William Herbert Ritzema
Military
Object Number - UPL 52347 - William H. "Bud" Ritzema
Assigned to 510BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Bernburg in B-17 42-31612 22-Feb-44; shot down by flak, crew baled out and pilot made a wheels up landing near Aachen. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 2657
Awards: AM, GC, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32539248
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19067413
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37225713
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19063545
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33053684 / O-811497
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Greenville, Michigan, USA | 11 August 1918 | Son of James H and Lorene C [Huelster] Ritzema. |
|
Enlisted |
Kalamazoo, MI | 5 August 1941 | Kalamazoo, Michigan |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 22 February 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
|
Died |
Greenville, MI | 15 June 2005 | |
|
Buried |
Rest Haven Memory Gardens Belding, Ionia County, MI | 18 June 2005 | Rest Haven Memory Gardens Belding, Ionia County, Michigan, |
|
Based |
Polebrook | 22 February 1944 | Assigned to 510BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2657 / MACR 2657, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
