Killed in Action (KIA) 15 February 1945 when B-17 #446831 crashed at Rauxel.



Birth: Jul. 30, 1923

Oklahoma, USA

Death: Feb. 16, 1945

Gelsenkirchen

Gelsenkirchener Stadtkreis

Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany



Source: Chronicles of Oklahoma , Volume 24, 1946. No. 3, Oklahoma War Memorial---World War II, Part XII.



WILLIAM FORBES FREEMAN, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps. Home address: Ardmore, Carter County. Mrs. Bertha F. Freeman, Mother, 112 Fourth St. N. W. Ardmore. Born July 30, 1923. Enlisted September 30, 1942. Decorations: Air Medal and Order of the Purple Heart, both awarded posthumously. Graduated Ardmore Senior High School in May, 1941. Outstanding as football player. Attended the University of Oklahoma. Employed as a riveter in Consolidated Aircraft Company, San Diego, California, before entering the Army. Member of First Christian Church, Ardmore. Recieved Commission as Seond Lieutenant and wings as Bombardier from Midland Army Airfield, Midland, Texas January 15, 1944. Began additional training in England in the Eighth Air Force, December 3, 1944, and his crew's plane a "Flying Fortress" , became the "lead plane" of the Squadron. Died February 16, 1945, in action in bombing mission over Gelsenkirchen, Germany.



Son of Bertha Forbes Freeman

21 Feb 1896 to 4 Jan 1995,

Buried in same cemetery as her son.





Mission No. 188

Date - February 16, 1945

Target - Gelsenkirchen

The target for the 8th Air Force was synthetic oil plants in Germany. The 457th was assigned to bomb industrial targets in the city of Gelsenkirchen. The group and wing assembly was accomplished without difficulty and the bomb run was in squadron formation. Contrails, haze and low fog made visual bombing impossible and bombs were dropped using G-H equipment. Bombing results were fair. Flak was moderate but accurate and one plane, s/n 44-6831, took a direct hit in the right wing. the wing broke off and the plane rolled and spun out of sight. The group landed at another field that night because of inclement weather at Glatton.

Plane s/n 44-6831, 749th Squadron, piloted by Lt Roland H. Brazier, was hit in the right wing by flak while over the target. The burst occurred near engine #3 and the right wing broke off and folded over the cockpit. The plane immediately began to roll and then went into a flat spin. It was not seen to explode and no parachutes were seen. Six members of the crew were killed and four were POWs.

Pilot Lt Roland H. Brazier POW

Copilot Lt Alvin G. Hazlett POW

Navigator Lt William J. Diehl POW

Bombardier Lt William F. Freeman KIA

Aircraft Engineer Sgt Walter H. Klimoff KIA

Radio Operator Sgt Stanley L. Murray POW

Left Waist Gunner Sgt Richard C. Trapp KIA

Right Waist Gunner Sgt Daniel S. Hochberg KIA

Ball Turret Gunner Sgt William J.Conner KIA

Tail Gunner Sgt Stanley D. Swanson KIA