“Uncle Elmer”
He was the youngest son in the close
happy family of six sisters and two elder brothers and when World War Two broke
out, he joined Albert and Leroy to serve his country, enlisting
in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 452nd Heavy
Bomber Group as a B-17 Waist Gunner flying out
of Norfolk, England. By all family and friends, he was highly respected
and certainly proud of his service as witnessed by his smiling handsome face in
uniform pictured above.
On May 12, 1944 during a bombing
mission against Nazi oil refineries in Czechoslovakia, his plane was attacked
by
the
Luffwaffe and crash landed into a hill near Rudersdorf, Germany. No one bailed
out, Five were killed instantly and Five including Private Elmer Michaud were
taken prisoner. *
He turned twenty-one years old in a German Prisoner of War Camp and was never the same, probably wishing he was one of those killed in action along that tragic hillside. The enemy’s brutal treatment of POWs was common knowledge, and the suffering was both physical and mental, and when they broke his leg, it was only the beginning of his pain.
During WWII, it was labeled ‘Battle
Fatigue’, in the First World War, they called it ‘Shellshock’ and nowadays it’s
“Post-Traumatic System Disorder” and to Elmer, it was only a dead end to his
long self-inflicted suffering lifestyle. If all we can do is simply change the
name of this condition, it is a shameful excuse on how this nation’s treatment
is bestowed upon our true heroes. This Veteran’s day, let us rededicate our
sincere efforts and resources to rectify the shortcomings of help to those in
need. We can only hope Uncle Elmer’s
unfortunate circumstances can provide a lesson to a nation’s hollow message
of “Thank you for your Service”.
* Reference: Missing Air Crew Report #4818
for complete names of crew members
PFC Elmer Michaud U.S. Army Air Force
Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Old Belgrade Rd. Augusta,ME
Section M Row 16
Site 14
