Milton Marion Stenstrom
MilitaryPhoto via the Stenstrom family
Milton Stenstrom enlisted in April 1941 and followed pilot training. Assigned to the 97th Bomb Group/414th Bomb Squadron, he was sent to England.
Shot down on 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24443 while serving as Pilot on a mission to bomb U-Boat pens at Lorient/Keroman, France. The Fortress was hit by a Flak burst, lost altitude and was attacked by one or more enemy fighters. He probably received a head injury in the ditching of his damaged plane in the water off the coast of Brest, France, and remembered that someone pulled him out of the plane after they landed in the water. He recalled that after a French fishing boat picked them up and took them to port, they faced a seemingly high-ranked German officer who told him "For you... the war is kaput!". Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16061443
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-724720
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14055182
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19038492 at enlistment, then O-659022
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
Missions
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Nebraska, United States | 20 January 1920 | the son of Charles and Mae L. Stenstrom |
Enlisted |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 28 April 1941 | in the Air Corps |
Other |
Brest, France | 21 October 1942 | ditched in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 miles off the coast of Brest, France |
Other captured |
Quimper, France | 21 October 1942 | after his rescue, together with 8 of his crew members, by a French fishing boat and arrested after landing by the Germans |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Sagan, Poland | 21 October 1942 | Interned at Stalag Luft 3. NARA POW Records : "Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 4 June 1945." |
Died |
Laguna Woods, Orange County, California, United States | 24 July 2009 | |
Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States | |||
Buried |
El Toro Memorial Park, Lake Forest, Orange County, California, United States |
Revisions
US Census 1940
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
NARA WWII POW Records
Recollections of Milton Stenstrom as told to his family
Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Edited summary biography and added POW event information. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 28-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 19-Oct-2014, "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey; "Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) POW Records.
Lee Cunningham 19-Oct-2014, National Archives Records Administration (NARA) POW Records, "losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1, pp 38-39 by Bishop and Hey