Theodore A Harkin

Military

Shot down 26 July 1943 in B-17 #4124417 'Dixie Demo. ' Plane ditched in North Sea. Returned to base. He completed a combat tour in June 1944 and lived and worked in England for some years before returning to the USA.







He enlisted in the RAF in November 1939 and had to relinquish his American citizenship. He was permitted to assist with the first RAF American Eagle Squadron No. 71 because he was American by birth. After Pearl Harbor, he was offered the choice of joining the 8th AF from the RAF and regained his citizenship. He was promptly dispatched to gunnery school somewhere in the Midlands in England. He was transferred to Thurleigh 28 October 1942. He was considered a replacement crew member.



RAF Silver Medallion, DFC, AM 3Oak Leaf Cluster, PH, 2 Presidential Unit Citations, ETO, Bronze Star.

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Dixie Demo II
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Died

30 July 1999

Born

Seattle, Washington

Revisions

Date
ContributorHelen
Changes
Sources

306th Echoes Oct'99

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; Roll of Honor / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia