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The Kassel Cassettes

an audiobook on CD

    On Sept. 27, 1944, during a bombing mission to Kassel, Germany, the 445th Bomb Group became separated from the main bomber stream. Its 35 planes dropped their bombs and began to regroup, unaware that they had lost their fighter protection.

    Suddenly, they were attacked by as many as 150 German fighter planes, Fokke-Wulf 190s and ME-109s, that cut through the formation "like a knife through butter," according to Bill Dewey, a pilot in one of the B-24s. The bombers with their .50 caliber machine guns clattering away, the fighters with their 20-millimeter cannons firing, planes blowing up, parachutes over the sky, and then the "cavalry" arrived -- 30 American fighter planes joined the fray. real audio  mp3

    When one of World War II's most spectacular air battles was over, the 445th had lost 25 planes. Eighteen German fighter planes were downed, and one American fighter was lost. One of the remaining bombers crash-landed in Belgium and two in France. Two, including the plane piloted by Dewey, reached an emergency landing field in England. Four made it back to their base in Tibenham, near Norwich. And one overshot the base and crash-landed three miles away.

    The story of the Kassel Mission is one of the most dramatic untold stories of World War II. It is a story not just about combat in the sky, but about gallantry and courage, fear and fate, and it is a story about a monument that has brought closure to dozens of families, both American and German. Aaron Elson, author of "Tanks for the Memories," has put together a collection of accounts excerpted from oral history interviews with survivors of the battle.

    When navigator Frank Bertram bailed out of his crippled B-24, he hoped to hide out by day and walk to Switzerland by night, but an injured leg gave him away. A 12-year-old boy, Walter Hassenpflug, saw Bertram's leg sticking out from some bushes, and turned him in to the authorities. He may have saved Bertram's life, as several fliers who survived the battle were murdered on the ground by civilians.

    Walter lived near the railroad station in the city of Bad Hersfeld, which was the target of a bombing raid six weeks later. Walter's house took a direct hit from a 500-pound bomb. His entire family was killed and he was seriously injured.

    As he grew older, he began to research the battle that took place in the sky the day before he captured Bertram. He began making inquiries through the 2nd Air Division Association, and one day one of those inquiries arrived at Bertram's home in San Francisco. real audio  mp3

     At the same time, Bill Dewey and George Collar, a bombardier who became a prisoner of war, were coorresponding with survivors and collecting documents about the battle.

    Thus was born the Kassel Mission Memorial, three granite slabs in a forest clearing in Friedlos, Germany, where the lead plane of the 445th crashed. The monument contains a description of the battle and the names of all the Americans and Germans who died in it.

    The Kassel Cassettes on CD is an ongoing project, but the several accounts in this set provide a vivid description of the battle itself, and of the lives of some of its survivors both before and after World War II.

    What you get:

    Kassel Mission: Survivors' Stories. An 80-minute audio CD containing several different accounts from the heart of the battle.

      George Collar: A one-hour CD excerpted from a 1999 interview with Collar, a former bombardier and prisoner of war who was instrumental in preserving the history of the Kassel Mission.

    Bill Dewey: A pilot who flew his crippled plane back to an emergency landing field at Manston, England. Dewey and Collar were co-founders of the Kassel Mission Memorial Association. This CD is approximately 40 minutes.

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    Ira Weinstein: A bombardier who became a prisoner of war, Weinstein is a colorful storyteller and is a key member of the memorial association. This CD, excerpted from a 1999 interview, is about 50 minutes. real audio  mp3

    Frank Bertram: At the beginning of this project, Bertram narrated a sometimes rambling monologue into a pair of cassettes and sent them to Aaron Elson, who was unable at the time to travel to the West Coast for an interview. This 80-minute CD provides an excellent overview of the mission, as well as some poignant and compelling moments. real audio  mp3

    George Noorigian: A waist gunner on pilot Jackson Mercer's plane, Noorigian was credited with shooting down a Fokke-Wulf 190. This CD is an hour long. real audio  mp3

    Web Uebelhoer: The pilot of the deputy lead plane on the mission, Uebelhoer saw the lead plane go down. This CD is an hour long. real audio  mp3

    Corman Bean: The navigator on a plane that was shot down. This CD is an hour long. real audio  mp3

    Charles Graham. The engineer on one of the planes lost that day, Graham became a prisoner of war and took part in an 88-day "death march" near the end of the war. This CD is about 45 minutes. real audio  mp3

    Corman Bean, an encore: real audio  mp3

    More CDs are in the works, but this collection will give you an excellent picture of the battle and makes a great gift or stocking stuffer.

    What you don't get:

     Fancy packaging. Expensive casing. Graphics and liner notes, although more information and transcripts of the interviews are available at kasselmission.com, and you can hear several audio clips from these CDs at audiomurphy.com, home of the best war stories aloud on the Internet. The CDs come in paper sleeves, and slimline cases are available upon request.

    Please visit our ebay store to purchase or bid on individual CDs or books of World War II oral history.

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     Here are some of the things people who bought Elson's audiobooks are saying:

     "Another great collection of WWII memories from guys who were there."

     "Great WWII oral historical recordings/accounts!!!"

     "Great product -- think it will be a hit!"

     "Great seller who made Christmas shopping for my husband easy."

     "A lot of good history I'll be able to enjoy for years."

     "An amazing story; thanks for getting these for those of us that weren't there."

    Bonus! Order a set of the Kassel Cassettes on CD, and get a free copy of "Tail Gunner Sam," a fascinating roller coaster of a 2-CD interview with Sam Mastrogiacomo. A veteran of the 445th Bomb Group, Sam did not take part in the Kassel Mission, but he did fly on the Gotha Mission of Feb. 10, 1944. The Gotha Mission is noted for being the battle with the longest continuous contact between American bombers and German fighter planes: 2 hours and 10 minutes of constant engagement.

    This set is ideal for the history buff in your family. You can listen in your car, convert the files to mp3s and put them on your iPod. And best of all, you'll be helping to keep alive the memory of the little-known Kassel Mission of Sept. 27, 1944.

Order a set from our eBay store