Amerigo Richard Bassi

Military
media-56112.jpeg UPL 56112 2nd Lt Amerigo Bassi, 390BG

POW records

Object Number - UPL 56112 - 2nd Lt Amerigo Bassi, 390BG

Assigned to 568BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. B-17 42-30713 'Phyllis Marie' fell out of formation and was attacked by fighters and forced to make an emergency landing Sth of Cottbus, GR on the return from a mission to Erkner, Berlin on 8-Mar-44. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 2987



Awards: PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 390th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17064882 / O-804504
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

Staff-Sergeant Louis Kiss, a tail gunner of the 390th Bomb Group in position inside bis B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30713) nicknamed "Phyllis Marie". First handwritten caption on reverse: 'S. Sgt Louis Kiss.' Second handwritten caption on reverse: '8-10-43.'
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Phyllis Marie
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
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

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

New York State 8 February 1917 Son of Anthony Bassi.

Enlisted

Fort Dix, NJ 9 February 1942 Fort Dix, New Jersey

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Barth, Germany 8 March 1944 Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I.

Died

Seattle , WA 14 May 2017 Amerigo "Rick" Bassi passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, May 14, 2017 at the age of 100. Born February 18, 1917, in New York City, the oldest son of Italian immigrants, Antonio Bassi and Paola Guardincerri. Raised in Manhattan's Little Italy and later The Bronx, Rick entered the Army Air Corps during World War II. As a second Lieutenant and Navigator of the B-17 "Phyllis Marie", Rick was forced to bail out of the aircraft after taking fire from German FW-190s on March 8, 1944, and spent the remainder of the War in Stalag Luft One, a German prison camp near the Baltic Sea. Upon repatriation and return to New York, he rekindled a relationship with Nazarena "Frances" Signorini and they married on January 11, 1947. Their first child, was born in New York in December of that year. Rick was offered an opportunity with his employer to move to Topeka, Kansas in 1950 working for Preferred Fire Insurance (later American States). Two more children were born there. Rick enjoyed working in his vegetable garden and taking the family on driving vacations every August; living in the center of the United States in Kansas, he would take the family Chevy north to Minnesota, south to Galveston, TX, east to Maine, or West to Seattle and the National Parks in Arizona, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado. But his favorite vacations were to the beaches in Miami where he loved to float in the Ocean. Rick was transferred west again in 1969 with American States Insurance Co to Seattle. He continued working full-time there until he retired in 1982. He also retired from the Air Force Reserve as a Lt. Colonel and enjoyed attending various reunions with other World War II prisoners of war as well as the 390th Bombardment Group Memorial Museum functions. After retirement, Rick played a lot of golf with his wife and their many friends and continued traveling to far-flung places like Australia, Portugal, the Caribbean, and to visit his myriad relatives in Italy. He loved family and strove to keep his home and traditions intact throughout his long life. Rick was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Frances, sister Bobbie, and two younger brothers. He is survived by his three children; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren. The family wishes to express their profound gratitude to Bozena for her devoted caregiving the last 4 and a half years of Rick's life.

Buried

Tahoma National Cemetery Kent, King County, WA 17 May 2017 Tahoma National Cemetery Kent, King County, Washington

Based

Framlingham 8 March 1944 Assigned to 568BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2987 / MACR 2987, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Amerigo Richard Bassi: Gallery (2 items)