Joseph V Perreault
MilitaryRadio Operator Joseph 'Frenchy' Perreault was killed on his birthday. He was hit in the jugular by shrapnel as he checked that all the bombs had been released, one of his in-flight duties since he was nearest the bomb bay. Flight Engineer Roy Rainwater kept his body from falling out of the open bomb doors.
On a previous mission, FE Rainwater's heated flying boots malfunctioned. "Frenchy" swapped boots with Rainwater, an act that endeared Frenchy to Rainwater for all time. Frenchy was the only death incurred by the Elroy Beaney crew, an original 790th/467th crew, part of the original air echelon arrivals at Rackheath.
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
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Cambridge American Military Cemetery
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Died |
25 June 1944 | KIA by shrapnel to the neck right after "bombs away" when the bomb bay doors were open and he was checking that all ordnance had released. |
Revisions
Source: Ross A. Rainwater, son of Roy Rainwater, who heard this story as a child in a "G" -rated version, augmented in later years by the more graphic bloody version. I visited "Frenchy's" grave in 2000, duplicating the pose of a photo of a previous one showing my dad kneeling at the burial site.