James Frank Bucher

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

James Bucher was serving as Left Waist Gunner on B-17 #42-5051 'Barrel House Bessie' when it was shot down on the 26 November 1943 to Bremen, Germany. Plane ditched in North Sea and James Bucher drowned, unable to get on board a life raft in the icy waters. Killed in Action (KIA). Posthumously awared Air Medal and Purple Heart.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 384th Bomb Group.

384th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Joseph Earnest Burger

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32373835
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Donald Leroy Engwer

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36255285
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

William Featherstone Gilmore

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 482nd Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron 812th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14006633 at enlistment, then O-406671
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Role/Job: Pilot; Commanding Officer

Maurice Victor Henry

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 37205337
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Earl Carter Mason

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19085247 at enlistment, then O-738778
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Aircraft

42-5051

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Barrel House Bessie
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron 546th Bomb Squadron 303rd Bomb Group 305th Bomb Group 366th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

25 April 1916 Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Enlisted

30 March 1942 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Other

Missing In Action (MIA)

26 November 1943 Failed to reach life raft after ditching in North Sea. Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Other

Memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing

at the Cambridge American Cemetery

Revisions

Date6 Feb 2019 08:07:42
ContributorED-BB
ChangesChanges to middlename, service number, role, biography, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations
Sources

MACR 1579
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Casualties for Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Date27 Sep 2014 18:14:20
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1579 / MACR 1579, http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=… / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database