Raymond Leo Walsh

Military

Raymond Walsh was Navigator on his first operation 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. Walsh managed to evade capture with the help of French citizens and members of the Résistance. He and Ball Turret Gunner Volz and Tail Gunner Smith were hidden in various places in the region West and South-West of Bordeaux. They left by C-47 from Biarritz, France on 13 September 1944 and were interviewed for their E&E report in London the following day. According to NARA's WWII Enlistment records, residing in Providence County, RI, he re-enlisted as a T/Sgt in the Air Corps on 5 November 1946 at Fort Banks in Boston, Massachusetts, with Serial Number 20155996. See the details of Raymond Walsh‘s evasion at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fwalshrl.html

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 447th Bomb Group.

447th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • 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

Joseph Herman Koenig

  • 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

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

Aircraft

42-31191

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

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA 24 October 1916

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

Evaded capture

27 March 1944 - 4 September 1944 with the help of French citizens and members of the Résistance
Woonsocket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA

Died

Buried

Saint Mark Cemetery, Jamestown, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA.

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Updated website address to www.evasioncomete.be

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Completed Biography

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 2062

Date
Contributorflakshak313
Changes
Sources

This information was passed on to our family by my father. There is also a newspaper clipping in our records. We also have his false ID card fabricated by the Underground.

Date
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