JARVIS, ROBERT Jan 21, 1945 age 23 KIA France

ROBERT FREDERICK JARVIS, b. Mar 20, 1921 Mich d. Jan 21, 1945 Killed in Action

Villafans, Haute-Saone, France

Flight Officer/Pilot T-062985 Army Air Corps 486^th  Bomb Group 835^th Bomb Squad

Buried Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit; Memorial Haute-Saone, France

 

20024 Berg

Parents: Walter F & Ida L (Demmons)

Siblings: Walter F. Jr., Thomas E., Howard R.
Spouse: Virginia Lee Bishop
Child: Bonnie Lee

Walter was born in Ohio 1897; in Michigan he was a metal polisher in an auto factory.

The family lived in the Berg house since before 1920.



Virginia 1939 Redford

Robert graduated from Redford June 1939. He worked as an apprentice in toll & die at the auto factory. Dec 29, 1941 he married Virginia and they lived at 16759 Plainview, around the corner from her family home on Evergreen. She was a secretary and was also a Redford student. When he registered for the draft in Detroit on Feb 13, 1942 he was 6’, tall for the time, 157 lbs with hazel eyes and brown hair. In June 1942 they had a daughter, Bonnie Lee, who died at childbirth of a congenital problem. (Virginia remarried Dec 1945.)

He graduated from Freeman Army Air Field, Indiana May 23, 1944 as a twin engine pilot with the class of 44-E. He joined the 486^th Bomb Group 835^th Bomb Squad flying a B-17. The practice was for the planes to be constantly in the air, so one crew came in and another took off. So ne plane would have different crews assigned. Jan 8, 1945 Robert flew The Fertile Turtle S/N 43-37943.

Meanwhile the Roanoke Magician had a rough life. Originally flown by Henry St. Clair (835^th) he named the plane for his town of Roanoke, VA known as ‘The Magic City’. The plane was damaged repeatedly but always returned to duty.  The luck ran out when, on their 2^nd mission with the new plane, it was hit and damaged by flak in a raid over Mannheim.  Jarvis attempted to get the plane over friendly territory. As he lost altitude he performed violent evasive maneuvers to avoid flak. By the time they made the friendly line they were too low to bail out. Jarvis decided to put the Magician down on her belly. The aircraft spun around and collided with trees. Both the pilot and copilot were thrown clear of the wreckage Jarvis was killed instantly. The rest of the crew remained in the waist area with a fire in the bomb bay. The crewman exited the craft with various wounds and burns but they were safe.

Roanoke Magician Crash

Crewman Sgt. Gerald J. Christ recounted event to his son at a reunion 60 years later. He “and his crewmates were taken by the townspeople to a nearby convent where the nuns ministered to their injuries. He was transferred to a hospital in England, never seeing his crewmates until a reunion in the 1990s. Then, over 50 years later, Dad got a very surprising letter in the mail…and my mother asked him, ‘Who do you know in France?’ He had no idea. When translated the letter was from Villafrans and expressed gratitude to Dad that over 50 years later this letter was being written in French instead of German, and invited him to an upcoming ceremony in the town. The town of Villafans had erected a monument at the crash site to honor The Roanoke Magician and its crew. Dad and three of the still living crew were honored in an unforgettable and historic dedication ceremony in Villafans, France in May 2000.