Walter Hayes Abernathy Jr

Military

Shot down by fighters and forced to crash near Unna, GR on a mission to Oschersleben, GR on 22 Feb 1944 in B-17G #42-97474 'Homing Pigeon'. Evaded, then Prisoner of War (POW).



POW





The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, 13 Mar 1999, Page: B3



TUPELO - Walter Hayes Abernathy Jr., 75, of Gulfport, formerly of Memphis and Tupelo, died of cancer Feb. 21 at his home. Services were Feb. 24 at Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport, where he was a member, with burial in Biloxi National Cemetery. Riemann Funeral Home in Gulfport had charge. He was a World War II right wing gunner on the bomber Homing Pigeon in the 533rd Squadron, 381st Bombing Group of the Eighth Army-Air Force. He was shot down and became a German prisoner of war until 1945. He was a member of Scottish Rite. Mr. Abernathy, the husband of Mary E. Abernathy, also leaves a daughter, Sylvia G. Davenport of Gulfport; a son, James W. Abernathy of Slidell, La.; six sisters, Dorothy V. Bartlett of Pascagoula, Sarah E. Goebel of St. Louis, Grace McKee of Apollo Beach, Fla., and Marjorie Przestrzelski and Francis Dillard, both of Memphis; four brothers, C. Cecil Abernathy of La Mirada, Calif., and Charles W. Abernathy, Raymond Abernathy and Donald Abernathy, all of Memphis, and three grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 381st Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania

Events

Event Location Date Description

Died

21 February 1999

Born

Other

Evaded

Germany 22 February 1944

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Added a S/N and a POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

Added an association to Stalag Luft 4 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=3159&mtch=12&tf=F&q=A…

 

Date
ContributorYorkshireman
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Hutchinson & Cortright

Date
ContributorYorkshireman
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Hutchinson & Cortright

Date
ContributorYorkshireman
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Hutchinson & Cortright

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999; MACR 2934, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2934 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database