Lt. George M. Collar, B24 Liberator Bombardier 445th Bomb Group 2nd Air Division 8th USAAF

Shot down. Bailed out. Captured. Attacked by German civilians. Picked up the dead. POW. Lt. George Collar's 29th mission to Kassel, Germany on September 27, 1944 would be his last of the war. The Kassel Mission was the greatest single-mission loss of aircraft from any American bombardment group during World War II. American losses were 31 B-24 Liberator bombers and one P-51 Mustang shot down. 118 Americans were killed, of whom 11 were murdered after parachuting to safety. 121 Americans ended up in German POW camps and survived. Source: Wikipedia. Lt. Collar's interview is one of many related to the Kassel Mission. Our father, Joseph G. Dzenowagis, was a navigator who flew 34 missions on with the 467th Bomb Group based at Rackheath, near Norwich in England. The 467th was one of the 14 bomber and 5 fighter groups with the 2nd Air Division. We have interviewed hundreds of veterans and produced a number of documentaries as a family. One of them, about the Kassel Mission, will be shared on YouTube in the near future. We also share our history interviews with the American Library Memorial to the 2nd Air Division. At the end of the war in 1945 and in the years since the 2nd Air Division raised funds to create a "living memorial." It is the American Library 2nd Air Division Memorial, a place to not only remember those lost, but to also build upon the cultural and enduring ties between the peoples of America and the United Kingdom. The Library, in Norwich, England, has books, events, lectures and an extensive research archives, serving as an important resource for information about a family member who served, about the war and about American culture. We encourage you to become involved, to find out more about how you can connect, research, volunteer or contribute to the American Library Memorial to the 2nd Air Division: https://www.americanlibrary.uk