Ewart Theodore Sconiers
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

On 17 August 1942, then-Second Lieutenant Ewart Theodore Sconiers was serving as Bombardier of B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber (SN 41-9089) nicknamed 'Johnny Reb' in the 414th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces. 'Johnny Reb' was one of 12 B-17s participating in the first heavy bomber raid by the 8th Air Force on the shipyards of Rouen/Sotteville, France.

On 19 August 1942, 2LT Sconiers flew in B-17 Bomber (SN 41-9103) nicknamed 'Dixie Demo' and the bombing target was the German airfield at Abbeville/Drucat, France. This mission was flown to occupy the Luftwaffe and to try to prevent them from opposing the invasion of Dieppe, France, by over 5,000 allied troops (mostly Canadians), with six of the 97th Group's B-17s flying a diversion for the Abbeville raid.

On 21 August 1942, a 3rd mission was staged by the 8th Air Force on the shipyards in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 2LT Sconiers was again part of the crew in the 'Johnny Reb,' which was lagging at the back of the formation, causing it to became easy prey for German Fw 190 Fighters. A German shell went through the right windscreen and the Co-Pilot, 2LT Donald A. Walter, was killed instantly. The cockpit was wrecked, the top turret was blown out and pilot 2LT Richard S. Starks was severely wounded in the chest, arm and legs, and his hands were badly burned. His mask had been knocked off and, barely conscious from the lack of oxygen, 2LT Starks managed to call 2LT Sconiers on the radio. Moving to the cabin, 2LT Sconiers quickly sized up the situation, put Starks' mask back on, pulled the body of the co-pilot away from the seat and controls, and took his place. 2LT Sconiers, who had tried to become a pilot, had washed out in primary training and had gone back to civilian life before joining again as a Bombardier. Now at the controls, 2LT Sconiers noticed that 2 of the 4 engines were losing power as he flew the badly-damaged plane in sight of the coast of England. Struggling with the controls while trying to manage the gyrocompass and stabilize the air speed that was being advised by pilot Starks, 2LT Sconiers finally managed to return the plane safely back to base, landing at Horsham St Faith. 2LT Sconiers’ courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

The heroic story made the headlines all over the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom. Both 2LT Sconier and 2LT Starks were awarded the DSC in a ceremony at Polebrook Airfield on 17 September 1942. A newsreel by Pathe was made of the ceremony.

2LT Sconiers flew some other missions with the 97th and, before being transferred to North Africa, was on the Group's last mission, the raid on the German submarine pens at Lorient/Kerovan, France on 21 October 1942. His plane, 'Johnny Reb II,' was one of 3 of the 97th's B-17 bombers shot down that day. 2LT Sconiers bailed out over land and the plane crashed in the Bay of Biscay, the rest of the crew being saved by a French fishing boat. All were captured by the Germans as prisoners. No Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) for the plane's loss exists.

2LT Sconiers was interned at Stalag Luft 3. While walking on the icy circuit of the camp one day, he fell and hit his ear on a jagged tree stump. Infection set in and, because his ear problem was left untreated, he experienced more serious medical problems that eventually led to him displaying symptoms of mental illness. His fellow POWs tried to protect him from the German guards, but one day when the men were outside, the guards came into his barracks and took him away. The Germans, rather than repatriating him, removed him from the camp and sent him to a mental hospital in Lubin, Poland, on 23 January 1944. The next day, Sconiers was dead and the cause of death was officially declared by the Germans to be Schizophrenia.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
Prisoner of War Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Force Bombardier Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation (Synopsis)

Second Lieutenant (Air Corps) Ewart Theodore Sconiers (ASN: 0-724270), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Bombardier of a B-17 Heavy Bomber in the 414th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group (H), EIGHTH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 21 August 1942, against enemy targets in the European Theater of Operations. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Second Lieutenant Sconiers on this occasion have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, General Orders No. 30 (1942)

Burial

First Lieutenant Ewart Theodore Sconiers was buried in the municipal cemetery of Lubin, Poland, but efforts to retrieve his remains after the war had long been in vain. Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA) and the last Stalag Luft III POW not to have been brought home, new hopes were raised in August 2015, when a grave marked "Edouard Sconiers" could miraculously be located at the French Military cemetery in Gdansk Poland. On the premise that these could be the remains of 1LT Sconiers, the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency), after meetings in Poland and with the help of the Polish and French authorities, permission was granted in 2016 to have that grave opened and the remains there analyzed. A first examination made in a Polish laboratory proved positive enough to have all the remains brought to the USA for further analysis by dedicated staff in the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, NE.

Finally, in the first days of April 2017, the DPAA officially announced to 1LT Sconiers' grateful family that his remains had been positively identified. For over 65 years, Ewart Sconiers' name was on the Walls of the Missing at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium. In May 2017, a rosette indicating the recovery of his remains was placed next to his name there.

On 27 January 2018, First Lieutenant Ewart Theodore Sconiers was reburied next to his Mother at Southwide Baptist Church Cemetery in Walton County, FL.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186691791/ewart-theodore-sconiers