Melvin John Hames
MilitaryShot down 18 April 1944 in B-17 #4237902 'Sure Thing', while serving as the role of "Tail Gunner". He would become a Prisoner of War (POW) along with the rest of his crew, spending the rest of the war at Stalag XVII-B.
Connections
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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: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-694638
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18187769
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37544827
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-741509
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-804659
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 18 April 1944
- Date: 13 April 1944
- Date: 12 April 1944
- Date: 11 April 1944
- Date: 10 April 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Williams, Iowa, USA | 22 June 1917 | |
Enlisted |
Fort Des Moines, Iowa, USA | 12 June 1942 | |
Other Shot down |
Barnewitz, Germany | 18 April 1944 | Shot down over a mission to Oranienburg, Germany, while on B-17 42-37902, while manning the tail gun. Would later become a POW. |
Other Prisoner Of War |
Stalag XVII-B, Austria | 18 April 1944 | Served roughly 13 months as a POW at Stalag 17B. |
Other Discharged |
4 October 1945 | ||
Died |
Alden, Iowa, USA | 13 December 1991 | |
Buried |
Saint Mary's Cemetery, Williams, Iowa, USA | 13 December 1991 | |
Based |
Framlingham | Assigned to 568BS, 390BG, 8AF. |
Revisions
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4013 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database