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Military
Bombardier, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Evaded EE report 1894.
San Jose, CA
Lt Roraback was hidden by Belgian farmers until placed in the home of Mr. Neefs, an American citizen. He remained hidden and moved around a lot until the allies arrived in Belgium in September of 1944.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VIIA.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
LWG, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. S/Sgt Bassinger was taken to a field hospital in Brussels,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Tail gunner, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft VIIA and XVIIB. S/Sgt...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
June - August 1943. BTG, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft VIIA and XVIIB....
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #2 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft VIIA and XVIIB. S/Sgt...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft VIIA and XVIIB. S/Sgt Gregory was a...
Military | Captain | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Navigator, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIIID.
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Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Killed in Action (KIA).
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. S/Sgt Warwick was placed in a field hospital in Brussels, Belgium...
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 3/5/43; Smoky Hill 17/5/43; Dow Fd 21/5/43; Assigned 534BS/381BG [GD-L] Ridgewell 15/6/43; Missing in Action 5m Schweinfurt 17/8/43 with Weldon Simpson (Killed in Action), Bombardier: Doug Roraback (evaded capture), Co-pilot: Elden...
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | San Jose, CA | 12 December 1920 |
| Evaded | Belgium | 17 August 1943 – 10 September 1944 |
|
EE report 1894 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2017 04:59:10 | ARowe95 | Changes to highest rank, biography, awards, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:46 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 381 / MACR 381, www.381st.org/UnitHistory/Data/Roster.aspx / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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