Gilbert Jerome Schlesinger

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-20359.jpeg UPL 20359 1st Lt Gilbert Jerome Schlesinger_Sept 1944_Kimbolton, England

Crew photograph from Howard G Mertens Family collection. Cropped.

Object Number - UPL 20359 - 1st Lt Gilbert Jerome Schlesinger_Sept 1944_Kimbolton, England

Gilbert 'Gil' Jerome Schlesinger was the second son and youngest child of Samuel M and Celia Schlesinger, who practiced the Jewish faith. Gil never married and produced no known heirs.



Gil began flying missions with the 379th Heavy Bombardment Squadron, Kimbolton, England, on 10 Sep 1944. He served as the Pilot on this, his twenty-seventh mission, when his B-17G, #446140 'Miss Lace' encountered heavy flak over the target, the Brabag Synthetic Oil Plant, located just northeast of Zeitz, Germany. After one near explosion of flak, the burning plane lost its right wing and entered a vertical spiral. It broke into two sections: the tail/waist section, which landed near Threna, Germany, and the nose, which crashed into District 7 of the Oberholz Forest near Großpösna, Germany.



German citizens recovered partial and complete human remains and military identification tags for Gil and other crew members seated in the nose section of the plane from its forest debris field. The citizens of Großpösna placed five sets of remains in individual coffins, which were buried in their town cemetery. The US Army exhumed these remains in late June 1945.



The earlier presence of Gil's remains in the Großpösna Cemetery and the US Army identification of those remains as belonging to him was made solely upon the presence of his military identification tag, which the Germans had placed within a coffin with very limited partial human remains. A comparison of military dental records could not be completed since the remains lacked a skull or mandible.



At the request of Gil's parents, his identified remains were re-interred in the Adath Jeshurun Jewish Cemetery in West Roxbury, MA. His government issued headstone is located in Section 31, Lot 11, Grave 1.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 379th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36624894
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16129428
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 37534103
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19128200
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner / Enlisted
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 20640242
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Miss Lace
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Mattapan, Boston, MA, USA 8 September 1922

Died

Großpösna, Germany 30 November 1944

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

Großpösna, Germany 30 November 1944

Buried

Großpösna, Germany

Other

Re-interrment

West Roxbury, Boston, MA, USA Adath Jeshurun Jewish Cemetery, Section 31, Lot 11, Grave 1.

Revisions

Date
Contributorlorelei1026
Changes
Sources

Individual Deceased Personnel File for Gilbert J Schlesinger; Missing Air Crew Report #11126; German "Report of Downed Enemy Aircraft -- Ku-3401;" ancestry.com research of Janine Hunter, Reagan, TN.

Date
Contributorlorelei1026
Changes
Sources

Individual Deceased Personnel File for Gilbert J Schlesinger, Past Conflicts Repatriation Branch, US Army.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11126 / MACR 11126; 379th Bombardment Group Anthology, pg 326 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Gilbert Jerome Schlesinger: Gallery (2 items)