Gilbert Crotte
MilitaryPrisoner of War (POW) Crashed at Libehna, Germany on 11/02/44 in B-17 'PARD' 42-97956.
Gil Crotte enlisted into the Army Air Corps in September 1940 aged 21 and went on to train as a Flight Engineer. He was later posted to 323rd Sqdn 91st Bomber Group at Bassingbourn and was shot down on the Merseburg mission of 2nd November 1944. He was taken prisoner and in April 1945 survived the infamous Death March.
Crotte stayed on in the Service taking part in the Berlin Airlift and being stationed in Alaska, Panama. England and Germany. He died aged 79 on January 26th 1999.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: Pard
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Chicago, Illinois, USA | 15 March 1919 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Frankfurt, Germany | 2 November 1944 | A letter dated 18 June 1945 from IL Governor, Dwight E. Green to Mary Lou Crotte, (Gil's mother) tells of his Liberation from German POW camp. |
|
Enlisted |
Chicago, IL, USA | 24 September 1946 | |
|
Other Married |
San Francisco, CA, USA | 7 August 1948 | Married Susan |
|
Died |
Sacramento, CA, USA | 26 January 1999 | |
|
Buried |
Citrus Heights, CA, USA | 18 March 2014 | Buried at the Sylvan Cemetery in Citrus Heights, CA, (Section South, Map A, Row 3, Grave 4T). |
Revisions
Biography completed by historian Helen Millgate. Information sourced from newsletters of the 91st Bomb Group related to the service of Gil Crotte.
Simply added the Country in the Bio. Also, capitalized PARD (the name of the aircraft), because my photo shows it capitalized. Under buried section, I shortened it, but the information is all there.
Mission Loading Lists, NARA, Letters from Headquarters Army Service Forces, Personal Contact with His Family, Photos of Cemetery & Grave Marker.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 10148 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database