Raymond E Hess

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-6380.jpeg UPL 6380 Lowell Watts Crew
388th BG - 562nd BS

Standing Left to Right: Lowell Watts (P), Robert M. Kennedy (CP), Emmett Murphy (N), Edward J. Kelley (B)

Kneeling Left to Right: Joseph B. Ramsey (FE), Raymond Hess (WG), Ivan Finkle (R/O), Robert Sweeney (BTG), Harold A. Brassfield (TG), Donald W. Taylor (WG)

466th BG Historian

Object Number - UPL 6380 - Lowell Watts Crew 388th BG - 562nd BS Standing Left to Right: Lowell Watts (P), Robert M. Kennedy (CP), Emmett Murphy (N), Edward J. Kelley...

On the return from a mission to Klein Machnow, Berlin on 6 Mar 1944, B-17G #42-37886 'Blitzin' Betsy' was severely damaged by attacks from several FW190s causing it to collide with another 388th B-17, exploding in mid-air and crashing near Emmen, Holland. Killed in Action (KIA).



AM w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster



Ramsey was pinned to the side of the fuselage with Raymond Hess pinned on top of him when the aircraft went into a spin. When the aircraft exploded, Ramsey and Hess were blown clear of the fuselage. Ramsey, though seriously injured was able to open his parachute. Hess was found away from the wreckage with an unopened parachute.

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Units served with

The insignia of the 388th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15382852
  • Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16150159
  • Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
  • Role/Job: waist gunner, Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-742396
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

A bomber crew of the 388th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30177) nicknamed "Charlene". Printed caption on reverse: '61552 AC- Crew of the 562nd Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, beside the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Charlene". England. 30 August 1943. Standing left to right are: 2nd Lt John N Harlan, Boise, Idaho; 1st Lt Charles Bliss, Los Angeles, California; 2nd Lt Vernon D Dunkin, Columbus, Ohio; 2nd Lt Bernard J Quenneville, Hadley, Mass. Kneeling left to right: S/Sgt Ro
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Charlene
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group 36th Bomb Squadron 562nd Bomb Squadron 803rd Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Blitzing Betsy
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

29 October 1922

Buried

BURIED at: Netherlands American Cemetery LOCATION: Margraten, Netherlands PLOT: B, ROW: 10, GRAVE: 4  

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

6 March 1944 WILMORE - Staff Sgt. Raymond E. Hess, 21, was killed on a bombing raid over Holland on March 6, the War Department notified his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Logan Hess of Wilmore. He previously had been reported missing. The airman was engineer and gunner on an Eighth Army Air Forces Flying Fortress and held the Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster for outstanding meritorious achievement in aerial combat against the enemy. He was on his 25th mission when he lost his life. Sgt. Hess jioned the Army Air Forces on October 8, 1942. In civilian life, he was a service station attendant. Besides his parents, he leaves these brothers and sisters: James Hess, Wilmore; Walter Hess, on duty with the armed forces in England, and Pearl, Hilda, and Ruth Hess, at home. The airman was a grand-son on the late Silas Plummer, Civil War Veteran, who died at the age of 92 in 1940.

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Sources

Capitalized the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
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Ancestry.com

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Contributor466thHistorian
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Chris Brassfield

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Contributor466thHistorian
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Chris Brassfield

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Contributor466thHistorian
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Chris Brassfield

Date
ContributorAAM
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Sources

ABMC, MACR 3089, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3089 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Raymond E Hess: Gallery (2 items)