Clair Eugene Buskirk

Military
media-29709.jpeg UPL 29709 Capt. Clair E "Buz" Buskirk, 338th Fighter Squadron. P-38J 42-67954. Seen here with Capt. Buskirk are his crew consisting of S/Sgt. Kanapacki, Cpl. Willard and T/Sgt. Phil Dwyer.

Object Number - UPL 29709 - Capt. Clair E "Buz" Buskirk, 338th Fighter Squadron. P-38J 42-67954. Seen here with Capt. Buskirk are his crew consisting of S/Sgt. Kanapacki, Cpl....

Assigned to 338FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Baled out before his P-38J crashed at Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex on return from a bomber escort mission on 25-Feb-44. Returned to Duty (RTD). 106 combat missions. Credited 1 x kill. Failed to Return (FTR) escort to Germersheim. Hit by flak in P-51D 44-14901 strafing Gelsenkirchen aerodrome, crashed near Schluchtern 6-Jan-45 Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 11524.



Awards: DFC, AM (8OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

Connections

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Units served with

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36320728
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
  • Nicknames: Fubar
  • Unit: Base Air Depot 3 55th Fighter Group 56th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 356th Fighter Group 55th Fighter Group 338th Fighter Squadron 360th Fighter Squadron

Places

Prisoners of war, including Colonel Hubert Zemke of the 479th Fighter Group at Stalag Luft I.
  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Lieutenant-Colonel Elwyn G. Righetti of the 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group stands beside his P-51 Mustang, "Katydid". Print signed 'Best of everything your big loud Elwyn', 1944-1945.
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Bures / RAF Wormingford / RFC Wormingford / USAAF Station 159 / Wormingford Landing Ground

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Wood County, WV, USA 8 January 1923

Enlisted

546 Jack Gibbs Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215, USA 22 August 1941 Fort Hayes Columbus, OH

Based

Wormingford 19 November 1943 - 6 January 1945 Assigned to 338FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF.

Other

Baled out RTD

Langford Grove, Maypole Rd, Maldon CM9 4TA, UK 26 February 1944 Baled out before his P-38J crashed at Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex on return from a bomber escort mission on 25-Feb-44. Returned to Duty (RTD).

Other

Promotion

Wormingford, UK 28 February 1944 Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.

Other

Promotion

Wormingford, UK 1 May 1944 Promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

Other

End Tour Duty (ETD)

England, UK 15 July 1944 Ended Tour Duty (ETD).

Other

Promotion

Wormingford, UK 18 August 1944 Promoted to Captain.

Other

Crashed

Wormingford, UK 31 December 1944 Taxiing Accident Wormingford/Sta 159 Cat 3 damage 1Lt Clair E Buskirk, 31-Dec-44. P-51D 44-15387 - 338FS 55FG 8AF

Other

Crashed

Wormingford, UK 2 January 1945 Taxiing Accident Wormingford/Sta 159 Cat 3 damage 1Lt Clair E Buskirk, 2-Jan-45. P-51D 44-15600 - 338FS 55FG 8AF

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Barth, Germany 6 January 1945 - 13 May 1945 Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I.

Other

Shot down / baled out

36381 Schlüchtern, Germany 6 January 1945 Failed to Return (FTR) escort to Germersheim. Hit by flak in P-51D 44-14901 strafing Gelsenkirchen aerodrome, crashed near Schluchtern 6-Jan-45 Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 11524.

Died

Riverside County, CA, USA 14 March 2016
Parkersburg, WV, USA

Buried

Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside, CA 92518, USA Riverside National Cemetery Riverside Riverside County California, USA

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11524 / MACR 11524, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

Clair Eugene Buskirk: Gallery (1 items)