Walter Francis Higgins Jr
MilitaryAssigned to 816BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Memmingen 18-May-44; enemy aircraft, crashed Memmingen; Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 6975.
Awards: PH.
Connections
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Units served with
![Seen through a 433rd Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress' strike camera, a 816th Bomb Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-5786) nicknamed "Whizzer II" goes down over Nis in Yugoslavia on the 15th of April 1944 in a gout of flame after taking a direct flak hit. There were no survivors. Official caption on image: "(483BG:4M3:2VI) (4:15:1208) (24:21300) ([south-west arrow] 140 [degrees]) (Nis M/Y Yugo) (Ship 111 816 Sq)." Handwritten caption on reverse: '15/4/44. 483BG, 15AF. Nis, Yugoslavia. 42-5786](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-457805.jpg.webp?itok=YT0rrjph)
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 483rd Bomb Group 816th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20135506 / O-803820
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Miss Chievious
- Unit: 483rd Bomb Group 816th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Lorraine American Cemetery, St Avold, France
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Philadelphia County, PA | 20 March 1922 | Son of Walter Francis Higgins. |
|
Enlisted |
Philadelphia, PA | 25 May 1942 | |
|
Died |
Memmingen, Germany | 18 May 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) Memmingen 18-May-44; enemy aircraft, crashed Memmingen; Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 6975. |
|
Buried |
Buchenburg, Germany | 19 May 1944 | Interred Buchenburg cemetery |
| Philadelphia, PA | Husband of Mary Higgins. | ||
|
Based |
Sterparone | 18 May 1944 | Assigned to 816BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. |
|
Buried |
Re-Interred Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial |