Joseph Herman Koenig

Military

Joseph Koenig was Radio Operator/Gunner on board of B-17G #42-31191 'Virginia Lee' on the 27 March 1943 mission to Bordeaux/Merignac airfield. Hit by German fighters, crash-landed on the beach at Le Porge-Océan, near Laruau (Gironde), France. Made Prisoner of War (POW)

Connections

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Units served with

447th Bomb Group

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

710th Bomb Squadron

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

People

Richard Gaskell

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 11021237 at enlistment, then O-806253
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Modesto A Gonzales

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 18016065 at enlistment, then O-755011
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Bombardier

Raymond Charles Koorenny

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 39454700 at enlistment, then O-692881
Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Edwin Stanley Pankhurst

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 38274314
Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Albert Harlan Ross

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 15117473
Highest Rank: Sergeant
Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Aircraft

42-31191

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Virginia Lee
Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron

Missions

A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-31330) of the 452nd Bomb Group releases its bombs over an airdrome in Bordeaux. Printed caption on reverese: '61732 AC- BOMBS AWAY!!!! A Beoing B-17 "Flying Fortress" of the 452nd Bomb Group releases its bombs on the Nazi airdrome, Bordeaux, France, as the air offensive against the enemy reaches an all time high. 27 March 1944. US Air Force Photo.'

8th Air Force 282

Date: 27 March 1944

Places

Rattlesden

Site type: Airfield

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Halbur, Iowa, USA	14 August 1922
Enlisted		26 December 1942	Camp Dodge, Herrold, Iowa
Other left the aircraft on foot		27 March 1944	on the beach at Le Porge-Océan, near Laruau (Gironde), France, after the crash-landing there of B-17 # 42-31191
Other Captured		27 March 1944	on the beach at Le Porge-Océan
Other Prisoner of War (POW)		27 March 1944	Interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow (Tychowo), Poland. Liberated after forced-march. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military Control 24 May 1945."
Died		3 February 2016
			Carroll County, Iowa
Buried			Joseph Koenig rests at the Cedar Memorial Park in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa

Revisions

Date26 Mar 2019 08:25:42

ContributorED-BB

Changes

Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
WWII Draft Cards
SSDI Death Index

Date27 Sep 2014 18:17:18

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3546 / MACR 3546, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database