William R Burkett

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-21262.jpeg UPL 21262 William R Burkett - Jefferson, 353rd FG, KIA Charles D Taylor collection

"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 19 "Killed in Action", by Charles D Taylor

Object Number - UPL 21262 - William R Burkett - Jefferson, 353rd FG, KIA

Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort in P-47D 42-75850, dropped out of formation to escort 2nd Lt William Weaver back to base. Burkett last seen in the Liège area with only one wing tank onboard, in a tight starboard bank. 4-Mar-44. Crashed Nth of Massogne, Belgium Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2793.



Awards: DFC, AM(3OLC), PH.

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Nicknames: Lonesome Polecat II
  • Unit: 353rd Fighter Group 351st Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Nicknames: Scatterbolts Chris
  • Unit: 353rd Fighter Group 356th Fighter Group 351st Fighter Squadron 359th Fighter Squadron 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Grand Junction, IA 50107, USA 18 February 1916 Son of James Lowell and Anna Pearl [Schipper] Burkett.

Enlisted

Des Moines, IA, USA 26 January 1942 Fort Des Moines Iowa

Died

Killed in Action (KIA)

Nassogne, Belgium 4 March 1944 Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort in P-47D 42-75850, dropped out of formation to escort 2nd Lt William Weaver back to base. Burkett last seen in the Liège area with only one wing tank onboard, in a tight starboard bank. 4-Mar-44. Crashed Nth of Nassogne, Belgium Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2793.

Buried

Interred Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial

Based

Raydon 4 March 1944 Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF.

Buried

Grand Junction, IA 50107, USA Memorialised Grand Junction Cemetery Grand Junction Greene County Iowa, USA

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Capitalized the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.

 

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2793 / MACR 2793, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

William R Burkett: Gallery (1 items)