Modesto A Gonzales
MilitaryModesto Gonzales was Bombardier 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
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- 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
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37652344
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator/Gunner
- 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
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38274314
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15117473
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Virginia Lee
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 710th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 27 March 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
6 October 1921 | Tass County, New Mexico | |
Enlisted |
12 July 1940 | Santa Fe, New Mexico | |
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 | ||
Died |
8 January 1982 | Colorado | |
Tass County, New Mexico | |||
Buried |
Modesto Gonzales rests at the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado |
Revisions
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
VA Gravesite Locator
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3546 / MACR 3546, Losses of the a8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database