George J Caldon
MilitaryStanding, from left to right : Navigator Lt. Richard Manning (replaced by Lt David G. Prosser on the fateful 3 September 1943 mission); Co-Pilot Lt. Sebron A. McQueen; Pilot Lt. Ralph Bruce and Bombardier Lt. Bertram R. Theiss.
In front, from left to right : Left Waist Gunner S/Sgt Robert D. Muir, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner T/Sgt Etheridge Lamm (killed on the Hannover mission on 26 July 1943), Tail Gunner T/Sgt Simeon K. McGuire, T/Sgt Hedley E. Cassidy (replacing Etheridge Lamm as Engineer), Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt. George J. "Shorty" Caldon (sick before the 3 September 1943 mission, he was replaced by 1943 par Milton Seldin, not pictured). Radio Operator T/Sgt Mike Fleszar.
Caldon will be made a POW after the loss of B-17 42-30726 on the Schweinfurt raid of 10 October 1943),
(Crew photo via the Theiss family)
Connected People (Caldon and Lamm) to UPL 41064
George Caldon served as Ball Turret Gunner in the 92nd Bomb Group / 407th Bomb Squadron. He was on board B-17 # 42-30726, shot down on the 14 October 1943 mission to Schweinfurt, Germany. Wounded, he was immediately captured and spent a few days in hospital before being sent to the Dulag Luft Interrogation Center in Oberursel. From there he was sent to Stalag XVIIB in Austria. Prisoner of War (POW).
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18040599 and O2044434
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38124471
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner / Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33350889
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator/Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33282719
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner / Flight Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: French
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 10601250
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 14 October 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Brooklyn, New York, USA | 8 July 1916 | |
Enlisted |
Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York, United States | 28 September 1942 | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
near Krems, Austria | 14 October 1943 | Had small wounds in the face and left leg and didn’t receive immediate care after he was captured. Stayed 2 or 3 days in hospital before being transferred to Frankfurt for interrogation and further treatment. Later sent to Stalag XVIIB Braunau, near Krems, Austria - NARA WWII POW records: returned to Military Control 9 July 1945. |
Died |
Woodhaven, Queens County, New York, United States | 25 May 1984 | |
Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 846 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database