Robert B Williams
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-20013.jpeg
UPL 20013
Trall Wertz's original crew put together in the States and sent to Old Buckenham Air Base in East Anglia, England. Several crew members were Killed In Action prior to March 6, 1944. Golbski, Diederich and Anderson had already been MIA on a mission February 22, 1944. Trall's Co-Pilot, Gilbreath was MIA March 6, 1944 flying with another crew, and a member from Crockett’s crew by the name of Santora was MIA ironically in the same plane as Gilbreath. The names below were written on the back of the photo in Trall’s handwriting:
Front Row from Left to Right: Pilot, Lieutenant George Wear (Colombia, Louisiana), Seymour Cohen, Navigator (New Jersey),
Ralph J. Swafford, Bombardier (St. Louis, Missouri), Co-Pilot, Second LieutenantLt. Ray Gilbreath (Massachusetts)
Back Row from Left: T/Sgt. Trail W. Wertz, Radioman (Jeannette, Pennsylvania), Jim Meyers, Nose Gunner (Buffalo, New York)
Staff Sergeant James Golbski, Lower Gunner (Biddendorf, Iowa), Raymond J. Diederich, Top Gunner (St. Joseph, Michigan),
Staff Sergeant Richard Anderson, Tail Gunner (North Canton, Ohio), Robert B. Williams, Engineer (Sheibourne, Massachusetts)
Front Row from Left to Right: Pilot, Lieutenant George Wear (Colombia, Louisiana), Seymour Cohen, Navigator (New Jersey),
Ralph J. Swafford, Bombardier (St. Louis, Missouri), Co-Pilot, Second LieutenantLt. Ray Gilbreath (Massachusetts)
Back Row from Left: T/Sgt. Trail W. Wertz, Radioman (Jeannette, Pennsylvania), Jim Meyers, Nose Gunner (Buffalo, New York)
Staff Sergeant James Golbski, Lower Gunner (Biddendorf, Iowa), Raymond J. Diederich, Top Gunner (St. Joseph, Michigan),
Staff Sergeant Richard Anderson, Tail Gunner (North Canton, Ohio), Robert B. Williams, Engineer (Sheibourne, Massachusetts)
Information provided by grand-nephew of Trall W. Wertz, Bruce B. Wertz
Damaged by flak over the target and later again on the return from a mission to Genshagen near Berlin on 6 Mar 1944, B-24H #42-64457 crashed in the North Sea after the crew baled out. Killed in Action (KIA).
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
6 March 1944 | ||
Born |
Shelburn Falls, Massachusetts, USA | ||
Buried |
|||
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
North Sea | 6 March 1944 |
Revisions
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2971 / MACR 2971, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database