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Military
Thomas J. Alexander - England - 1945 (photo courtesy Anthony Turco family)
Crash of B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 near Florée, Belgium - 14 March 1945. Showing the farm hit by the Liberator's left wing as it banked to crash-land in the field (photo courtesy of the Heichel family - http://www.inexpensiveflighttraining.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8801344 )
Thomas J. Alexander at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havana, Cuba, 1944 (photo courtesy of the Anthony Turco family)
From left to right : Anthony P. Turco, Thomas J. Alexander and Robert E. Heichel - England May 1945 (Photo courtesy of the Anthony Turco family)
At Sloppy Joe's Bar, Havana, Cuba - 1944 From left to right : Anthony P. Turco, Seymour Eisenstat, Thomas J. Alexander, Robert E. Heichel, Samuel Emerson (bombardier, who apparently flew no missions with Bob Heichel) and Kenneth S. Kingsland. (Photo courtesy of the Anthony Turco family)
The Robert E. Heichel crew - England 28 April 1945. Back row, from left to right : Radio Operator Anthony P. Turco; the unidentified Navigator who replaced Seymour Eisenstat, severely wounded in the 14 March 1945 crash of B-24 # 42-51195; Co-Pilot Thomas J. Alexander; Pilot Robert E. Heichel, Gunner Philip E. Trimmer Jr. Front row : Gunner Glen C. LeBleu; Gunner Rheudolph W. Cain; Gunner Lacy C. Gilliam and an unidentified man who replaced Engineer Kenneth S. Kingsland, who was killed in the crash of 42-51195 on 14 March 1945. (Photo courtesy of the Anthony Turco family)
Crash of B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 near Florée, Belgium - 14 March 1945. Three members of the Robert Heichel crew who were not wounded in the crash. Top : Sgt Lacy C. Gilliam; bottom left : S/Sgt Rheudolph W. Cain; bottom right : Sgt Glen C. LeBleu. (Photo courtesy of the Heichel family - http://www.inexpensiveflighttraining.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8801344 )
Crash of B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 near Florée, Belgium - 14 March 1945 - Débris of the crashed Liberator. The ambulance is ready to drive the wounded to a nearby hospital. The chapel in the background is where a plaque will be placed on 12 March 2016 in memory of the incident where Engineer Kenneth Kingsland lost his life. (Photo courtesy of the Heichel family - http://www.inexpensiveflighttraining.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8801344 )
Crash of B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 near Florée, Belgium - 14 March 1945 (photo courtesy of the Heichel family - http://www.inexpensiveflighttraining.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8801344 )
Crash of B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 near Florée, Belgium - 14 March 1945 (photo courtesy of the Heichel family - http://www.inexpensiveflighttraining.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8801344 )
Thomas Alexander’s older brother, Marston Alexander Jr, born in 1917, died in October 1929. Thomas enlisted in the Air Corps and was trained as a pilot. Sent overseas, he was assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in Belgium on return from the 14 March 1945 mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Gütersloh, Germany.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 491st Bomb Group
Rheudolph Cain was the youngest of Anna S. Cain's three sons (the others : Walter and Hubert). He enlisted at the end of 1943 in the Air Corps after two years at Parkersburgh High School in West Virginia. Trained as a gunner, he was sent overseas and...
Military | Flight Officer | Navigator | 491st Bomb Group
Seymour Eisenstat grew up in Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School before entering the service in 1943. He followed initial training at a mechanics school in Biloxi, Mississippi then, having had an opportunity to be an Aviation Cadet, he...
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 491st Bomb Group
Enlisting in the Air Corps in August 1943, Lacy Gilliam trained as a gunner and was sent overseas and assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in Belgium on...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 491st Bomb Group
Robert Heichel attended the Windber High School during four years (his description in the Class of 1942 Yearbook : “He hath a stern look, but a merry heart.”) Before his enlistment in the Air Corps in 1942, he helped to build B-24 Liberators at the...
Military | Sergeant | Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner | 491st Bomb Group
After finishing his studies, Kenneth Kingsland was employed as an assembler at the Pratt & Whitney United Aircraft Corporation's engine factory in East Hartford, Connecticut. Married to Dorothy, he decided to volunteer like younger men and enlisted in...
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 491st Bomb Group
Barely 18, Glen LeBleu enlisted in the Air Corps in July 1943. Trained as a gunner, he was sent overseas and assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in...
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 491st Bomb Group
Barely 18, Phil Trimmer enlisted in the Air Corps in April 1944. Trained as a gunner, he was sent overseas and assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 491st Bomb Group
Enlisting in the Air Corps in January 1944, Anthony Turco trained as a Radio Operator / gunner. He was sent overseas and assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash...
Group
The 491st Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators in bombing missions over northern France and Germany from June 1944 until April 1945. Missions over Germany included bombing the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen. The Group was awarded a DUC...
B-24 Liberator
B-24 # 42-51195 "Belle Ringer" is listed as having been first in the 493rd Bomb Group at Debach. Transferred to the 491st Bomb Group / 852nd Bomb Squadron, it was hit by Flak on the way to the target, the Gütersloh marshalling yards in Germany on 14...
14 March 1945
"1,250 Heavies Strike Tanks, Gun Factories Near Hanover"
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Military site : airfield
Built comparatively late during 1943-44 as an Eighth Air Force bomber base, North Pickenham was rather cramped as an airfield site so the main runway was shorter than typical. It had three concrete runways, 50 loop hardstandings and two dispersed T2...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Texas, United States | 16 May 1923 |
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the son of Marston and Virginia Alexander |
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| Enlisted | Kerrville, Texas, United States | 26 May 1942 |
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as a Private in the Air Corps |
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| near Florée, Belgium | 14 March 1945 | |
|
Was on board B-24 "belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in Belgium |
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| Buried | Hope Cemetery, Henrietta, Clay County, Texas, United States | 2005 |
| Died | Dallas, Texas, United States | 8 April 2005 |
| Lived in | Dallas, Texas, United States | |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 30 January 2016 15:56:13 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, service number, highest rank, biography, events, person associations, place associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
NARA WWII Enlistments records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:25:57 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / WWW.491st.org roster |
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