Polish community honors WWII vet Sunberg
Tue, 11/19/2024 - 11:59am
admin
Nick Johansen
Red Oak’s Ron and Sharon Johnson recently paid a visit to a memorial for Sharon’s fallen uncle - all the way across the Atlantic, part of a month-long tour through Germany and Poland.
Sharon is a niece of airman John Linder Sunberg, born Nov. 15, 1921, in Red Oak. He lived and worked on the family farm southeast of town until he entered the Army. Johnson shared some of the details of his military service.
“Johnny was a Technical Sergeant and worked as a radio operator and gunner on a B-17 bomber in World War II. They were part of the Eighth Air Force based in Suffolk, England. On March 18, 1945, Johnny and the crew he was part of were on their 23rd mission and were part of a massive assault on Berlin. Nearly 1,000 bombers were targeting Berlin that day.
Unfortunately, their plane was hit by Russians who mistook it for a German plane and the crew of seven was forced to parachute out by Massin, near Landsberg, Germany. The town is now called Mosina, Poland. Johnny and one other member of the crew were shot and killed by the Russians. The surviving crew members saw that happen and were told by the Russians that the two fallen soldiers had been buried. They were not, however, allowed to see the remains or their grave sites.
“After the war, Poland, including the village of Mosina and the nearby town Witnica, were occupied by the Russian Communists. In 1980, the Solidarity Movement started in Poland and eventually led to the end of communist rule in eastern Europe. In 1989, Poland gained independence and had its first president, Lech Walesa, one of the leaders of Solidarity. “After that, things, including the political climate, changed. In 2014, military history buffs from Witnica, led by Dariusz Jaworski, who was the mayor of Witnica at that time, started a search for my uncle’s remains,” commented Johnson.
Support for the search was provided by the crew of TPV History TV show, a Polish television program called “Past But Not Past.”
“These people in Poland commenced a search for the remains in March, 2014 using ground penetrating radar. They marked an area where the ground had been burrowed years ago. Their choice was also based on witnesses’ word. Those witnesses claimed that they had seen nameless graves in this area. After a couple of months, when all formalities had been completed, it was finally possible to check with the ground penetrating radar, to see what the ground hid.
The chosen place was dug up by 10 men with shovels,” stated Johnson. “Unfortunately, no bones or anything indicating that here was where the two airmen could have been buried had been found. The only things discovered were a shell casing, a horseshoe, military tent peg, and some rusty metal. However, plenty of plane parts have been found at swamps near the village of Vaisoka, a dozen kilometers from Mosina. Their plane traveled that far before crashing after the airmen parachuted.”
The people of the area claim the search for the remains of American airmen will continue as long as necessary.
In 1953, the family received a letter from the Department of the Army reporting that efforts to locate Johnny’s remains had been unsuccessful. It stated ‘Since all efforts to recover and identify his remains have failed, it has been necessary to declare that his remains are not recoverable.’ The family was surprised to learn of these efforts and that a memorial for Johnny and the other airman from their crew who died was erected shortly after the search turned up nothing.
“It’s out by a little country church by Mosina. Part of it was made to replicate the size and shape of the cockpit. The numbers of the plane are included. There’s a large rock to represent the bombs they were dropping and a plaque in the shape of the propeller on a plane. The names of my uncle and the other airman who died, Leonard Marino, are on the blades. In the center it says ‘Gone but never forgotten” and states they were killed in action in Mosina on March 18, 1945. They also have a big poster that tells the history of the plane being shot down and the search for the remains. It is in Polish with English translation.”
Johnson said she and her family weren’t aware of the memorial until 2018 when some of her cousin’s children came across information of its existence in a military magazine. They later visited it and were warmly welcomed.
“I told my cousin if they were ever going to visit the memorial we would like to go as well. When they started getting this tour lined up, we said yes to going as well. I retired July 3 so we were able to be gone all of September for the month-long tour.”
When Johnson and her family got to the memorial, they were greeted by Jaworski, Mosina village administrator Magda Kacprzak, and an English teacher who served as a translator for the group. Flowers and a candle were placed at the memorial when they visited Sept.13. Then the famiy had a surprise.
“They took us back into Witnica and they had prepared a lovely reception for us. It was amazing. They had a beautiful table set where they served coffee, tea, and fancy desserts that had been made by the village administrator and a couple of her friends. They even had gift bags for us,” Johnson said. “At the end of this reception, we presented gifts as well. I gave them one of the City of Red Oak flags, an ornament of the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Court of Honor and a magnet, also showing the flags in the Court of Honor, that states ‘Freedom Isn’t Free.’ We also presented a plaque that states ‘We are wholeheartedly grateful to the residents, the local authorities of Mosina and the mayor of Witnica on whose initiative the monument was created, which is a symbol of heroism and sacrifice. Thanks to you, the memory of John Linder Sunberg will last forever. For us, he was a member of the family, ready for any challenge, even giving his life for freedom. Thank you for remembering.’ It is translated into Polish and lists the names of our family members on it. After the reception we visited a craft style brewery and a museum in Witnica. The museum had exhibits from World War II and items from the middle ages, such as cannon balls.”
For Johnson, seeing such a lovely tribute to a family member that neither she, her cousins, or the Polish community that made the memorial had ever met was very special.
“It was very humbling. I am very grateful. The whole trip we had been seeing the history of Central Europe. It was way more than the history of World War II. We saw a lot about World War II, including memorials for the Jews that had been killed, different World War II museums and so on. We saw a lot of the physical effects, including what had been destroyed by bombing, what had been or is being restored or changed. It was very touching to realize how important this is to these people,” commented Johnson.
Johnson observed that this recent interest in World War II history can be attributed to the fact that in countries like Poland, they were unable to commemorate it fully until long after the war ended.
“For us in the United States, the war ended in 1945, but in Poland, they really were not emerging from that until 1989 when communist rule ended. They would not have been allowed to make a memorial of this type that acknowledged that the Russians had killed these Allies when it was still occupied by Russians,” Johnson said.
Prior to going to Poland, the family toured in Germany. After visiting the memorial, Johnson said they were able to tour other parts of Poland. They saw places that have yet to be rebuilt even decades after the war. Visiting the memorial and touring some of the overseas places led to memories of what Johnson had head about her uncle.
“John was a person who I’d heard of a little bit from my dad, aunt and uncle. But even people in our church when I was growing up would talk about him very fondly, telling what a wonderful guy he was. He was only 23 when he passed away,” Johnson stated.
Locally, a memorial service was held for Sunberg on Nov. 11, 1945. It was a joint memorial, also honoring Myron Johnson, who passed away in a prison camp in Belgium shortly after the war ended. During their touring, they met some people from Ukraine, currently at war with Russia.
“There were some young ladies who are Ukranians that we met in Germany and Poland. To hear them tell about the war and how it is impacting them is horrendous. One of them was still living in Ukraine. She was working online to improve her English speech proficiency with one of the ladies on our tour in Germany. She traveled to Berlin to meet her. There had recently been bombing near her home that blew windows out of her house. She is experiencing symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, but they are still in the middle of the trauma. Any time there was a loud noise or siren she would react,” Johnson explained.
Another memorable part of the trip was in Krakow, Poland. They took a tour led by a gentleman from the “Crazy Guides”.
“He took us on tour of a part of Krakow that was built when Poland was under Russian control. They wanted to build an ‘ideal communist community’. He had grown up in this area, and while he reported a good childhood, he related some of the ridiculous things that went on. Current issues in Ukraine were evident. We saw in the beautiful Krakow city square a group from Ukraine with flags and loudspeakers, seeking support and some would request monetary donations in support of the war effort and victims. I asked our guide if he was worried, since Poland is a member of NATO. He said that despite that, he was still worried,” commented Johnson. “Poland had been part of other mutual defense treaties that had not been honored. So, while they’re part of NATO, the man on the street in Poland doesn’t have a lot of confidence in that protection.”
Other highlights were a visit to the Berlin Wall. Despite the wall being taken down there are still large portions of the wall remaining. Many of these have had murals painted on them, commissioned from local artists. Johnson said they will have memories of the trip and the experience for a long time to come.
“It was lovely to spend time with cousins, and being able to see and learn so much was amazing. Seeing the memorial to my Uncle John was very touching.”
The people of the area claim the search for the remains of American airmen will continue as long as necessary.
In 1953, the family received a letter from the Department of the Army reporting that efforts to locate Johnny’s remains had been unsuccessful. It stated ‘Since all efforts to recover and identify his remains have failed, it has been necessary to declare that his remains are not recoverable.’ The family was surprised to learn of these efforts and that a memorial for Johnny and the other airman from their crew who died was erected shortly after the search turned up nothing.
“It’s out by a little country church by Mosina. Part of it was made to replicate the size and shape of the cockpit. The numbers of the plane are included. There’s a large rock to represent the bombs they were dropping and a plaque in the shape of the propeller on a plane. The names of my uncle and the other airman who died, Leonard Marino, are on the blades. In the center it says ‘Gone but never forgotten” and states they were killed in action in Mosina on March 18, 1945. They also have a big poster that tells the history of the plane being shot down and the search for the remains. It is in Polish with English translation.”
Johnson said she and her family weren’t aware of the memorial until 2018 when some of her cousin’s children came across information of its existence in a military magazine. They later visited it and were warmly welcomed.
“I told my cousin if they were ever going to visit the memorial we would like to go as well. When they started getting this tour lined up, we said yes to going as well. I retired July 3 so we were able to be gone all of September for the month-long tour.”
When Johnson and her family got to the memorial, they were greeted by Jaworski, Mosina village administrator Magda Kacprzak, and an English teacher who served as a translator for the group. Flowers and a candle were placed at the memorial when they visited Sept.13. Then the famiy had a surprise.
“They took us back into Witnica and they had prepared a lovely reception for us. It was amazing. They had a beautiful table set where they served coffee, tea, and fancy desserts that had been made by the village administrator and a couple of her friends. They even had gift bags for us,” Johnson said. “At the end of this reception, we presented gifts as well. I gave them one of the City of Red Oak flags, an ornament of the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Court of Honor and a magnet, also showing the flags in the Court of Honor, that states ‘Freedom Isn’t Free.’ We also presented a plaque that states ‘We are wholeheartedly grateful to the residents, the local authorities of Mosina and the mayor of Witnica on whose initiative the monument was created, which is a symbol of heroism and sacrifice. Thanks to you, the memory of John Linder Sunberg will last forever. For us, he was a member of the family, ready for any challenge, even giving his life for freedom. Thank you for remembering.’ It is translated into Polish and lists the names of our family members on it. After the reception we visited a craft style brewery and a museum in Witnica. The museum had exhibits from World War II and items from the middle ages, such as cannon balls.”
For Johnson, seeing such a lovely tribute to a family member that neither she, her cousins, or the Polish community that made the memorial had ever met was very special.
“It was very humbling. I am very grateful. The whole trip we had been seeing the history of Central Europe. It was way more than the history of World War II. We saw a lot about World War II, including memorials for the Jews that had been killed, different World War II museums and so on. We saw a lot of the physical effects, including what had been destroyed by bombing, what had been or is being restored or changed. It was very touching to realize how important this is to these people,” commented Johnson.
Johnson observed that this recent interest in World War II history can be attributed to the fact that in countries like Poland, they were unable to commemorate it fully until long after the war ended.
“For us in the United States, the war ended in 1945, but in Poland, they really were not emerging from that until 1989 when communist rule ended. They would not have been allowed to make a memorial of this type that acknowledged that the Russians had killed these Allies when it was still occupied by Russians,” Johnson said.
Prior to going to Poland, the family toured in Germany. After visiting the memorial, Johnson said they were able to tour other parts of Poland. They saw places that have yet to be rebuilt even decades after the war. Visiting the memorial and touring some of the overseas places led to memories of what Johnson had head about her uncle.
“John was a person who I’d heard of a little bit from my dad, aunt and uncle. But even people in our church when I was growing up would talk about him very fondly, telling what a wonderful guy he was. He was only 23 when he passed away,” Johnson stated.
Locally, a memorial service was held for Sunberg on Nov. 11, 1945. It was a joint memorial, also honoring Myron Johnson, who passed away in a prison camp in Belgium shortly after the war ended. During their touring, they met some people from Ukraine, currently at war with Russia.
“There were some young ladies who are Ukranians that we met in Germany and Poland. To hear them tell about the war and how it is impacting them is horrendous. One of them was still living in Ukraine. She was working online to improve her English speech proficiency with one of the ladies on our tour in Germany. She traveled to Berlin to meet her. There had recently been bombing near her home that blew windows out of her house. She is experiencing symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, but they are still in the middle of the trauma. Any time there was a loud noise or siren she would react,” Johnson explained.
Another memorable part of the trip was in Krakow, Poland. They took a tour led by a gentleman from the “Crazy Guides”.
“He took us on tour of a part of Krakow that was built when Poland was under Russian control. They wanted to build an ‘ideal communist community’. He had grown up in this area, and while he reported a good childhood, he related some of the ridiculous things that went on. Current issues in Ukraine were evident. We saw in the beautiful Krakow city square a group from Ukraine with flags and loudspeakers, seeking support and some would request monetary donations in support of the war effort and victims. I asked our guide if he was worried, since Poland is a member of NATO. He said that despite that, he was still worried,” commented Johnson. “Poland had been part of other mutual defense treaties that had not been honored. So, while they’re part of NATO, the man on the street in Poland doesn’t have a lot of confidence in that protection.”
Other highlights were a visit to the Berlin Wall. Despite the wall being taken down there are still large portions of the wall remaining. Many of these have had murals painted on them, commissioned from local artists. Johnson said they will have memories of the trip and the experience for a long time to come.
“It was lovely to spend time with cousins, and being able to see and learn so much was amazing. Seeing the memorial to my Uncle John was very touching.”