James Paul Westra

Military

media-55880.jpeg UPL 55880 James Paul Westra
Bombardier
340th BG - 489th BS - 12th AF
KIA 25 February 1944

Object Number - UPL 55880 - James Paul Westra Bombardier 340th BG - 489th BS - 12th AF KIA 25 February 1944

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Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Detroit, Michigan	7 September 1917
	Detroit, Michigan	16 October 1940	7873 Sherwood Worked for Gerben LaFleur
Enlisted	Fort Custer, Michigan	4 February 1942
Died	Vipiteno, Italy	25 February 1945	Inside his B-25, ﬁre had broken out throughout the plane. Matchette gave orders to evacuate but no one responded. He asked Lt. Spann, also a skilled 1 st seat pilot in previous sorties, for assistance. Spann stayed motionless so Matchette shook him. He was dead, mortally wounded by the shrapnel that had hit their aircraft. The plane was in distress with the left engine out and ﬁre rapidly spreading throughout. Jimmy Westra was able to release the plane’s bombs before his plexiglass front nose position exploded from shrapnel, likely the same shrapnel that killed Lt. Spann. Lt. Matchette called out to him but still there was no answer.
Buried	Detroit, Michigan		Forest Lawn Cemetery Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA

Date23 Feb 2022 20:45:20

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Object number: UPL 55880 - James Paul Westra Bombardier 340th BG - 489th BS -...