Claire Donald Porter
MilitarySon of Claire D. Porter
Claire Porter served as a P-38 pilot with the 343rd Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group. On 16 June 1944, while strafing gun emplacement, his P-38 #43-28713 was hit by flak and crashed near Oisemont. Porter survived and was taken as a Prisoner of War. He was held in Stalag Luft XVIIb.
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze stars and World War II Victory Medal. He was eligible to apply for the Prisoner of War Medal after it was authorized in 1985.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 495th Fighter Training Group 496th Fighter Training Group 55th Fighter Group 388th Fighter Squadron 554th Fighter Training Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-743364
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 479th Fighter Group 55th Fighter Group 343rd Fighter Squadron 434th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-758129
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag 7a, Moosburg
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Wilbur, WA 99185, USA | 10 March 1921 | |
Killed in Action (KIA) |
Spokane, WA, USA | 1 January 1930 | |
Enlisted |
16 September 1940 | Parkwater, Washington | |
Other Shot Down |
Oisemont, France | 16 June 1944 | Shot down while strafing gun emplacement. POW until end of War. |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Moosburg, Germany | 16 June 1944 | Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich 48-11) |
Died |
Las Vegas, NV, USA | 22 June 1994 | |
Buried |
Las Vegas, Nevada |
Revisions
Added middle name, ASN upon entry, ADSM based on entry date and ACM for continued service. Based on the previous entry, I believe it meant to reference the EAME Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars versus the Bronze Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters as no BSM file exists for Claire D. Porter.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186214518/claire-donald-porter
Updated the location of the "Shot Down " event per info in the "Summary biography".
Added a POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added an association to Stalag 7A per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Brought in information from duplicate record. Sources:
Donald Craig Porter, son of Claire D Porter
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
Accordin to family records and I as one of his sons can verify death date and place.
D. Craig Porter
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5737 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database