Peace of Mind
Szöveg: Sándor Galambos | 2018. január 30. 8:44It was more than 70 years before Julie Owens Robinson, the niece of 2nd Lt. George Lenon Owens Jr. learned the exact circumstances of her uncle’s death. The woman living in North Carolina visited Hungary to pay tribute, on behalf of her family, to the memory of her uncle – the co-pilot of a B–24 heavy bomber that had crashed between Kiskunlacháza and Délegyháza.
Julie Owens Robinson had mourned her uncle for seven decades before she came to Hungary, where during her visit she learned the circumstances of the death of a then 23-year-old second-lieutenant.
“Two years ago, I found a cardboard box full of letters in my grandmother’s house. Most letters were sent from the front by my uncle to his family, but there were some others written by relatives of missing comrades to each other. At that point I realized the extent of the tragedy and trauma caused by the war, the loss of husbands and beloved relatives. I wanted to see the site where the plane with my uncle aboard had crashed, the place where he had died", this was how the woman living in the United States summarized the significance of her visit to Hungary.
The impact of the collision tore down a propeller and part of the starboard wing of 2nd Lt. Mowery’s B–24, and sent the plane into a spin toward the ground. The crew of another bomber flying in the formation, however, saw that the pilot was able to level the Liberator at an altitude of some 600 meters. 2nd Lt. Mowery’s plane finally crashed near Kiskunlacháza, at Bugyi–Alsódélegyháza-puszta. The gendarmes arriving on the scene found two dead bodies, those of 2nd Lt. Owens and Mowery. The co-pilot was probably killed at the moment of collision, and the pilot-in-command died of skull-base fracture shortly after the crash.
Julie Owens Robinson found this study on the internet, and shortly after reading it, she came to Hungary with her husband, with the support of the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base and the Hungarian Aviation Archeology Association. WO Károly Magó, the President of the aviation archeology association and amateur historian Nándor Mohos, one of the most recognized experts on US missions flown over Hungary first guided them to the area above which the two B–24s collided, and then they travelled to the crash site of 2nd Lt. Owens’ plane, and also visited the Reptár in Szolnok, because the engine of the bomber with side number 44 is on display in Central Eastern Europe’s unique aviation history museum.
2nd Lt. Owens was long considered missing in action.
“We had my uncle’s mortal remains transported home several years earlier, and laid them to eternal rest in North Caroline. However, out of consideration, we didn’t reveal to our mother that he would never return home even after we managed to ascertain the exact circumstances of his death. It gives me peace of mind that thanks to my hosts, I have been able to see the land where he lost his life" – this was how Julie Owens Robinson said farewell to her companions.
Source: Magyar Honvéd, December 2017