William Reinhold Mattson
MilitaryWilliam Mattson was Engineer/Top Turret gunner on B-24 #42-7484, shot down over Belgium on return from the Frankfurt mission on 29 January 1944. After landing in parachute near Plancenoit, Belgium, he was helped by Belgian citizens and members of the Comete evasion network. Hidden for several weeks in various homes in Belgium, he left Brussels for Paris on 18 April 1944. From Paris, he was led to the southwest of France, where he crossed the Pyrénées mountains, arriving in Spain on 23 April. Arriving at Gibraltar about two weeks later, he was flown back to England on 12 May 1944. Back in the United States, Mattson served as an instructor until the end of the war and was discharged on 16 October 1945 in Boise, Idaho. Evaded (EVD). Escape & Evasion Report E&E 683.
For much more details about his evasion and the people who helped him, see his page at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fmattsowr.html
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: 392nd Bomb Group 579th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20939620 at enlistment, then O-744050
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 579th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34445240
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 579th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18086645 at enlistment, then O-678355
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 579th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39004811 at enlistment, then O-683192
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 579th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34345557
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Sally Ann
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 578th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 29 January 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Pigeon Cove, Rockport County, Massachusetts | 11 December 1916 | His WWII Draft card has his middle name as Reino, something he probably preferred, for official documents, to the German-sounding Reinhold (?) |
|
Enlisted |
31 August 1942 | Boston, Massachusetts | |
|
Other Bailed out |
29 January 1944 | of B-24 #7484 over Belgium | |
|
Other Landed in parachute |
Plancenoit, Belgium | 29 January 1944 | Plancenoit, near Waterloo, Belgium |
|
Other Evaded capture |
29 January 1944 - 11 May 1944 | helped in Belgium and France by citizens and members of the Comete evasion network, he crossed from France in Spain and was back in England, via Gibraltar, on 12 May 1944 | |
|
Other Discharged |
16 October 1945 | Boise, Idaho | |
|
Died |
14 March 1992 | Gloucester, Massachusetts | |
| Rockport, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||
|
Buried |
William Mattson rests at the Seaside Cemetery in Gloucester, Essex County, Massachusetts |
Revisions
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
MACR 2548
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft Card
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 683
SSDI (Social Security Death Index)
Research for his page at www.evasioncomete.org (Comète network archives)
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2548, neighbor