William Powell
MilitaryIn front, from left to right : Ralph Palmer, pilot; Ryal Skaggs, Co-Pilot; William Powell, Navigator; Frank Wieczerzak, Bombardier. (Photo via the Robert Piarote family)
Removed associations not depicted in photo
Shot down by fighters after dropping out of formation due to an engine failure on return from mission to Frankfurt on 29 January 1944 in B-17 #42-30354 'Hustlin' Hussy'. Evaded / Prisoner of War (POW). See the full story of his evasion and capture at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fpowellwi.html
Connections
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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: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39274861
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 31171364
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13093716
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hustlin Hussy
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 29 January 1944
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Konzentrationslager Buchenwald
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
9 January 1917 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
Enlisted |
26 September 1942 | Hartford, Connecticut | |
Other Bailed out |
29 January 1944 | of B-17 42-30354 over Belgium; landed near Lobbes, Hainaut, Belgium | |
Other Evaded capture then made prisoner |
29 January 1944 - 3 August 1944 | Helped by Belgian and French citizens and Résistance members, he managed to evade capture. Guided to France, he was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris on 3 August 1944, denounced by a French doctor, collaborating with the nazis. | |
Other Prisoner of War |
3 August 1944 | Was detained at the Fresnes Prison near Paris; sent by train to the Buchenwald concentration camp; transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Poland; force-marched from there to Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. NARA WWII POW records: "Returned to Allied Military Control 29 May 1945." | |
Died |
5 August 1997 | Bella Vista, Arkansas | |
Waterbury, Connecticut | |||
Buried |
William Powell rests at the Fayetteville National Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2268 / MACR 2268, 8th AF Losses / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database