James Frank Bucher
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Kneeling: Pitelka (B), Childs (N, shot down with another crew 1943-10-14, evaded), DeMille (CP), Morrison (P)
Object Number - UPL 65719 - Original Morrison Crew (possibly training at stateside location). Standing: Bucher, MIA 1943-11-26), Engwer (BT), Striesfeld (RO), Burger (Eng/TT),...
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
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Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-735632
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20243890 at enlistment, then O-683297
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37300035
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron 2023rd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon
- Service Numbers: 32424264
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator / Mechanic / Gunner
Aircraft
Missions
Places
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
25 April 1916 | Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania | |
|
Enlisted |
30 March 1942 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | |
|
Died Missing In Action (MIA) |
North Sea | 26 November 1943 | The plane was damaged by flak and ditched in the North Sea near the English coast. Sgt. Bucher was unable to reach the life raft. MACR 1579 |
|
Other Memorial |
Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England: Tablets of the Missing |
Revisions
MACR 1579
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Casualties for Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
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