Shirley Clare Griffith
Military ROLL OF HONOURPhoto cropped from crew photograph in the possession of the Howard G Mertens Family
Shirley Clare Griffith was the son of Michigan natives, Carl W and Ethel Griffith. He attended Washington Gardner High School in Albion, MI. He enlisted in the Michigan State National Guard on 25 Sep 1940. He was inducted into the US Army on 24 Feb 1941. He and his wife, Doris, married in Seattle, Washington, where he was stationed in 1942. His only child, Suzanne was born in March 1943.
Shirley served as the Ball Turret Gunner on the B-17G, #446140 'Miss Lace,' on 30 Nov 1944 when it encountered heavy flak over the target, the Brabag Synthetic Oil Plant just northeast of Zeitz, Germany. After a near explosion of flak, the plane lost its right wing and entered a vertical spiral while ablaze. It broke into two sections: the tail/waist, which landed near Threna, Germany, and the nose, which crashed into District 7 of the Oberholz Forest near Großpösna, Germany. Shirley's remains and military ID Tag were found with the tail/waist section of the plane near Threna and buried in a single grave at Threna town cemetery.
In late June 1945, the US Army exhumed his remains. Identification of those remains was made from military dental records and his dog tag. His re-interment occurred in Graceland Cemetery, Racine, WS, in Dec 1948.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36624894
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16129428
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37534103
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19128200
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Nose Gunner / Enlisted
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-767319
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Miss Lace
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Kent County, MI, USA | 16 June 1916 | |
Died |
Threna, 04683 Belgershain, Germany | 30 November 1944 | |
Buried |
Racine, WI, USA |
Revisions
Individual Deceased Personnel File for Shirley C Griffith; Missing Aircrew Report #11126; German "Report of Downed Enemy Aircraft, KU 3401"; ancestry.com research of Janine Hunter, Reagan, TN.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11126 / MACR 11126; 379th Bombardment Group Anthology, pg 326 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database