Vrooman La Salle Francisco Jr

Military

Assigned to 764BS, 461BG, 15AF USAAF. Gerald R Smith crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Odertal oil refinery in B-24 42-52025 17-Dec-44; Mauled by fighters, #3 engine on fire, oxygen system shot out, A/C abandoned. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 10680



Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

Connections

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

Units served with

A B-24 Liberator of the 461st Bomb Group, 15th Air Force drops supplies over a Prisoner of War camp in Austria, May 1945. Handwritten caption on reverse: '9 May 1945, Last 'combat' mission of 461st BG to British POW camp near Villack, Austria. #33 flown by Lt John Stegman- 765th BS.'

461st Bomb Group

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

People

Gerald Robert Smith

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 461st Bomb Group 765th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16082953 / O-824959
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

42-52025

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Arsenic and Lace
  • Unit: 461st Bomb Group 765th Bomb Squadron

Places

Dulag Luft 12

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
Prisoners of war, including Colonel Hubert Zemke of the 479th Fighter Group at Stalag Luft I.

Stalag Luft I

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany

Torretta

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Cerignola #3

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Aberdeen, SD 3 November 1922 Son of Vrooman Lasalle Francisco Sr and Evelyn V Lutgen.

Enlisted

Los Angeles, CA 18 November 1942 Los Angeles, California

Other

Baled out POW

Muglitz, Germany 17 December 1944 Failed to Return (FTR) Odertal oil refinery in B-24 42-52025; Mauled by fighters. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 10680

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Barth, Germany 17 December 1944 Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I.

Died

24 September 1981
Little Rock, AR

Based

Torretta Assigned to 764BS, 461BG, 15AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/28700063
https://www.fold3.com/image/631059694
https://www.fold3.com/image/542253997
https://www.fold3.com/record/67497500-vrooman-francisco
https://www.fold3.com/record/85056445-vrooman-l-francisco-jr
https://www.fold3.com/record/623372164-vrooman-francisco-1922
https://www.archives.com/1940-census/francisco-vrooman-sd-19749784