Alex Garen Jr

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

On 6th August Mission 124 was to an aircraft engine plant at Genshagen, Germany. Colonel Brown was the Wing Leader with Captain F.P. Ball and Col. W.T. Seawell as the Box leaders. Bombing results were excellent, there was no enemy air opposition but flak damaged nine aircraft, killing one tail gunner, and one aircraft was lost. The missing in action crew was that of Lt. Sauerwald and the tail gunner killed was T/Sgt. Alex Garen, Jr., on Lt. H.J. Oshsenhirt's crew.



His brother, Seaman First Class Michael Garen, pronounced by men of the 401st Bomb Group a game guy, came back from Normandy where he helped get an LCT into Omaha beach an hour before "H-Hour", made a visit to the 401st base during a brief liberty to look up his 22-year-old brother, Alex, whom he had not seen in five years. He didn't get to see Alex. Four hours before Mike arrived, Alex was killed by flak over Berlin.

Connections

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Units served with

A pathfinder B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 44-8258) of the 401st Bomb Group. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: '48258 14 A, Mount Farm.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Rosie's Sweat Box
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron

Missions

A B-24 Liberator of the 492nd Bomb Group bombs a target near Hamburg. 

Handwritten caption on reverse: 'USAF- 492nd BG showing successful result on oil target near Hamburg, 6 Aug 1944.'
  • Date: 6 August 1944

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed in action

6 August 1944

Revisions

Date
Changes
Sources

New entry added with details from:
- An original copy of the 401st Bomb Group unit history in IWM’s Roger Freeman Collection, printed in 1946.;
- http://401bg.org/Main/People/Maslen/401stBG(H).pdf;
- https://archive.org/stream/PictorialRecordofthe401stBombGroup-nsia/Pict…