Donald William Crossley Sr
Military
media-379270.jpg
FRE 834
Staff Sergeant Donald W. Crossley, a tail gunner of the 95th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp] Handwritten caption on reverse: '21/9/43.' A printed caption was previously attached to the reverse of print, this has been lost, however considering the publication date, press agency and subject matter this was likely to have read: 'AWARDS TO THE HIGH-SCORING GUNNER. The Distinguished Flying Cross and an oak leaf cluster- the equivalent of two D.F.C's- have been award simultaneously to S/Sgt Donald W. Crossley, 25, of Wellsburg, W.VA., U.S. 8th Air Force tail gunner. Crossley, the highest scoring aerial gunner in the ETO, has shot down 12 German planes in 23 heavy bomber missions. The possessor of the Air Medal and the Oak Leaf Clusters, Crossley added a second cluster to his new DFC within a few days when his twelfth "kill" was confirmed. With shooting as a hobby in his off time from his pre-war job with the Follansbee Steel Company in Follansbee W. Va....'
Roger Freeman Collection
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Assigned to 333BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Crossley was credited with 12 confirmed e/a kills. A record for 8th AF gunners. ETD
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (3OLC), GC, WWII Victory, EMEA, American Campaign.
Connections
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Units served with
People
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ten Knights in a Bar Room
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron 803rd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Skunkface II
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 306th Bomb Group 379th Bomb Group 384th Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 92nd Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron 525th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: The Brass Rail, Local Girl
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron 412th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Floozie Flossy | Mary Ruth | The WeWa Special
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron 36th Bomb Squadron 492nd Bomb Group
Missions
- Date: 12 August 1943
- Date: 30 July 1943
- Date: 28 July 1943
- Date: 24 July 1943
- Date: 10 July 1943
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Wellsburg, WV | 10 March 1921 | Son of Samuel Clifford and Bessie Rae [McKitrick] Crossley. |
Enlisted |
Indianapolis, IN | 14 August 1942 | Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis |
Other First 95th BG Combat Mission |
St. Omer, France | 13 May 1943 | |
Other Final 95th BG Combat Mission |
Emden, Germany | 27 September 1943 | |
Other Discharged USAAF |
29 April 1944 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Wellsburg, WV | 7 November 1992 | |
Buried |
Brooke Cemetery Wellsburg, Brooke County, WV | 10 November 1992 | Brooke Cemetery Wellsburg, Brooke County, West Virginia Plot Section A Lot 28 |
Revisions
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://95thbg.org/95th_db_pages/left_formation_code/gethonoroll.php