Memorial

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2Lt Joseph M Wurzer graduated from Ashland High School in 1940. He was employed at the Clute Polleys Lumber Yard. He joined the National Guard in September 1940 going to Camp Clatsop. He entered the aircorps in 1942 and was initially sent to Africa in June 1943.

The Engineer, Hartis P. Hamlin and I were in the bomb bay when the right wing fell off and the plane went into a spin. We fought our way out about the time we cleared the plane it blew up. The other members of the crew who survived; Sydney Mapes, Richard Hulsey I met later. They told me that they got out of the trap in the back as the plane went out of control. The Germans reported 5 chutes coming out of the plane but I have no idea who the fifth could be.

Statement from Albert E. Hill, T/Sgt:'The Engineer saw him up between seats in the plane preparing to bail out. German report A.V. 409/44 reports the burial of six members of this crew at Herresbach cemetery, Belgium. Four of them were unidentified.'
Six of the crewmembers were initially buried at the Herresbach Cemetery in Belgium.
Lt Hambright and Teddy Stamper were identified. Three men were buried as unknowns and the other one as Daywalt (which must have been a misspelling of the of the other KIA crew members). German report of burial doesn´t mention any grave numbers for any of these six men, that is probably due to the fact that this cemetery is a village cemetery and the graves are marked by names only.