Frank BARILI Jr

 

barili frank
ARMY SERIAL NUMBER16081695
AGE21 yo
DATE OF BIRTH1923 NEW YORK
STATERock Falls Whiteside County ILLINOIS
FAMILYSingle
RANKTechnical Sergeant     tech sergeant
FONCTION

Mechanic-Gunner

Areal gunner badgeflight engineer badge

JOB before ENLISTEMENTSemiskilled machine shop and related occupationsILLINOIS
DATE of ENLISTEMENT9 December 1944 San Antonio TEXAS
SQUADRON350th Bomber Squadron
GROUP100th Bomber Group
ARMY8th Air Force
DATE OF DEATH9 march 1944barili frank mur
STATUSMIA
PLACE OF DEATHAtlantic Ocean, off Brest
DATA PLAN

B-17G-40-VE #42-97924 Codé LN-H

"Party Tonight"

Macr: 08843

Mission: Brest

Take Off: Thorpe-Abbots, UNITED KINGDOM

Shot by flak

CEMETERYBRITTANY AMERICAN CEMETERY de St James

Map St James American Cemetery

GRAVE
Wall of Missing
DECORATION
Distinguished Flying Crossdfc
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clustersam 3olc
European African Middle Eastern Campaing MedalEAMECampaign
American Campaign Medalamerican campaign medal
World War II Victory Medalvictory medal
 
usaf 8air force  100bg  350bs

 

 
STORY
American Battlefield Monuments Commission states that Barili entered the service from Illinois.
Controversy over the life story of Barili is just that - controversial. A NARA enlistment record, with name of Frank Barili, Jr.'s service number and the name "Frank Barili, Jr." on it is available at NARA, but several items do not check out.
For instance, this record states that Frank Barili, Jr. enlisted in San Antonio, Texas as an Aviation Cadet on Dec 9, 1944. ( Barili was killed in action September 3, 1944.) He was supposedly living in Illinois, but enlisted in Texas. I personally believe the file is corrupted by co-mingling data or a number of typographical errors.
A separate source indicates Barili attended and graduated from Tilden Technical High School in 1941. (Tilden Technical High School Yearbook, 1941.)
It is known from 100th Bomb Group personnel records that Barili arrived at Thorpe-Abbots on May 26, 1944, as a member of Lt John E. Woods crew, and flew 31 missions. He was assigned duty as a flight engineer and top turret gunner. This crew underwent modifications as they flew.
Lt Edward J. Mikol (bombardier, original crew) was removed for unknown reasons after the 27th mission. He was replaced by Lt John D. Goethel from the Stansbury crew crew after the August 14,1944 mission. SSgt Frank E. Yates was a waist gunner, and was wounded on June 7, 1944. Fill-in gunners were used in his position, until July 25 July 1944 when crew size was reduced to nine men. SSgt Carl Fong was replacing SSgt Clarence E. Wood at the ball turret position on the fatal mission.
On September 3, 1944, the crew was sent to bomb harbor facilities at Brest, France. Details once again vary. Some sources state mechanical trouble forced the aircraft down. Others state it was hit by flak, and #2 engine caught fire. As the aircraft began losing altitude, the pilot rang the bail-out bell, and at least 4 bailed out.
The aircraft continued to sink lower until it impacted the water and exploded. After approximately one hour, 3 of the crew were rescued by a British ship. No other remains were found, and all the missing crew is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing in the Brittany American Cemetery in Saint-James, France.

 


 barili frank registration

 

equipage 42 97924 crew1

 

equipage 42 97924 crew

 

Part of the John E. David crew. The only individual identified is Frank Barili, in the center kneeling.

Detailed Information Photo courtesy of Robert Barili, son.


SOURCE INFORMATION & PHOTOAirforce.togetherweserved.com - Aad.archives.gov - Findagrave.com - JF PELLOUAIS - Frédéric LAVERNHE - ABMC Facebook.com - 100thbg.com
PROGRAMMERFrédéric & Renaud
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