William Joseph Gricas

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

William Gricas was Ball Turret gunner on B-24 #42-52191 "Lillie Belle" which was forced to ditch in the North Sea on return from a mission to Genshagen near Berlin on 6 March 1944. Killed in Action (KIA).

Connections

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Units served with

453rd Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

Airmen of the 458th Bomb Group gather outside a hangar after a mission. Image via Lieutenant Vincent Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Intill smoke cigars, 753rd Hangar & operations. Kania W/O cap, Cullet W/ Cap, Vincent with cigar.'

735th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Joseph G Cyr

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Bombardier

Joseph Grayson Halliburton

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-690648
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Navigator

Thomas H Keathley

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 17159588
Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Martin Luther Kiner

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 33243195
Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
Role/Job: Radio Operator

William Ambert Koch

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 36622412
Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

42-52191

Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
Unit: 453rd Bomb Group

Missions

B-17 Flying Fortresses, (LL-F, serial number 42-97467) of the 91st Bomb Group, (OJ-G, serial number 42-97212) of the 96th Bomb Group and (LD-D, serial number 42-39994) of the 100th Bomb Group in Sweden, 1944. Written on slide casing: 'Sweden, 297467 LL:F, 18/7/44, 297212 OJ:G, 11/4/44, 239994, LD:D 3/3/44.'

8th Air Force 250

Date: 6 March 1944

Places

Old Buckenham

Site type: Airfield

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Charleroi, Pennsylvania	22 January 1918
Enlisted		28 April 1941	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Other Killed In Action (KIA)		6 March 1944	in the loss of B-24 #42-52191
			Charleroi, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Buried			Still listed as MIA, he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge

Revisions

Date7 Apr 2020 14:51:04

ContributorED-BB

Changes

Sources

MACR 2969
WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
ABMC website

Date27 Sep 2014 18:28:17

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3969, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces