Wilbur Foster VINSON

Source of the portrait photograph: Pilot Class Book 43-G, Pecos, Texas.
Courtesy of my Fields of Honor Database colleague Corrina who indexed this class book. (Ellen Marchese)

Spouse : Eloise Bedsole Merritt

Parents : Leon Blackshear & Susan May Aaron VINSON

Frère et sœur : William Earl & Mary Ella

P-47 Thunderbolt - type D-22-RE - s/n 42-26245

Macr : 7480

Mission : Mutrécy (14)-Technique du "dive-bombing"

Takeoff terrain A-5 «Chippelle» to Cartigny-L’Epinay (14)

Crash observed by 1Lts Ollie O Simpson, Leo Westerinen, 2Lt Eugene J McCloskey

It seems that the plane and the pilot are still buried in the ground

Shots by the flak

The burning plane dives vertically to the ground - 9.50 a.m.

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

Wilbur F Vinson, 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force
First Lieutenant Wilbur Foster Vinson (O-751498) was born October 22, 1918 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, to Leon Blackshear “Von” and Susan “Susie” Mae Aaron Vinson. His father was a policeman in Montgomery.

Wilbur had one sister and three brothers, one of whom was his twin brother, Johnie.

He married Eloise Bedsole Merritt on August 30, 1943 in Taylor County, Florida. They had one son.

Wilbur had three years of High School, was single, and was working as a cabinet maker when he enlisted in the Army Air Forces on June 7, 1941. He had his primary training at Fort Stockton Field, Fort Stockton, Texas, and his basic training in Class 43-G at Pecos Army Air Field, Pecos, Texas. He later earned his pilot’s wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force and was sent overseas to Winkton Field (AAF-414), England. The 404th FG later moved to ALG A-5/A-5N at Cartigny-l'Épinay, France, in July 1944.

As the Allies chased the Germans inland after Normandy, the 404th created an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG A-5/A-5N) at Cartigny-l'Épinay, France, 11 miles southwest of Omaha Beach. The airfield was home to the P-47D-equipped 404th Fighter Group. The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead, strafing German military vehicles, dropping bombs on gun emplacements, and anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops when spotted. A-5 was occupied by the 404th from July 3, 1944 to September 5, 1944.

On July 26, 1944, 1 Lt. Vinson departed ALG A-5 in P-47D-22RE #42-726245 4K-A on a dive- bombing mission to Mutrécy, France, with a flight of the 506th FS. Flying at 8,000 feet over Mutrécy, 1 Lt. Vinson’s plane suffered a direct hit by intense enemy anti-aircraft fire. His plane burst into flames and fell vertically into the ground. No chute was seen. MACR 7480

1 Lt. Vinson was killed in action on July 26, 1944 at 0950 hours at Mutrécy, France, nine miles south-southwest of Caen. He was 25 years old.

It is believed that his plane and 1 Lt. Vinson are still buried in the ground at Mutrécy. He is therefore still Missing in Action, and he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

Source : USAAF Class Book Photo Project (Ellen Marchese)

Source : Fold3

This cemetery, sited on a bluff high above the coastline of Normandy, France where the legendary D-Day beach landings took place, is one of the world’s best-known military memorials. These hallowed grounds contain the graves of 9,386 American military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names.

His name is listed on a commemorative plaque in the chapel of the 9th Air Force adjoining the Saint-Martin-de-Blagny church in France among 18 fellow pilots of the 404th FG who were killed in action in France in the defense of Liberty (photo credits: Christian Guibout, Christophe DELASALLE) .

1 Lt. Vinson was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.