Sergeant / Master Sergeant

Bernerd Charles Ollman

Airplane Maintenance Technician, Crew Chief

Dec. 1942-March 1944

546th Bomb Squadron

384th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

Serial Nr 17042175
One of the Group's original personnel having been assigned to it at its point of creation in December 1942.

Bernerd Charles Ollmann was born 30th October 1912 in Amboy, Illinois, and had nine other siblings. 

In 1935, he graduated from his local high school and worked as a manager of a Texaco Oil Station. 

Ollmann was one of the original personnel of the 384th, and was assigned to the 546th Bomb Squadron on 28th December 1942 as an Airplane Maintenance Technician and Crew Chief. 

On 17th April 1943, Ollmann married his wife and high school sweetheart, Evelyn, just before leaving for England. 

Ground crew and other personnel who were not pilots or navigators arrived in England via troop transport ship. On the voyage over to England, Ollmann befriended a stowaway dog named Henry. It is unknown at this time which member of the 384th Bomb Group brought Henry aboard the ship. Henry spent most of his time with the ground crew of the 546th Bomb Squadron, and was often seen wandering around the base.  While with the 384th, Bernerd Ollmann served as an Airplane Technician and Crew Chief. The responsibilities of a Crew Chief included supervising the ground crew, performing maintenance on aircraft, repairing aircraft that were damaged in combat, and ensuring that the aircraft would perform exceptionally in combat. The ground crew were the unsung heroes of the war, and if it weren’t for them, the airmen never would have made it off the ground.

On 20th March 1944, Ollmann was transferred to another bomb group where he would serve as a Ground Crew Chief for Operation Frantic in Myrhorod, Ukraine. Operation Frantic took place in the Soviet Union and embraced a new tactic called “shuttle bombing,” which involved bombers from the Fifth and Eighth Air Forces targeting one location, refueling and re-arming at a different location, before then heading to bomb another location, then returning to their home base. Bernerd Ollmann passed away at the age of 75 in 1988, and he lies in rest in California.

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group website (384thbombgroup.com) for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of the Group’s activities during World War 2.

Research courtesy of Mikayla Leech on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.