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Personal info

Full name
CRAWFORD, Charles Earl
Date of birth
18 November 1919
Age
23
Place of birth
Baileyton, Cullman County, Alabama
Hometown
Baileyton, Cullman County, Alabama

Military service

Service number
34163642
Rank
Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
544th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
25 June 1943
Place of death
Dollard, German-Dutch border

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
William T. Crawford (father)
Mary A. Crawford (mother)
Grace L. Crawford (sister)
James M. Crawford (brother)
Elsie E. Crawford (sister)
WIlliam A. Crawford (brother)
Louis C. Crawford (brother)
Mildred M. Crawford (sister)
Minnie E. Crawford (sister)
Margaret C. Crawford (sister)
Mary G. Crawford (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-30049
Data
Type: B-17
Nickname: Miss Deal
Destination: Hamburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area and submarine pens
MACR: 16349

More information

Sgt Charles E. Crawford was a lineman before he joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia, on 21 November 1941.

After making two unsuccessful runs on the primary target, the crew headed for Emden as a likely target for their bomb load. The flak guns found them, inflicting serious damage and injuries, and then they ran into fighters. A furious running battle ensued, with some crew members bailing out, and finally the aircraft exploded. The main part of the wreckage came down in the Dollard (Dutch: Dollart), an embayment of the Ems River on the border between Germany and the Netherlands.

Eight crew members were taken prisoner, and two men were killed.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.384thbombgroup.com, www.ancestry.com - Ferguson-Crawford Family Tree, www.fold3.com

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Arie-Jan van Hees