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Military
Donald Banta's name etched on the walls of the Missing at the Ardennes American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium (photo Ed Reniere, Belgium)
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, Germany on return from the mission to Gotha, Germany on 24 February 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA). His remains were never recovered and he is still listed as Missing In Action (MIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster/ PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM/ PH
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster/ PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM/ PH
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by 20mm cannon fire from fighers and crashed near Fulda, GR on the return from a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100312. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM/ PH
Group
The 445th Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators from Tibenham, Norfolk. The crews' first mission was bombing U-boat installations at Kiel on 13 December 1943. The Group continued to hit strategic targets in Germany, including the aircraft components factory...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
24 February 1944
BIG WEEK resumes with full intensity against the German aircraft industry. Bomber tactics are changed slightly in that each Air Division will be directed at more widely dispersed primary targets which it is thought will frustrate concentration...
Military site : airfield
Tibenham was built in 1941-1942 by W and C French Ltd with a standard 2,000 yard main runway, and two other runways both 1,400 feet in length. Accommodation was provided for a full USAAF heavy bomber group in dispersed sites. Personnel of the 320th...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Orchard, Antelope County, Nebraska | 29 July 1922 |
| Lived in | 1942 | |
|
Los Angeles, California |
||
| Enlisted | 10 November 1942 | |
|
Los Angeles, California |
||
| Killed in Action (KIA) | Germany | 24 February 1944 |
| Henri-Chapelle, Belgium | ||
|
Donald Banta is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 04 June 2020 09:07:23 | ED-BB | Changes to events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
NARA WWII Enlistment records |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 June 2020 08:57:22 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, biography, awards and events |
| Sources | ||
WWII Enlistment records |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:43 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
ABMC, MACR 2559, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2560 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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