Robert Rylance Nixon
MilitaryShot down by fighters and crashed near Kemme, 10km Northeast of Hildesheim (SE of Hannover), Germany, on return from a mission to Brunswick on 10 February 1944 in B-17G #42-31338 'Hard To Get'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
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: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39037657
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16077742 at enlistment, then O-739172
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13119841
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32380253
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16088149
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hard To Get
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
Missions
![The wreck of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-100046) of the 389th Bomb Group, 2 October 1944. Official caption on image: "(GAD-2-7-61SC)(2-10-44)(A/C No. 2100046 - B-24)." Handwritten on reverse: '389BG. Taverham.' On reverse: John H. Woolnough [Stamp].](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-414027.jpg.webp?itok=dBtsEDls)
- Date: 10 February 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Montgomery, Alabama, United States | 25 February 1919 | |
|
Enlisted |
11 September 1942 | ||
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
10 February 1944 | Interned at Stalag Luft 1 Barth, Germany. Returned to Military Control 31 May 1945 | |
|
Other Re-enlisted |
5 February 1946 | as a Master Sergeant in the Air Corps, Ft McClellan, Anniston, Alabama | |
|
Died |
10 April 1985 | ||
| Florala, Covington County, Alabama | |||
|
Buried |
Robert Nixon rests at the Robinson Springs Cemetery, Robinson Springs, Alabama |
Revisions
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources
MACR 2540
WWII Draft Card
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
Veterans Affairs BIRLS death File
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2540 / MACR 2540, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database