Frank Albert Welke Jr
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-39704.jpeg
UPL 39704
Sam Peak crew. Photo taken spring 1944 at Alexandria Air Base in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Front Row L to R: Samuel L. Peak, Victor R. Romasco, Thomas J. Tracy, Allen Osterberg. Back Row L to R: Murl F. Simmons, Richard Oberlin, Frank A. Welke Jr., Robert F. Scharff, Redin R. Kilpatrick, Max L. Rockey.
Kilpatrick and Tracy not assigned with 534th BS.
Front Row L to R: Samuel L. Peak, Victor R. Romasco, Thomas J. Tracy, Allen Osterberg. Back Row L to R: Murl F. Simmons, Richard Oberlin, Frank A. Welke Jr., Robert F. Scharff, Redin R. Kilpatrick, Max L. Rockey.
Kilpatrick and Tracy not assigned with 534th BS.
Photo courtesy of Allen Osterberg family and Delta County Historical Society
Killed in Action (KIA) 22 June 1944 in AC 42-97084
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-676081
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-741356
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier, Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-398074
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-801198
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Spare Charlie
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Queens, New York | 21 September 1923 | |
Enlisted |
New York | 10 February 1943 | |
Died Killed in action |
Abbeville, France | 22 June 1944 | Shot down in B-17 "Spare Charlie". The plane crashed in Les Marais d'Épagnette, outside of Abbeville. |
Buried |
Mareuil-Caubert, France | 26 June 1944 | After Sgt. Welke's plane crashed on 22 June, the Germans recovered some bodies, including Sgt. Welke. They took his identification tags. Between 24 and 26 June, Sgt. Welke's body was recovered by French citizens. He was buried in grave 305 as unknown next to his crew members in Mareuil-Caubert. |
Buried |
St. André de l'Eure, France | 7 July 1945 | Buried in Plot H, Row 1, Grave 16 in the temporary St. André de l'Eure cemetery. Sgt. Welke was buried between crew members Murl Simmons and Bob Petroski. |
Buried |
Greenfield Cemetery, Uniondale, New York | 25 May 1949 | Permanently buried. |
Revisions
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999, MACR 5918 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia