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Sgt. Calvin Charles Pulver is buried in the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Jennings, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana.
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19 year old Calvin Charles Pulver.
Member of Frey crew.
Killed when B-17 43-37941 was involved in a mid-air collision with B-17 43-38184 over the French coast on 1st September 1944.
Calvin was the son of Orville Roscoe Pulver and Frances Lillian Church. His twin brother was Alvin Adam Pulver, who served in the United States Army and died recently at the ripe old age of almost 92 years. Calvin and Alvin were my husband's uncles and even though Calvin died before my husband was born, we were able to have some idea of what he was like through his twin brother, Alvin.
The "Jennings Daily News" published "A Special Salute to Veterans" on September 30, 1970. It was dedicated to veterans from Jennings, Louisiana who served in WWI, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Following is the the family provided information on Sgt. Calvin Charles Pulver:
Sgt. Calvin C. Pulver
JENNINGS, Louisiana - Among the men killed in action during World War II from Jennings and Jeff Davis Parish was Sgt. Calvin C. Pulver, 19-year-old son of Mrs. Frances Pulver of Jennings, who died September 1, 1944 in France.
He would have been 20 years of age on December 29, 1944 and had attended Jennings schools prior to entering the military. He also had been a carrier boy for "The Jeff Davis Parish News", predecessor to "The Jennings Daily News".
He worked in a Houston, Texas shipyard prior to entering the Army Air Corps in June of 1943 and had trained at Fort Sam Houston, Sheppard Field and at bases in Colorado and California before going overseas May 1, 1944.
Pulver had received the coveted air medal for five successful missions against the Germans and was believed to have been "well on the way to receiving the oak leaf cluster" according to reports at the time, for subsequent missions before being downed over France on a mission. At first he was reported missing in action and later his death was confirmed in a telegram to his mother.
He was buried in the Normandy village of Dives-Sur-Mer and in a letter from Ian M. Rae of Sutton, Surry, England, a war buddy of Pulver, to the soldier's mother, the burial place was described as "a very beautiful churchyard." At the funeral Pulver "was honored by the whole population who brought numerous beautiful wreaths out of respect for a brave man who died for liberty," according to Rae's letter.
Pulver was a gunner on a B-17 bomber.
Published in "The Jennings Daily News" (Jennings, Louisiana) on Wednesday, September 30, 1970.
Service
Units served with
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Group
The 490th Bomb Group, like the 486th and 487th Bomb Groups transitioned from flying B-24 Liberators to B-17 Flying Fortresses, which were used in combat missions from late August 1944. Based at Eye, Suffolk, the Group were focused in the early months...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 7/6/44; Kearney 20/6/44; Grenier 1/7/44; Assigned 849BS/490BG Eye 2/7/44.
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Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Jennings, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana |
29 October 1924 |
Enlisted |
Houston, Harris Co., Texas |
25 May 1943 |
Killed in Action |
Dives-sur-Mer, France |
1 September 1944 |
Military Marker in Greenwood Cemetery |
Jennings, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana |
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Buried |
Dives-sur-Mer, France |
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