by Marc Poole
CREW 19 is a project borne out of my lifelong interest in World War II aviation. As a child, I spent much of my time reading about the exploits of the 20th century's equivalent of the medieval knight, battling it out with his arch-nemesis high above the earth. The deafening silence I encountered in the pages of the history books I read left me with a desire to search out the stories first-hand.

After learning of my own family's involvement in World War II, I began to research their experiences in the hopes of answering questions that remained by those who lived through the events, and also to satisfy my own intense curiosity.

I began by researching my cousin, Johnny Butler, who served as a B-17 pilot with the 384th Bomb Group, stationed in England. My research culminated in the reunion of the survivors of Johnny's crew for the first time in 56 years, and the dedication of a monument in France for the crewmen that died in the crash of Johnny's plane in 1943.
(Top) Visiting the crash site in France, 1999

(Bottom) Butler crew reunion, Georgia, 1999
Johnny and his 10-man crew served with the 8th Air Force, and flew during the darkest days of the American daylight bombing campaign against Germany.

Johnny's crew successfully flew 13 missions between June and September 1943, and were shot down over Chateaubriant, France, on September 16, 1943.

Three of the crew were killed, and five were taken as Prisoners of War. Johnny and one other evaded capture.
Johnny Butler (highlighted) and crew, England 1943.
Johnny Butler with his mother in Louisiana, 1943.
Johnny's experience was brought back to him in 1995, when he was contacted by citizens from the small village in France where his plane had been shot down. Some of the people had retrieved pieces of the remnants of the wreckage of Johnny's B-17 "Hell's Belles II," and had kept them for over 50 years. It was their intention to give these pieces to Johnny and the crew.

This prompted the search for all the crewmembers and relatives of those who died. The Internet has factored heavily in the research, and has helped locate crewmembers. It has also helped create a world-wide network of others researching personal histories and uncovering seemingly insignificant, yet vital, information.
Johnny (middle) with the French Underground, 1943
The research has created a wonderful dialogue between the citizens of La Nouette, France, and the survivors, and has even crossed over to the former German adversaries that the crew flew against.

Several of the crew have been able to return to the crash site to re-unite with the French citizens who aided them at the time they were shot down.

This was highlighted on September 16, 1999, with the dedication of a monument at the crash location in memory of the crew, and the 3 who lost their lives.
Crash site, September 16, 1943
Fragments of the tail
The genesis for my project began with a pencil-test animation inspired by my first visits with Johnny in 1998 entitled Reflections. The animation has guided the style of the final video documentary, CREW 19. My findings from Johnny and other veterans from his bomb group prompted me to post the information on the internet, and this research has been archived on my website for the 384th Bomb Group.
Memorial dedication, La Nouette, France, 1999
(click on image to play movie)
Reflections pencil-test animation
Artist Statement movie