Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-24D 41-23776 'Spirit of '76' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was Wilhelmshaven, but weather conditions were poor. Plane was attacked by FW 190s, caught fire, exploded and crashed on Terschelling Island, Holland.
Service
Units served with
-
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti...
-
Aircraft
-
B-24 Liberator
On 27-Jan-43 B-24D 41-23776 "Spirit of 76" was on a mission to bomb the naval installation at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The pilot was unable to located the target due to weather and navigation problems. The aircraft was attacked by fighters and shot down...
Missions
-
2 February 1943
All six 8th Air Force Bomb Groups operting from Great Britain are ordered on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. 61 B-17s and 22 B-24s are despatched but the formation runs into severe weather over the North Sea and the mission in...
Associated Place
-
Military site : airfield
Shipdham was built in 1941-1942, the first US heavy bomber airfield in the English county of Norfolk. It was a standard design, with T2-type hangars and a domestic site dispersed to the south east. Improvements were carried out to increase the number...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Elmwood, Wisconsin, USA |
|
Killed in Action (KIA) |
Terschelling, Netherlands |
27 January 1943 |
Killed when aircraft was shot down by fighters and crashed on Terschelling Island, Holland.
|
Buried |
Wisconsin, USA |
1945 |
Originally buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery but after the war his remains were repatriated and re-interred in Wisconsin
|