384th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in World War II

Welcome to the 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy) Photo Gallery. This gallery makes available the photographic and documentary portion of the 384th BG record. All content on this gallery is visible to all visitors. Those wishing to enter a comment or contribute images will need to register and log in (links at left of Home page). Please register for an account when you need access beyond viewing gallery content. For additional information about the 384th BG, visit the 384th Bomb Group website⇗.

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Alfter was the Tail Gunner on the Farris O Heffley Crew when they were shot down on 13 April 1944. He was confined at STALAG XVII-B near Krems, Austria. The photos here show the radio he made, while a POW, that enabled the prisoners to learn of the progress of the war. Although the prisoners at this STALAG were evacuated and marched to the vicinity of Braunau, Germany, near the end of the war, Alfter somehow was able to retain possession of this remarkable radio, which is now in the Smithsonian.

Photos provided by Frank Alfter (Col. USAF, Ret.), S/Sgt Alfter's son, who provided the following: "Dad brought that radio with him as they marched from Stalag XVII-B, near Krems, Austria to somewhere near Braunau, Germany, which is near where they were discovered by Patton's Army and liberated from their captors. I think it amazing that he carried it with him. He told me he built it out of a piece of flooring in their barracks, so that when the guards came they would turn it upside down and push dirt over the cracks so they wouldn't discover it. He said he actually took wire from the fencing in the camp and strung it in the attic for an antenna."

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