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name
PAOLINO, Vincent Charles - Date of
birth
30 September 1924 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Alameda County, California -
Hometown
Oakland, Alameda County, California
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
19186214 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Top Turret Gunner -
Unit
358th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
unknown
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
21 June 1944 - Place of
death
Near the Schulzendorf rail station, Berlin-Heiligensee, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Antonio Paolino (father)
Rodolfo R. Paolino (brother)
Lilina Paolino (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-32037 -
Data
Type: B-17
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 6540
More information
S/Sgt Vincent C. Paolino volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in San Francisco, California on 28 November 1942.He attended Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California and college.
The airplane received four direct hits, twice in the nose and twice in the bomb bay just after bombs away. It broke formation and went down to the left and exploded. Five crew members were taken prisoner, four were killed.
The deceased men were initially buried at the POW Cemetery of Elsgrund-Döbertiz. In June 1951 an investigation was conducted to find several American deceased at the grounds where the POW Cemetery of Döbertiz was situated. The former caretaker, however, stated that the Americans exhumed their remains in 1947, in 1948 the French and in 1949 the Italians, Germans and Russians completely exhumed the cemetery. This was done systematically, field by field, row by row. In late 1949 the former cemetery site was returned to its German owner. In 1951 it was planted with potatoes. The conclusion of the investigation was that when the cemetery finally was disinterred all remains left, were evacuated to Russian or German Honor cemeteries and buried in unmarked graves.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, 303rd Bomb Group, www.fold3.com - MACR, IDPF of Herald R. Boyd, www.newspapers.com - Oakland Tribune
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Wendy Lensink, 303rd Bomb Group, www.ancestry.com - Oakland Technical High School Yearbook 1942