8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Wilfred A Bedard
Military
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Memorial at the crash site of B-17 42-97479 'Belle of Liberty', dedicated to the crew who were killed. It was unveiled in a service on Sunday 10 September 2017.
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Memorial at the crash site of B-17 42-97479 'Belle of Liberty', dedicated to the crew who were killed. It was unveiled in a service on Sunday 10 September 2017.
Assigned to 327BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bombing mission to Kaiserlautern, battle damaged, B-17G 42-97479 crash landed two miles north of RAF East Kirby, burned out 30-Dec-44 Killed in Action (KIA).
Awards: PH.
Service
Units served with
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92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Group
The 92nd Group sometime after arrivial in the UK converted to the role of in-theater combat crew indocrination and training. For this role, the Group traded its B-17F complement and obtained the B-17E, mostly from the 97th BG which was departing for... -
327th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-97479 'Belle of Liberty'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/11/43; Kearney 12/12/43; Cleveland 26/12/43; Presque Is 30/12/43; Assigned 327BS/92BG [UX-L] Podington 27/1/44; Damaged on the 6 March 1944 mission to bomb the ball-bearing plant at Erkner, in the outskirts of Berlin. Walsh crew....
Missions
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770
30 December 1944
Associated Place
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Podington
Military site : airfield
Built originally to accommodate two RAF bomber squadrons, the first USAAF unit to occupy the base was the 15th Bomb Squadron in September 1942. Podington was then used as a satellite for nearby Chelveston. Work to lengthen the runways, although this... -
East Kirkby
Crash site
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Massachusetts, USA | 1925 |
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Son of Alphonse Bedard. |
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| Lived in | Androscoggin County, ME, USA | 1941 |
| Enlisted | Portland, ME, USA | 1 October 1943 |
| Based | Podington | 1944 – 30 December 1944 |
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Assigned to 327BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | East Kirkby, Spilsby PE23, UK | 30 December 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) bombing mission to Kaiserlautern, battle damaged, B-17G 42-97479 crash landed two miles north of RAF East Kirby, burned out 30-Dec-44 KIA. |
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| Buried | January 1945 | |
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Interred |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 01 January 2017 10:51:32 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/page/85805250_wilfred_a%20bedard/details/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:27:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Combat Chronology / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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