Rocco Curelli
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Pilot 2nd/Lt. Rocco A. Curelli, KIA
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Deforest Lockrow Ela
Military
Assigned to 66BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. Attack on Foggia airfields under TDY to the 9th AAF. KIA in 41-23778 'Lady Luck' Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2141/3150
Awards: AM,PH.
In Memoriam
'De Forest Ela, Bomber pilot who was lost on the bombing of Ploesti in World War 2'
Remembered by Roy Crawford Jr, East Boothbay, ME
Service
People
Units served with
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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. ... -
44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti... -
66th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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41-23778 'Lady Luck' - 'Jenny'
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, SN #41-23778 renamed 'Lady Luck' from 'Jenny' - Survived Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti Romania, August 1, 1943. ...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Quincy, Massachusetts | 7 January 1921 |
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Son of George E and Gertrude M Ela. |
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| Enlisted | Boston, MA | 29 July 1942 |
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Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Based | 1943 – 16 August 1943 | |
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Assigned to 66BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Ruoti, Italy | 16 August 1943 |
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Attack on Foggia airfields under TDY to the 9th AAF. KIA in 41-23778 'Lady Luck' KIA MACR 2141/3150 |
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| Buried | Blue Hill Cemetery Braintree, Norfolk County, MA | November 1949 |
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Blue Hill Cemetery |
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Revisions
