Thomas Williams Heller

Military

Thomas Heller was Ball Turret Gunner on B-17G #42-97483 on the 6 March 1944 mission to Berlin. Damaged by fighters but continued to the target. Crew was later forced to bail out and a/c crashed near Wilmersdorf, a Berlin suburb, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).

Connections

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Units served with

322nd Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

91st Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Everard Vernon Eberling

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 34408909
Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
Role/Job: Engineer/Top Turret Gunner

Bryce Singleton Evertson

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-748611
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Leslie E Halcott

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 12041096 at enlistment, then O-805890
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Joseph P Hovantz

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 15096348 at enlistment, then O-741266
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Bombardier

Harry Lerner

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-809651
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Navigator

Aircraft

42-97483

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 322nd Bomb Squadron

Missions

B-17 Flying Fortresses, (LL-F, serial number 42-97467) of the 91st Bomb Group, (OJ-G, serial number 42-97212) of the 96th Bomb Group and (LD-D, serial number 42-39994) of the 100th Bomb Group in Sweden, 1944. Written on slide casing: 'Sweden, 297467 LL:F, 18/7/44, 297212 OJ:G, 11/4/44, 239994, LD:D 3/3/44.'

8th Air Force 250

Date: 6 March 1944

Places

Bassingbourn

Site type: Airfield

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Kansas City , Missouri, USA	17 June 1924
Enlisted		25 January 1943
Other Prisoner of War (POW)		6 March 1944
Died		21 June 2003
			Kansas City , Missouri
Buried			Thomas Heller rests at the Mount Washington Cemetery, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri

Revisions

Date26 Feb 2020 14:48:58

ContributorED-BB

Changes

Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment Records
NARA WWII POW Records
MACR 2902
WWII Draft Card
VETERANS BIRLS Death File

Date27 Sep 2014 18:26:10

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2902 / MACR 2902, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database