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Remember...Fred Bsharah
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Fred Bsharah was born at Beckley, Raleigh County, West Virginia, on June 26, 1916, to Andrew and Foze Mansour Bsharah, Syrian immigrants who, like many of their native country, became successful merchants in their adopted country. Fred was the oldest child in the family that would come to include Phillip, Frances, Jennie, Mary Louise, Louis, and Edith.
The Bsharah children attended Beckley schools, and Fred graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, where in the 1933 yearbook he was pictured in "Junior 'Doins,'" a group photo that does not indicate which individual might be Fred. Fred followed his father into the retail business, and when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, stated that his employer was "general store" on South Oakwood Avenue in Beckley. Fred enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 19, 1942 - a time at which many were inclined to do so in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, note that his civilian occupation was that of retail manager, and he was single, without dependents. At that time, he would have been nearly 26 years old.
As a member of the 567th Squadron, 389th Bomb Group, Heavy, Second Lieutenant Fred Bsharah was a crewmember of the ill-fated B-24 Liberator bomber, Palace of Dallas. This famed plane was lost over Northern Germany (Soltau) on April 7, 1945. It was one of two brought down in an instance of "ramming," a tactic used by the Luftwaffe to disable heavy bombers by ramming them in mid-air. "Ramming" was an operation of the Sonderkommando ("special command"), the most notable pilot of which was Unteroffizer Heinrich Rosner of Sonderkommando Elbe, who rammed the Palace of Dallas (commanded by Colonel John B. Herboth), which then collided with a B-24 piloted by deputy group commander Maj. Tolleson. A full account of the incident can be elicited from USAAF MACR #14113.
| "Ramming" took its toll on both its target and the initiator itself. Sonderkommando pilots were expected to parachute out upon making contact with their targets, but chances of their survival were low. According to the Find A Grave memorial (#56357354) for Lt. Fred Bsharah, "Rosner managed to bail out although he passed out in harness. When he woke up, he had landed among farm buildings and after receiving medical aid, returned to base at Stendal. He was one of 29 Elbe pilots of the operation that reported back, while many others lay Dead or Wounded in hospitals in Northern Germany." |
 A German plane "rams" an American plane. Drawing by Helmuth Ellgaard (1913-1980) - Familienarchiv Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7666295. Used with permission |
Palace of Dallas crewmembers and their counterparts on Tolleson's bomber were not as lucky as Rosner. Eight were killed, while two were taken prisoner. Of the eight, six are buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Liege, Belgium. Two are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A virtual cemetery for the fallen exists on Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/328686.)
It is hard to imagine a more intelligent, more skilled, more capable, more decorated crew than that of the Palace of Dallas. The plane was allegedly piloted by First Lieutenant Bob Cham Dallas, from, ironically, Houston, Texas, although some accounts place Col. Herboth at the controls. In addition to Dallas and Bsharah, also on board was First Lieutenant Albert John Contra, a chemical engineer in civilian life who worked for American Cyanamid, having graduated from New York University. Second Lieutenant William Irving Grolig hailed from Washington, D. C., and thus is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Also buried at Arlington is Colonel John B. Herboth Jr., group commander, a graduate of the United States Military Academy. According to some accounts, Herboth was piloting the plane. Like Bob Dallas, First Lieutenant Paul L. Michalk was from Texas, while Technical Sergeants Robert M. Flannery and William H. Strange were from Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively.
 Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium is the final resting place of more than 5,000 Americans who died in World War II. Courtesy Warrick Page/American Battle Monuments Commission |
Second Lieutenant Fred Bsharah is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Liege, Belgium, Plot D, Row 39, Grave 18. Like his fellow members of the Palace of Dallas crew, he received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Fred's brother First Lieutenant Phillip Bsharah also served as a B-25 Mitchell Bomber pilot and had over 50 missions. |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure
February 2021
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
