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Robert M. VANDERSTAETEN
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| NUMBER OF SERVICE | 36358260 | |||||||||||||||
| AGE | 20 yo | |||||||||||||||
| DATE OF BIRTH | 9 May 1913 to Gand in BELGIQUE | |||||||||||||||
| ETAT | Cook County ILLINOIS | |||||||||||||||
| FAMILY | Married | |||||||||||||||
| RANK | Sergeant | |||||||||||||||
| FONCTION | Gunner | |||||||||||||||
| JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Concierge |  | ||||||||||||||
| DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 9 july 1942 to Chicago ILLINOIS | |||||||||||||||
| SQUADRON | 526th Bomber Squadron | |||||||||||||||
| GROUP | 379th Bomber Group Heavy | |||||||||||||||
| ARMY | 8th US Air Force | |||||||||||||||
| DATE OF DEATH | 29 May 1943 |  | ||||||||||||||
| STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||
| PLACE OF DEATH | Place Kerdavid, municipality of Crac'h (Morbihan) | |||||||||||||||
| DATA PLAN |
B-17 Fortress - type F-70-BO - s/n 42-29773 LF*F "Up And At Them" Macr: 1370 Mission: St-Nazaire (44) Take off Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire Shot by the flak - 17h12
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| COMMUNAL CEMETERY | CEMETERY of GUIDEL | |||||||||||||||
| CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville | |||||||||||||||
| GRAVE |
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| DECORATION |
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| STORY | ||||||||||||||||
| Purple Heart by Robert M | Monument in Crac'h (Morbihan) | |||||||||||||||
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Robert VANDERSTAETEN was first on the B 17 F number 42-29773 nicknamed "Up and at them". Mission Number 61 - Bombardment Time 17:07 Units engaged:
Escorted by hunters:
The B 17 took off from Cambridgeshire for a bombardment of submarine bases on Saint-Nazaire. They were shot down by the German FLAK at around 17:12.  Kimbolton Cambridgeshire - Station 117 The crew arrived in England on May 21, 1943 On May 29, 1943, they carried out their first mission and the last ... The plane was hit by the FLAK (by FW 190 piloted by Lt. Hans Werner ZANJOLZ) which made a big hole in the cabin of the bomber, the crew tried to repair but to no avail. According to a survivor the plane ripped the top of several trees hit tree stumps but also hedges. He ended his run against a tree and the bomber caught fire. B 17 burned for 24 hours. Germans buried dead crewmen at GUIDEL The survivors were taken prisoner | ||||||||||||||||
Equipage du B17 "Up and at them" |
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| Captain | John O HALL | Pilot | Prisoner - O-430582 - New York USA - Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 |
| 1st Lieutenant | Willard S THOMAS | Pilot | Prisoner - O-380654 - Texas USA - Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 |
| 2nd Lieutenant | James M GRIFFITH | Bomber | Prisoner - O-734338 - Louisiana USA -Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia |
| 2nd Lieutenant | William J KOVES | Navigator | Prisoner - O-667410 - Indiana USA - Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 |
| S/Sergeant | Michael H BELOCK | Mechanic/Gunner | Dead - 20133962 - Riverside Cemetery, Proctor, Vermont |
| T/Sergeant | Frank A ADRICK | Radio | Dead - Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer (14) - C.26.33 36335333 - Illinois USA  |
| S/Sergeant | Clarence E GALLAMORE Jr | Gunner | Dead - 38003498 - Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery Phoenix Arizona |
| S/Sergeant | George Franklin HAGUE | Gunner | Dead - Pecan Grove Cem. McKinney, Texas USA * Né 19/11/1921 - 38117786  |
| Sergeant | Robert M VANDERSTRAETEN | Gunner | Dead - Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer (14) - D.5.21 * 36358260 - Illinois USA |
| Sergeant | Robert George KUEHL | Gunner | Dead - Lutheran Cem. Watertown, Wisconsin USA * Né 13/11/1922 - 17036360 |
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| SOURCE INFORMATION & PHOTO | Clive TIRLEMONT - Findagrave.com - Aerosteles.net - Frédéric LAVERNHE - Francecrashes39-45.net |
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| PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |