S:Sgt Francis 'Bud' Owens was a waist gunner on B-17F 42-29928 when it was shot down over the Norman countryside in 1943.
The aircraft was part of 533rd Bomb Squadron, 381st Bomb Group(H), and was taking part in a raid on the Gnome-Rhone plant in le Mans on July 4th when it was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf-109s and finally crashed near the small village of la Coulonche.
Three of the crew of ten perished when the 'plane hit the ground, two of those who baled out were quickly captured. With local help, the remaining five attempted to make their way down to neutral Spain with a view to re-joining the fight against Nazism.
Four of them made it to Spain but 'Bud' Owens, a man who on many occasions had put others before himself, was to die of exposure in the Pyrenees, aged just 21. He now rests in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium.
Please follow our project to honour and remember 'Bud' Owens and support it if you can. Thank you.

Sunday, 26 April 2015

Congratulations and thanks!

We would like to thank and congratulate the winner of our art print auction Mr. Steven Marsh of Edmonton, Alberta! His winning bid and Aces High Art Gallery's generous gift to our cause have given us some welcome financial support to our project. Thank you Steven!

Nous souhaiterions remercier et féliciter le vainqueur de notre vente aux enchères, Monsieur Steven Marsh de Edmonton dans l'Alberta! Son offre gagnant et le don généreux de Aces High nous ont donné un soutien financier précieux pour notre projet!
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Saturday, 18 April 2015



Tremendous progress has been made these past few weeks in preparation for our documentary and we will be able to make some exciting announcements in the near future! For now we would like to sincerely thank Aces High Art Gallery for donating a stunning 381st Bomb Group art print by one of the world's most foremost aviation artists. If you would like to support our cause (all proceeds will be used for the documentary project) and become the owner of this fantastic art print, please check out our ebay page here:

http://www.ebay.fr/…/Thunderheads-Over-Ridgew…/171758759669…


Des progrès énormes ont été faits ces dernières semaines en préparation de notre documentaire et quelques annonces importantes seront faites dans les semaines à venir. Pour le moment nous souhaiterions remercier Aces High Art Gallery pour nous avoir offert un magnifique tableau par un des plus grands artistes dans la matière en honneur du 381ième Groupe de Bombardement. Si vous souhaitez soutenir notre projet (tout les bénéfices seront au profit de notre projet de documentaire) et devenir propriétaire de ce tableau exceptionnel n'hésitez pas à visiter notre page sur ebay.
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Saturday, 4 April 2015

The article resulting from the interview conducted last week in la Coulonche was published in the Flers edition of Ouest France.



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