Edmund Abdo Sr
Military
Object Number - UPL 60416 - S/Sgt Edmund Abdo
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Edmund served as Ball Turret Gunner on the crew of 'Little Miss Mischief,' and was wounded from a direct hit on the ball turret from flak on his 21st mission, 15-Oct-44.
"No. 880, "Little Miss Mischief", was flying "Tail End Charley" in our Lead Squadron, with 1Lt Paul R. McDowell's crew aboard. She took a hit before the target that blew a huge gaping hole through the left waist of the fuselage and tore apart the left side of the ball turret. M/Sgt Glenn L. Slaughter, the waist gunner, was wounded in the foot and ribs. In the ball turret, M/Sgt Edmund Abdo was hit in the left leg and foot by flak fragments. Because his electric suit was rendered inoperable, Sgt Abdo's hands, feet and neck were frost-bitten from the subzero wind blowing through the holes in the turret. More seriously, the turret could not be rotated to expose the exit hatch. Sgt Abdo was trapped in the turret for the rest of the flight and the landing. This was a potentially fatal situation should the landing gear collapse on touch-down. The flak had also severed the rudder and trim tab cables and shot away all the electronics except for those to the engines. Even though almost cut in two, "Little Miss Mischief" remained in the air. The flight engineer, T/Sgt James Hobbs, worked furiously to splice the trim cables so that Lt McDowell would have some degree of control of the aircraft on landing. The bombs were jettisoned to lighten the load. Struggling along at 100-110 MPH, "Little Miss Mischief" made it back to Bassingbourn where, with the landing gear hand-cranked down, she made a safe landing. Sgt Abdo was not told there was a problem in lowering the landing gear until he was taken from the turret. The crew figured he had enough on his mind as it was."
After his service, He owned and operated a retail paint business for thirty years prior to retirement.
Awards: AM (2OLC), GC, PH, EAME (3BS), WWII Victory.
Connections
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Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft

- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Little Miss Mischief
- Unit: 398th Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron 600th Bomb Squadron
Missions

- Date: 15 October 1944
Places

- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Scranton, Pennsylvania | 7 July 1922 | Born Scranton, Pennsylvania |
Enlisted |
Hartford, Connecticut | 8 January 1943 | Enlisted Hartford, Connecticut |
Died |
Moscow, Pennsylvania | 27 January 2001 | Died Moscow, Pennsylvania |
Buried |
Saint Catherine's Cemetery Moscow, Pennsylvania | 31 January 2001 | Interred Saint Catherine's Cemetery Moscow, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania |
Revisions
https://www.fold3.com/image/606502920
https://www.fold3.com/record/20906075/edmund-abdo-social-security-death…
https://www.fold3.com/record/85705229/edmund-abdo-wwii-army-enlistment-…
https://www.fold3.com/record/720472301/abdo-edmund-us-veterans-gravesit…
https://www.fold3.com/record/623864308/edmund-abdo-1922-veterans-affair…
https://www.fold3.com/record/704608543/abdo-edmund-us-wwii-hospital-adm…