Donald M Gedatus

Military

Radio operator on the "Deany Crew" that flew a B-24 liberator named "Sweet Eloise." That plane was shot at on 5th April 1945, and he was the only one to take a hit, losing an eye and taking lots of shrapnel, which he survived.

Connections

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Units served with

A Pathfinder B-24 Liberator (V2-P+, serial number 42-51691) of the 491st Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: '491 BG supplying troops at Arnhem, Sept 1944.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 491st Bomb Group
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Sweet Eloise
  • Unit: 491st Bomb Group 854th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Minnesota, USA 7 June 1925

Enlisted

Minneapolis, MN, USA 15 April 1943

Died

Champlin, MN 55316, USA 6 December 2009
Waseca, MN 56093, USA

Revisions

Date
ContributorWhite-Knight
Changes
Sources

American Library Norwich Database.

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Correspondence with Cody Miller: My grandfather, from Minnesota, to my knowledge, was the radio operator on the "Deany Crew" that flew a B-24 liberator named "Sweet Eloise." That plane was shot at and he was the only one to take a hit, losing an eye and taking lots of shrapnel, which he survived.

NARA enlistment record: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf…

https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=149993484

May have been originally assigned to 453rd Bomb Group as a duplicate record was created with following source:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / The Liberator Men of Old Buc

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / WWW.491st.org roster