Robert B Newsbigle was born 19 Oct 1921 to Laura Miller Newsbigle and Walter Bruce Newsbigle in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he had one older brother Donald. Robert’s father passed away on 19 March 1934 leaving he and his brother to be raised by their mother. Robert graduated high school from the Wyoming Seminary, a Methodist college preparatory school located in Kingston, PA just across the Susquehanna River from Wilkes-Barre.

Robert registered for Selective Service on 16 Feb 1942. On 28 Sept 1942 he was enlisted in the Army Air Forces, entering service at Wilkes-Barre, PA, Army Serial Number: 33355040. After successful completion of basic training, Radio school training, and flexible gunnery training Robert was transferred to Alexandria Army Air Base, Louisiana; a replacement crew and combat crew training base.

At Alexandria, AAB, Robert was introduced to the B-17 crew he would serve with once deployed to the European Theater of Operations within the Eighth Air Force, specific assignment not yet declared. This original crew consisted of the following members: 1st Lt. Dean Allen, (P); 1st Lt. Charles Rapp Jr., (CP); 2nd Lt. Charles Donahue, (N); 1st Lt. Michael Vlahos, (B); T/Sgt Harvey Purkey, Jr. (ETTG); T/Sgt Robert Newsbigle, (RO); S/Sgt Eugene LeVeque, (BTG); S/Sgt Richard Huebotter, (WG); S/Sgt. Charles Reinartsen, (WG); S/Sgt. James “Rae” Carey, (TG).

After several months of combat crew training at Alexandria this replacement crew departed for England aboard an ocean liner troopship for a 14 day voyage. Upon debarkation at Liverpool early June 1944 this Dean Allen crew was assigned to the 368th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, operating from RAF Thurleigh, USAAF Station 111, located near Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

On 26 August 1944 Robert was flying with the Dean Allen crew aboard B-17G-40-VE-42-97946, named "Hard To Get". The target for today was the synthetic oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen, Germany; about 38 miles east of the Dutch boarder. The crew this day was as follows, with inclusion of their final fates:

1st Lt Dean Courtney Allen (P), ASN: O-759675 (Georgia) POW; Stalag VII A /RTD/EUS

1st Lt Charles U Rapp, Jr (CP), ASN: O-705426 (Pennsylvania), KIA, near Budberg, Germany

2nd Lt Charles Howard Evans, Jr (N), ASN: O-716290 (Pennsylvania), POW/Murdered; Groß-Gerau, Germany

1st Lt Michael L Vlahos (B) ASN: O-703540 (Ohio), KIA, near Budberg, Germany

T/Sgt Harvey J Purkey, Jr (ETTG) ASN: 16113858 (Michigan) POW/Murdered; Groß-Gerau, Germany

T/Sgt Robert B Newsbigle (RO) ASN: 33355040 (Pennsylvania), KIA, near Budberg, Germany

S/Sgt Eugene Wallace LeVeque (BTG) ASN: 39135725 (California), KIA, near Budberg, Germany

S/Sgt Richard Charles Huebotter (WG) ASN: 19129898 (California), POW, Stalag Luft IV, & Stalag Luft I /RTD/EUS

S/Sgt James Raeburn “Rae” Carey (TG) ASN: 19076562 (Oregon), POW; Stalag Luft IV /RTD/EUS

Regarding this final mission the following is an excerpt from the postwar witness statement by waist gunner S/Sgt Richard C Huebotter related to the questionnaire sent him in regard to Missing Air Crew Report No. 8464, and the loss of B-17G, Serial Number 42-97964, named “Hard To Get” and its crew that day. This letter response was to Lt Col. John J. Smith, Chief Notification Section; dated 26 Feb 1946.

"It was August 26, 1944. Our target was Gelsenkirchen, Germany. We had no trouble on the route in. We reached the I.P. at scheduled time and were on the bomb run when we were hit by flak. The first burst hit our left wing and knocked off most of the other section. The second burst struck the bomb bay and started a fire. The third burst hit in the waist and a fire was started there also. I went for the small “foamite” extinguisher. Looking over my head I saw all of the control wires in a jumbled condition. The fourth burst hit the right wing and knocked out numbers three and four engines. This all happened rapidly. The pilot gave the order to bail out. The co-pilot was at the controls. The pilot said to him "Get out Chuck" but the co-pilot answered, "I've got the controls. I'm flying the ship. You go and I'll follow." From the statements of the crew members in the forward part of the ship I believe they left in the following manner; navigator, bombardier, engineer, pilot. As I left the ship I could feel it falling off on its left wing. The crew of the ship whose wing we were flying on that day were shot down about a month later and we met them in prison camp. They said they watched our ship after it was hit. They saw several chutes and then they said the ship seemed to fall apart but it did not look like there was an explosion. The report turned in back at the base was that four chutes were seen. I landed in the Rhine river and was picked up by a German in a row boat. He towed me ashore and I was taken into custody by a German soldier. He took me to a small shack which was some sort of a headquarters for a flak gun crew. Here I met Lt Evans. He had on his officers greens under his heated suit and G.I. shoes under his leather flying boots. He gave me his flying suit and boots and I took off my wet clothes. We remained there until about 1730 hours. A German officer then came with two soldiers in a truck. This truck was used to go around to various spots and pick up parts of our ship. Our first stop was in a field and a car came up pulling a trailer carrying a casket. The soldiers went into the field behind some trees and came back carrying some clothes. I recognized Lt Vlahos “bunny type” heated flying suit. We then went over to where the nose of the ship had landed in a back yard. They ordered Lt Evans out of the truck to go with them, but told me to stay as I was injured and unable to walk. When they returned Lt Evans said they had made him help them remove Lt Rapp’s body from the flight deck. They also brought the G´ box, the servo unit of the auto-pilot all badly smashed and several rounds of fifty caliber ammunition. We then went on further and picked up the life raft, the dinghy radio, some radio tuning units, the spare chute from the waist, a jacket I recognized as Sgt Newsbigle’s and the black flying shoes of the ball turret gunner, Sgt LeVeque. There were also two more caskets. From there we went to a headquarters building where we picked up Lt Allen. He said he had been with Sgt Purkey and Carey until they had brought him there for treatment for his ankle. We then drove to an airfield where we saw Sgt Purkey and Carey. We spent the night here in jail, one man to a cell. The following day three guards came after us. We had to walk into town. Lt Evans and Sgt Purkey assisted me. We went to the station and were waiting for a train when the air raid sirens blew. They took us into a bomb shelter. We could hear the ships overhead and bombs dropping. After the raid we went back to the station and boarded the train. This was just after midday. We rode this train to Cologne. Here we went into a Wehrmacht canteen and ate our supper. We boarded another train and rode to Wiesbaden. There we were delayed about two hours waiting for another train. It was about 2:00 AM when we left there. This is when Lt Evans and Sgt Purkey decided to escape. At a small station we stopped and as the train started rolling again they opened the door and escaped. The guards were asleep, but when the door slammed shut they woke up. The train was rolling and they could do nothing. We stopped at the next station and they telephoned the situation. We got the next train back. When we got there the infantry was out with shovels and clubs to beat the bushes. We waited there for some time, but it was getting late so we got the next train for Frankfurt."

Regarding the Sgt Purkey and Lt Evans escape attempt they did not make it very far after their escape from the POW train at Wiesbaden. They only traveling about 10 miles / 16 km southeast before being captured again at Trebur, Germany on 29 August 1944. Lt Evans and Sgt Purkey were then transported about 3 miles / 5 km to Groß-Gerau (English Gross-Gerau) and paraded down the main street being beaten with sticks, stones and fists by angry Nazi civilians who had recently been bombed by allied aircraft. Then Sgt Purkey and Lt Evans were murdered in the closed courtyard of the city hall. The Groß-Gerau chief of police and another man were convicted of these murders. Case No. 12-793 (US v. Nikolaus Fachinger and Heinrich Flauaus) Trial concluded 3 Aug 1945; both Nazis were convicted of this war crime being sentenced to death by hanging. For trial transcript see:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/dachautrial/fs59.pdf

T/Sgt Robert B Newsbigle was initially interred at the locale cemetery at Budberg, Germany. Postwar he was disinterred and relocated for permanent interment at the Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium; Block B, Row 43, Grave 5 where he continues to rest in peace to this day.

T/Sgt Newsbigle: Awards and Commendations include but are not limited to:

The European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal

Air Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters

Purple Heart Medal

Good Conduct Medal

World War II Victory Medal

306BG; Distinguished Unit Citations: Germany, 11 Jan 1944; Germany, 22 Feb 1944 (all members eligible to wear)

Bio by Scott Muselin

Member Profile: Vindicator I - Find a Grave

Source: Find A Grave memorial

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3.

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