Elmer Clayton Freeman

Military

Assigned to 596BS, 397BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) R/R Oissel. Hit by flak prior to reaching the target. It was last seen going down with two engines smoking, but apparently under control near Aboucourt, France. 8-May-44 Evaded capture, via a farmer made contact with French underground. Betrayed in Paris by a double agent became a Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 4429.



Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

Connections

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Units served with

A B-26 Marauder (serial number 42-96191) nicknamed "The Milk Run Special" of the 397th Bomb Group at Steeple Morden, 1945. Image by Alexander "Cal" Sloan. Written on slide casing: '296191, 397 BG.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Ninth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
  • Unit: 397th Bomb Group 596th Bomb Squadron

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Konzentrationslager Buchenwald
  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Greensboro, NC, USA 8 June 1922 Son of Robert R and Mimie Freeman.

Enlisted

Winston-Salem, NC, USA 24 June 1942

Other

Shot Down

Aboncourt, France 8 May 1944 Failed to Return (FTR) R/R Oissel. Hit by flak prior to reaching the target. It was last seen going down with two engines smoking, but apparently under control near Aboucourt, France. 8-May-44 POW MACR 4429.

Other

Evaded capture

France 8 May 1944 Evaded capture, via a farmer made contact with French underground. Captured in Paris.

Died

Niceville, FL, USA 2 August 2012

Based

Rivenhall 8 May 1944 Assigned to 596BS, 397BG, 9AF USAAF.

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Zagan, Poland Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft III.
Guilford County, NC, USA

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Fresnes, France Prisoner of War (POW). Fresnes Prison.

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

99427 Weimar, Germany Prisoner of War (POW). Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

Buried

Florida, USA Body donated to medical science.