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Military
Originally assigned to the 303BG/359BS as an Aerial Gunner at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho on 13-Feb-42. However, he was reassigned to the 97BG prior to the 303BG's deployment to Molesworth in September 1942. Date of reassignment not determined.
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24344 while serving as a Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
Group
The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the...
Squadron
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 326BS/92BG Bovingdon 20-Aug-42; 414BS/97BG Polebrook 28-Aug-42; Missing in Action on mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. This was 97th's first mission 21-Oct-42, shot down and crashed Plouescat, near Morlaix, France. 8KIA 2POW...
21 October 1942
German U-Boat pens are Lorient, France are the Primary (P) targets for this mission along with the German airfield at Cherbourg, France. 93BG despatches 24-B-24s to Lorient, but cloud cover prevents them from bombing. The main attack force to Lorient...
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Weaver, Texas, USA | |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | Plouescat, France | 21 October 1942 |
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Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 15352 only indicates that he was MIA. However, testimony from 1Lt. Robert E. Jackson, in that MACR record, said that a German officer showed him the ID tags of 5 of the 8 KIAs in this crew and indicated that three others were unidentified but claimed that all the KIAs had been recovered and buried. |
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| Buried | Texas, USA | 1945 |
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Buried by the Germans in the cemetery of Plouescat, France on 27-Oct-1942. After the war his remains were re-interred at the Brittany American Cemetery, Plot O, Row 8, Grave 199. However, the American Battle Monuments Commission has no record that this airman is still in that cemetery. It is probable that his remains were repatriated to the United States to his home of record in Texas. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 December 2014 13:09:08 | Lucy May | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Changed Connection from '359 Bomb Squadron', which is becoming redundant, to '359th Bomb Squadron'. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 November 2014 23:49:02 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 19-Nov-2014. The association with 303BG AND the last name ERROR of "Comb" instead of "Combs" was originally ingested from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Savannah, Georgia. That information has been COMBINED into this single entry. The association with the 303BG made in the Summary Biography was confirmed with Mr. Gary Moncur, website historian 303BG, http://www.303rdbg.com/ via an e-mail inquiry of Mr. Moncur with Mr. Cunningham. All other information from MACR 15352. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 October 2014 21:37:28 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 27-Oct-2014. Correction to mission association. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 October 2014 21:24:42 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to service number, biography, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 27-Oct-2014. Missing Air Crew Report 15352. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:15:16 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15352 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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