Lester Ernest Reuss
Military ROLL OF HONOURFold3.com
Killed in Action (KIA) Shot down by fighters and crashed near Biltburg in B-17 Bad Penny #4231183. After completing a bombing mission on the airdrome at Wiesbaden, the B-17 he was in was attacked by Germany fighters and shot down. According to mission reports, his plane pitched up, then exploded. All crew members bailed out or were blown free of the aircraft. Lt. Reuss landed near the village of Preist, but his chute tangled in a tree. A Nazi party officer arrived and shot him. Two villagers then beat him to death with hammers. These three Germans were tried and hanged in June 1945.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Bad Penny
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron 359th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
15 August 1944 | ||
Born |
Forsyth, Montana |
Revisions
Brought in information from duplicate record. Sources:
From user 'millebr': MACR 8170; Fold3.com; TogetherWeServed.com; Headstone and Interment Records for Veterans Interred Overseas
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8170