red 2" for that uneventful sweep over the Low-Countries. On the 25th of February 1944, 20th and 55th FG P-38s escorted Boeing B-17 bombers against the Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg. Matyasz was again the wingman of Captain McLary, who seems to have taken the young pilot under his wing. Flying in the third slot on this ops wass 2nd Lieutenant Harry Bisher, of whom we'll talk again a little later. On the 28th of February 1944, these same Groups escorted the "heavies" in raids against the noball sites in the Pas-de-Calais area. Here again, Matyasz is McLary's faithful number 2, with Bisher as number 3. On the 2nd of March 1944, several hundreds bombers were bound for Germany, 84 B-17s (out of 106 to take-off) carry out a raid against the Chartres airfield. The 20th Fighter Group patroled at medium altitude and was to engage any Luftwaffe unit in the area. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Mark E. Hubbard, its new C.O., the Group took off at 2.20 PM. At 3.25 PM, they passed over the French coast, east of the Cotentin peninsula. From there the Group flew down to Chateaubriand, north-east of Angers. Then then the 20th F.G. followed an eastern course and eventually steered north to cross the coast at Cayeux-sur-Mer at 5.35 PM. No enemy planes were met. Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard was leading the "white" section, with Lieutenant Brice as his wingman, Captain McLary as number 3 and Matyasz as number 4. On the 3rd of March 1944, for a B-17 escort over Germany, Robert Matyasz (white 4) flies as the wingman of Lieutenant Bisher, Captain McLary was the acting "white leader" and Lieutenant Riemensnider flew as "white 2". The following day, 2nd Lieutenant Matyasz didn't fly. But on this mission, the 20th F.G. lost 3 pilots : Lieutenant James C. Scott, near Amsterdam, Lieutenand Edward G. Pfieffer over Germany and Lieutenant Harry E. Bisher. One engine on the plane of the latter broke down over Belgium. Escorted by Captain Reihmer of 77th F.S., he turns back towards home. But once over North Sea, Lieutenant Bisher apparently lost his way and came back over the continent. A few minutes later, at 3 000 feet, he flew over Wevelgem airfield, home of the 4th Staffel of JG 26 "Schlageter", equipped with Focke-Wulf FW-190s. Despite the deteriorating weather, Gerd Wiegand took off with the intention to force the "indian" to land at Wevelgem. Eventually, not having succeeded, Wiegand fired a few bullets in the P-38's wings, forcing Bisher to bail out. Both plane and pilot fell near Evregnies (Belgium), a few kilometers east of Tourcoing (France). Bisher evaded capture and got back to England via Spain, a few month later. Wiegand, victorious for the 26th time, had to fly in a cloud of hail. He took the opportunity of a hole in the clouds to land on Lille-Bondues airfield. After landing, he's told that the american pilot fell into a river and drowned ! Happily, many years later, they got in touch with each other through a Belgian air researcher. On the 15th of March 1944, Matyasz returned to the position of Captain McLary's wingman as the 20th. escorted B-17 and B-24 bombers against Brunswick. The U.S. bombers' target for the 16th of March 1944 was the Augsburg factory, where Messerschmitt fighters were being built. The 20th Fighter Group, led by Major Johnson, took off at 9.36 AM from King's Cliffe to as act as escort to 3 boxes of B-24s over the target area. 45 "Lightnings" get in the air, but 9 are forced to abort the mission due to mechanical troubles. Bombers cover extends from 11:13 am to 12:21 pm. No enemy plane were seen by the pilots of the 20th FG. This is 2nd.Lt. Matyasz' seventh recorded mission. Around 1:00 PM, "Towntalk yellow" section, led by Captain McLary, with Lieutenants Matyasz, Riemensnider and Martin, flew over a Belgian town, thought to be Namur, on the way back. Captain McLary explained the following events in his report : "I was leading yellow flight. Lt. Matyasz was flying yellow 2. In the vicinity of Namur, Belgium, we received a few bursts of FLAK at 10,000 feet. The time was about 1310 hours. At about 1330 hours I callled and asked Lt. Matyasz how his gas was. He said he had 70 gallons left. Previous to this time I had noticed he was leaking gas and told him to try another system, cross feed, or change tanks to stop the leakage. He said he had tried everything but could not stop the leak. "I had him fly straight and level while I inspected his ship. The gas was pouring from the right, bottom, and rear of his gondola. I checked his gas consumption, which seemed to be about 10 gallons a minutes. At the point he told me he had 70 gallons I noticed the time. I re-checked after two minutes and he told me he had 50 gallons. I then directed him to turn south from Enghien [20 km south-est of Bruxelles], Belgium, and told him to bail out. A few minutes later Major McAuley called and asked him if he had bailed out. He said, 'No, I'm going to ride her 'til she quits.' Several pilots in the Group called over to him and gave him their best wishes. The last we saw of him he was headed south." Around 2:00 pm, in Santes, a little village 10 kilometers west of Lille, inhabitants hear a unusual sound in the sky. They notice a plane which seems to encounter some kind of troubles. Suddenly, flames wrap around one of the engines. The fighter starts a dive and hits the ground in the swamp, in a place called "Les grands clairs". Immediately, a few people arrive at the crash site : Mr Charlet, a farmer, was working in a field nearby, quickly joined by MM Levecq and Delacroix. The plane was below the surface of the muddy water. The area is covered with aircraft parts and more gruesome, pieces of flesh. German soldiers arrive a while later and picked up the easiest parts to take. It's difficult to dig as water has already topped up the hole. In the following days, the people of Santes put a wooden cross near the crash site, written "mort au champ d'honneur 16-3-1944" (killed in the line of duty), with a R.A.F. cockade. In the spring of 1945, Henri Levecq, rural constable of Santes and eyewitness of the crash, answers to a newpaper request from the British and American war graves commissions. There's a lot of soldiers and airmen still missing in action. Royal Air Force Investigators Squadron Leader Day and Flying Officer Dowes went to Santes to collect informations and visit the site. They left the area convinced the plane is a P-38 and that the pilot is american. They transmit the case to their American counterparts. It appears then that the plane should be P-38J serial number 42-67907, flown by 2nd. lLeutenant Robert Matyasz. Only the finding of physical evidence can confirm this hypothesis. A try to recover the body of the unfortunate pilot is scheduled for the summer of 1947. A group of G.I.s led by Lieutenant Hoovler arrived in Lille on the 11th of August 1947. After several days of hard work, with the Santes' fire brigade pumps running night and day (with U.S. petrol due to French shortage,) on Thursday the 14th of August 1947, remains of the pilot are found at a level 20 feet deep, with 2 ID tags. They belong to 2nd. Lieutenant Matyasz. Aircraft parts are also found, one bearing the Army Air Force serial number 42-67907. 2 Browning 0.50 machine guns were also discovered. Their numbers matched with the ones fitted on the plane. The 3 different pieces of evidence clear the doubt about the pilot's identity. 2nd Lieutenand Robert Matyasz, serial number O-753703, was buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, in Neuville-en-Condroz, south of Liège in Belgium. In August 1997, I went there to lay some flowers on his grave and pay him a tribute. - Missing Air Crew Report # 3096 - Individual Deceased Personal File of 2nd Lt. Matyasz - History of 20th Fighter Group, through the courtesy of Jack Ilfrey and Chris Pannell - Letters from Jack Ilfrey and Chris Pannell - Local information collected by Didier Potié Contact : Joss LeClerq 51, route de Fromelles 59249 AUBERS FRANCE |
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(This article copyright © 1999 Joss LeClerq, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)
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