A
collection of stories, photos, art and information on Stalag Luft I
If you are a former Prisoner of War or a next of
kin of a POW, we invite you to sign and leave your email address so others that
come may find you. Please mention camp, compound, barracks and room numbers if
possible.
Awarded 5 Bronze Stars
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Medal with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters
Good Conduct Medal
S/Sgt. Phern
Stout Lockwood, MO
379th Bomb Group - 527th Bomb Squad
Drew Field - Tampa FL - Gunnery Instructor
398th Bomb Group - 600th Bomb Squad
Tail Gunner
Shot down November 26, 1944
POW camp - Stalag Luft IV
When he parachuted from the
plane he landed in a plowed field and when he looked up there was a German
farmer standing there with a double barreled shotgun aimed at
him. During his time as a POW he said that at times they had
to boil shoe leather to make a broth so they had something to eat.
He stated that he was marched around Germany for 18 weeks at the end of
the war and was liberated by the Russians. It is reported that when
he returned home he weighed less than 100 lbs.
Phern Stout enlisted in the Army Air Force on June 5,
1941 at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He graduated from Aerial Gunnery School
in Las Vegas, NV on November 16, 1942 and was promoted from Corporal to
Sergeant. He was sent to England as a tail gunner on a combat crew
assigned to the 379th Bomb Group, where he completed the required 25
missions. While flying with them on a raid to Stuttgart, in a B-17
flying fortress named Judy, they were hit by enemy fire and all
manual flight controls were lost and half of their oxygen supply
destroyed. High over France on the way home he and seven of the
other crewmembers refused to bail out and leave the two waist
gunners who were wounded. So with nothing but George (the
automatic pilot) and a prayer, he and his crew flew back to England and
eased down on a just long enough strip of an RAF field. Phern was
credited with shooting down a FW-190 just before drowsiness hit him from
lack of oxygen. He was awarded the "Distinguished Flying
Cross". After the war he returned home to Lockwood where he
lived the remainder of his life until he passed away in 1971 at the age of
56.
Newspaper articles and letters home
AP article on Phern and his "Judy" crew - September
1943
"Back in the tail of the fortress Sgt. Phern Stout
bagged himself a FW-190 just before drowsiness hit him because of
lack of oxygen."
Sept. 18, 1943 letter from Phern to his parents
After completing his missions with
the 379th Bomb Group he returned to the United States in December
1943 and was sent to Drew Field in Tampa, Florida as a gunnery
instructor.
Phern was the tail gunner on my Dad's crew and was
flying with them when they were shot down on November 26, 1944 while
bombing Misburg, Germany. This article was printed in
Phern's hometown newspaper detailing the MIA report to his parents.
His parents had received a letter dated November 22 from him in
which he told them he had only 4 more missions to complete before
coming home. The article states that Phern had dreaded going back
for another bombing tour, telling his friends that he would never
come back because "A man can never be that lucky
twice". The article notes that it is possible that he may
be a prisoner in Germany.
A Postcard home from Dulag Luft
A Postcard from POW camp
In this article his parents have received word from
the War Department that Phern has been liberated from a German
prison camp and is being returned to the United States. The
paper also states the Phern carried out his part in the war in a magnificent
manner!
Phern arrived home and will have a 60 day furlough
visiting his parents. He reports that he has 138 points and
hopes the Air Force will see fit to return him to civilian
life.
Phern Stout (second from right)
This photo was found with Phern's memorabilia, but nothing is
known about it. If you have any knowledge about it please email
us.
Could it be the crew of Judy mentioned in the AP article from when
he was a member of the 379th Bomb Group? or Perhaps some newly freed POWs?
527th Bomber Squadron,
8th Air Force, 1944
World War Two, B17(?)
"Judy" Crew
The censor blackened the
crews patches.
Front row, left to
right:
Edwards, Sgt. Robert E.
Bryson, St. Pierre, Sgt.
Phern Stout, Gast(?)
Back row, left to right:
Dawson, Capt. Brown, Lt.
Noble M. Johnson, Lt.
Jacobs, Lt. Templeton
