Amerigo Richard Bassi
MilitaryPOW records
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
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- 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
- 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
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
- 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
https://www.fold3.com/image/37106015
https://www.fold3.com/image/92320591
https://www.fold3.com/image/695961181
https://www.fold3.com/record/86076144/amerigo-r-bassi-wwii-army-enlistm…
https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/seattletimes/185711901
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180387897/amerigo-richard-bassi
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