Richard McCord
Military | Captain | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat mission. Flew B-17 'Ice Cold Katy'.
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
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Military
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 20 x combat mission. McCord crew. Munich mission 16-Jul-44, A/C hit by flak causing a failure of the oxygen system to the nose compartment, died of anoxia along with bombardier Irwin Dobrow. Killed in Action (KIA)
"Had the pleasure of personally delivering his bomb to Germany. He is a navigator but when the "Oshkosh Bomb" was dropped he operated the toggle."
Awards: AM (2OLC), PH.
Military | Captain | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat mission. Flew B-17 'Ice Cold Katy'.
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 3/2/44; Grenier 27/2/44; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-M] Deenethorpe 23/3/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 7/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 13/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 28/11/45...
24 May 1944
25 May 1944
First mission. Up at 5:00 AM and back at 11:00. Good hit on marshaling yards. Our plane was hit but no-one in our crew was hit.
27 May 1944
28 May 1944
29 May 1944
Mission #2. The target was an aircraft assembly plant. Flak was exceedingly heavy. We were in the air 7-1/2 hours.
30 May 1944
Mission #3. Same target as before. A piece of flak broke the pilots windshield. No-one hurt.
2 June 1944
Operations on this day were specified for D minus 3 by the Overall Air Plan as modified by Headquarters A.E.A.F. All objectives were located in the Pas de Calais (Fortitude) area, the attacks having as their purpose deception of the enemy as to the...
4 June 1944
6 June 1944
D-Day. Start of Operation Overlord.
7 June 1944
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
Event | Location | Date |
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Born | Oshkosh, WI, USA | 20 September 1919 |
Son of Bernhard Otto and Selma Francis [Miller] Abraham |
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Enlisted | Milwaukee, WI | 15 July 1941 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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Based | Deenethorpe | 1944 – 16 July 1944 |
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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Died | 16 July 1944 | |
Buried | 17 July 1944 | |
Interred |
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Buried | Peace Lutheran Cemetery Oshkosh, Winnebago County, WI | 1948 |
Re-Interred |