Wendell A. Fetters was born in Lacona, Iowa in 1924. Eighteen years later, in 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. The following year he found himself in the 391st Bomb Group, 574th Bomb Squadron, under the command of the 9th Air Force, flying combat out of Matching Green, England as a tail gunner on a Martin B-26 Marauder. He flew twenty-five missions and on December 23, 1944, the group flew to bomb a rail bridge at Ahrweiler, Germany when they were attacked by 60 German fighters. The group lost sixteen planes that day, Fetters' plane included. He was captured and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp in Luckenwald, Germany, Camp III A, until liberated by the Russians at the end of April 1945. After the war, Fetters worked in the animal health field as a key account representative and marketing manager. In 1974, Fetters joined the 391st Bomb Group Association and was elected Vice Commander (1996-1998) substituted for Commander (1998-1999) and elected as Commander (2000-2002).
From the guide to the B-26 Marauder Archives, Wendell A. Fetters Collection, 1944-2012, (Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron)
