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The story behind the Hookem Cow Website |
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A Veteran’s Story
by Jeff Seale
In March 2005, my 13-year-old daughter was assigned the task of researching her family’s past. This genealogy project was to go back at least six generations, provide any colorful anecdotes, and make a clever presentation before her classmates. Having an older brother and a first cousin who have a keen sense of history and a wealth of knowledge of our family’s genealogy, I thought it would be no problem to have her ask for their assistance in providing the colorful stories. Thomas Franklin Seale had always been just a footnote in my father’s memory. Uncle Thomas, one of my dad’s older brothers, was a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator who had died in a fiery crash on takeoff in England two weeks before the end of World War II. To me, Uncle Thomas was just an oil painting on my grandmother’s living room wall. About all I knew was that he was a 20-year-old kid, full of life and promise, frozen in time. His life, especially the last year and a half, was unknown. The details of my Uncle Thomas’ aircraft accident and death, over 60 years ago was an unresolved chapter in the Seale family history. I wanted to know what happened, so long ago on that foggy English morning at 5:12 AM, April 14, 1945. Sitting at my desk last March, I began to tell my daughter what I knew of the Seale Family. I then remembered the story, or at least what little I knew, of Uncle Thomas. To give her a little more detail, I picked up the phone and called my brother, Tom, who was named after our uncle. I knew Uncle Thomas was a member of the 8th Air Force, 458th Bomb Group, and the 754th Squadron. I gave this information to my brother and in less than an hour he called me back with incredible news. He directed me to a website on the Internet that not only had a picture of Uncle Thomas’ crew, but also had a detailed description of the fatal accident. It was a first hand account, detailed, description of the accident. I said, “You have got to be kidding me!” The story was named “The Hookem Cow’s Final Mission” and was written by the only surviving crewmember from the accident. I was so astounded I said it again, “You have got to be kidding me!” I quickly found the website which had pictures of my uncle and the crew of the B-24 bomber named “Hookem Cow.” Photographs accompanied the article that was written for an aviation magazine in 2003. I knew I had to talk to the man who had survived this horrific crash and had recently written the article. I had to know more. After a couple of phone
calls and an email, we discovered that the article had been
published in R/C Report, a magazine for radio controlled aircraft
enthusiasts. Within ten minutes, I had the publisher of the magazine
on the phone hoping he could help me find the last remaining
survivor of the Hookem Cow.
The publisher informed me that his magazine is published right here in Huntsville, Alabama. He then asked me if I was sitting down. He told me that the last remaining survivor of the Hookem Cow lives in Huntsville. “You have got to be kidding me!” I said. “One of the two survivors of my uncle’s plane crash sixty years ago is living right here? You are telling me that I have been driving by his house almost everyday for the last 15 years!” I had to talk to this man. Within minutes, I had him on the phone. He was Don C. Neville, a World War II Veteran and B-24 waist gunner. Mr. Don is a lifelong resident of Huntsville, a gentleman in his eighties, a friend of my Uncle Thomas, and a hero with a heck of story to tell. After talking with him on the phone I had to meet him. When I first shook Don’s hand, he said to me, “I knew Tom very well.” I had never heard anyone refer to my uncle as anything except Thomas. I knew that Don and Tom must have been real good friends. We talked for hours. I found that Don and Tom had gone through gunnery school together in Florida. He told me they were assigned to the same crew and trained together at Westover Air Base, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He described their journey ferrying a brand new B-24 over the Atlantic Ocean in February/March 1945, (an ordeal that took over a month due to mechanical and weather difficulties). Don began to fill in the blanks in my uncle’s life. As a former United States Air Force pilot and currently a Boeing 737 pilot for United Airlines, I was especially interested in what happened that fateful morning of April 14, 1945. Don told me their mission that day involved a massive Allied Forces strike of nearly 2,000 aircraft into southern Germany to neutralize the last remnants of Nazi forces. It was a cold, foggy morning at Horsham St. Faith Air Base near Norwich, England. The crew of the Hookem Cow was awakened at 3:30 AM for the mission briefing. In order to carry the maximum number of bombs required for the mission, a few of the Hookem Cow’s crewmembers would be left behind. The aircraft commander, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, flight engineer, and one gunner were required for the mission. This meant that two gunners would be left on the ground in England. They all wanted to go on the mission so they decided to draw cards. Don drew the high card. Fate was waiting. Don and the bombardier were stationed at the B-24’s waist position near the rear of the aircraft. The massive bombing raid would begin with all the aircraft taking off at 30-second intervals. Once all checklists were completed, Don signaled from the aft that everything was secure and ready for takeoff. At 5:10 AM the Hookem Cow began its takeoff roll in the dark and the fog and into history. A few moments after becoming airborne, Don
noticed flames coming from the left inboard engine. He called the
cockpit, “Fire from number two!” but got no response. He noticed the
B-24 was having trouble gaining altitude. The landing lights, still
illuminated for the takeoff, began to reveal the tops of the trees
on the English countryside.
Suddenly there was a flash and an explosion. Don was thrown against the wall of the plane and knocked unconscious. When he awoke, he was laying in a wooded area. Fire raged around him. Oxygen bottles exploded, the entire area was drenched with fuel and the flames grew. Don couldn’t move. He saw Michael Lavonsky, the Hookem Cow’s bombardier, who had also been thrown clear. They lay there together, both seriously injured until an English man who lived nearby came to their aid. After arriving at a local hospital, Don learned the sad news about his friends and fellow crewmembers. Pilot, Lt. David R Totten, Co-pilot, 1Lt. Joseph Szoke, Navigator, Lt. Lewis L. Anderson, Flight Engineer, Sgt. Thomas F. Seale, and Radio Operator, Sgt. Charles E. May had all been killed instantly. Only Don and Lavonsky had survived. Lavonsky’s injuries were not as serious as Don’s and he only required a few weeks stay in the hospital. Don’s injuries, however, were quite extensive and included a broken right leg, a broken left ankle, a broken left arm, broken ribs, and several broken vertebrae. He spent the next 14 months in various hospitals before making it back home to Huntsville. Official Army Air Corps records state, “A few minutes after takeoff the B-24 struck some electrical wires setting one engine on fire. Immediately after that, the aircraft collided with a tree and crashed to the ground, breaking up and catching fire.” Twenty-three years of aviation experience has taught me that there is hardly ever just “one” factor that is responsible for an aircraft accident. In the case of the Hookem Cow, low visibility, darkness, possibly taking off in an overweight condition and a possible engine malfunction were contributing causes. Whatever the cause, it is another compelling example of young Americans putting their lives on the line for the sake of freedom. Meeting Don Neville and discovering the details of the fate of the Hookem Cow is a story that I have longed to hear. The circle of contacts and friends related to this story keeps growing larger. I have been in contact with the niece of Lt. Totten, who is also involved in similar research into her uncle’s life. I have become friends with Trevor Hewitt, a fine English gentleman and aviation archeologist, who lives near the site of the accident in Norwich. My daughter proudly used the story of the crew of the Hookem Cow for the genealogy project that started this whole journey for me. Don told me that he didn’t talk very much
about the story of the Hookem Cow for years. Thankfully, he did
start talking. He told me about my Uncle Thomas. He talked of their
double dates to roller rinks in Springfield, Massachusetts. He told
me about trips back to Alabama that turned into adventures. He
reminisced about card games in the middle of a Greenland winter
night beside an old stove. He told me about my Uncle Tom.
The oil painting on my grandmother’s living room wall just came to life. To learn more about the Hookem Cow and its crew please take some time to browse this website. Thank you for visiting our site and check back frequently for updates.
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Copyright: Jeff Seale 2005
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