Louis V Girard
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
PRESS RELEASE | March 30, 2022
Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Girard, L.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Louis V. Girard, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for March 28, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Girard was assigned to the 68th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Girard was serving as a pilot crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
Girard’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000LlLyEAK.
A.L.D. II
Object Number - UPL 56510 - 1LT Louis V. Girard PRESS RELEASE | March 30, 2022 Pilot Accounted For From World War II (Girard, L.) WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA...
Assigned to 68BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. TDY to 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti 1-Au-43 in B-24 42-40995 'Satans Hellcats'; A/C set afire and crashed after target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 2416/3147
Awards: DFC, AM (2OLC), PH.
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: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-727991
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Satan's Hell Cats
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Florence American Cemetery, Tavarnuzze, Italy
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Pathway
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Died |
Ploesti, Romania | 1 August 1943 | |
|
Born |
West, Texas | Son of William J and Julie [Beseda] Girard. | |
|
Based |
Shipdham | 1 August 1943 | Assigned to 68BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Buried |
Florence American Cemetery and Memorial | Tablets of the Missing Florence American Cemetery and Memorial Florence, Italy |
Revisions
https://www.fold3.com/image/310952992
https://www.fold3.com/memorial/638824546/louis-girard-v
https://www.fold3.com/record/529868671/louis-v-girard-american-battle-m…
https://www.fold3.com/record/717674189/girard-louis-v-defense-powmia-ac…
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56363759/louis-v-girard
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3147
