Military
On 8 Nov 1942 Wounded in Action while serving as Navigator on B-17F #41-24570 "Panhandle Doggie". Aircraft was damaged on mission to bomb the German airfield of Drucat at Abbeville, France. Aircraft RTB but was too damaged to repair and was salvaged on 27-Nov-42.
Killed in Action 4 February 1943 in B-17 #41-24544 'Pennsylvania Polka' while serving as Navigator. Shot down by FW-190, crashed in the Zuiderzee. Holland. 10KIA. MACR 3557 & 4635.
Air Medal with Oak Leaf cluster, Purple Heart.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Hamm, Germany in B-17 41-24544 'Pennsylvania Polka' 4-Feb-43; attacked by fighters, crashed in North Sea near Terschelling Island. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 3557 & 4635
Awards: AM, PH.
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24544 "Pennsylvania Polka" was assigned 323BS/91BG [OR-O] Bangor 10-Sep-42; Bassingbourn 26-Oct-42; Shot down 4-Feb-43 by fighters 12 miles NW of the tip of Terschelling Island, Holland while on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards...
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24570 "Panhandle Dogie" Assigned 323BS/91BG [OR- ] Bangor 10-Sep-42; Bassingbourn 11-Oct-42; damaged on first mission Abbeville 8-Nov-42 limped back to base, and became a Hangar Queen; Salvaged BD 27-Nov-42 10RTD.
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8 November 1942
Two Primary (P) targets are the objects of this mission: the German airfield of Drucat at Abbeville, France and the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille, France. 91BG despatches 15 B-17s to Abbeville and 301BG and 306BG despatch a combined...
4 February 1943
The marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany are again designated as the primary target for this mission follwing the abortive attempt of 2-Feb-43. However, weather and extreme cold frustrate this operation also. The main attacking force consists of 65 B-17s...
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Illinois | |
| Wounded in Action (WIA) | Abbeville, France | 8 November 1942 |
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Wounded in Action aboard B-17F 41-24570 'Panhandle Doggie' while serving as Navigator. Aircraft returned to base (RTB) and he was in hospital for a time. |
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| Killed in Action (KIA) | Zuiderzee, Netherlands | 4 February 1943 |
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Killed when aircraft was shot by enemy fighters as crashed into the Zuiderzee, Holland. His remains have never been recovered. |
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| Commemorated | Netherlands American Cemetery, 6269 NA Migraten, Netherlands | 1945 |
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Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 March 2020 03:54:40 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
Fixed a typo in the comment of the KIA event. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 February 2015 09:33:59 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Combined two entries into a single entry. This record now includes information from the following source: MACR 3557 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 January 2015 20:49:23 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography, awards, events, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 10-Jan-2015. Added decorations and Commemorated event pr American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 3557; made connections of Place, Aircraft and Missions wihtin existing website data; crafted biography per "Loees of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:09:29 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3557, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 44, 72, WWII Memorial web site |
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