Sheppard Kerman
Military ROLL OF HONOURKilled in Action (KIA) Shot down at Dorstadt in B-17 #43-37930. Sergeant Kerman was a likeable, charismatic Chicago boy who served as a B-17 Radio Operator for the 303rd Bomb Group, 360th Bomb Squadron. Kerman was murdered by Nazi officials in Wolfenbuettel, Germany on 28 Sept 44 after his plane was shot down on Mission 248 to bomb the Krupp Werks in Madgeburg. Kerman saved wounded crew member Lt. Jack Timmins by pushing him from the disabled craft. Kerman also bailed out but his parachute snagged on the roof of a building near Wolfenbuettel's town square. He was left dangling outside of a second story window and pulled in through that window to a room taken over by Nazi Political Officer Otto Weinreich, Wehrmacht Reserve. Captain Wilhelm Kanschat and Paratrooper Gerd Beck. witnesses at trials at Dachau and Ludwigsburg testified that Kerman had his hand raised in surrender for several minutes when Beck walked up to him and fatally shot him in the back of the neck. As recently as Oct. 2007 two eye witnesses confirmed this account to Kerman's nephew, Matt Smith who was visiting Wolfenbuettel. This story is on the 303rd BG's website
Purple Heart; Citation of Honor
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: 303rd Bomb Group
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Chaplain
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Chicago, Illinois | 8 November 1921 | |
Buried |
Westlawn Cemetery Norridge, Illinois | ||
Died Killed in Action (KIA) |
Wolfenbuettel, Germany | 28 September 1944 |
Revisions
Updated the location for the KIA event per info in the "Summary biography".
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 9406 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database