Earl Burton Groves

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Killed in Action (KIA) 27 September 1944 in B-24 #42-51532 named "Hot Rock".

Connections

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Units served with

A pathfinder B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51681) of the 453rd Bomb Group flies in formation with a fellow Liberator of the 453rd and and a pathfinder Liberator of the 445th Bomb Group. Image via Alan Rowsell.

445th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Sylvester Vincent Lello

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 31145800
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier, Enlisted, Nose Gunner

William John Mowat

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14077061 at enlistment, then O-810929
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Theodore John Myers

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

John Benjamin Neher

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 37722061
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Frank Thomas Plesa

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 37722733
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

42-51532

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Hot Rock
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 446th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron 705th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Signal Squares on the airfield at Tibenham, B-24 Liberators of the 398th Bomb Group are visible in the background. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Tibenham Signal Squares.'

Tibenham

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Tivetshall

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

13 September 1920 Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States

Enlisted

9 November 1942 Buffalo, New York

Other

Killed In Action (KIA)

27 September 1944 Wildeck, Germany in the crash of B-24 #42-51532
Falls Creek, Washington Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

Buried

Earl Groves rests at the Beechwoods Cemetery in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 9572
WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/9034753/earl-burton-groves

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Birsic, MACR 9572, 2AD Roll of Honor / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 9572 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database