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name
COUNIHAN, Frank Daniel - Date of
birth
21 February 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan -
Hometown
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-735058 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
429th Bombardment Squadron,
2nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
2 November 1943 - Place of
death
Eltendorf, Austria
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 35 | 27 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Daniel F. Counihan (father)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-3341 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Lady Be Good
Destination: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Mission: Bombing of the aircraft factory
MACR: 1142
More information
2nd Lt Frank Counihan graduated from Hamden High School in 1937 and was a smith. He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States on 17 March 1942 in Detroit, Michigan.According to some witness statements, the airplane crashed near the target. Other sources mention Eltendorf as where the plane went down. Due to numerous enemy aircraft attacking the formation, it was impossible for crew members of other aircraft to be concerned with the activities of other B-17's in the formation. Therefore, eye-witness descriptions and relative information pertaining to the missing aircraft is impossible to obtain.
Six crew members were killed, four were taken prisoner.
Information sources: Raf Dyckmans, André Koch, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Counihan Family Tree / Headstone and Interment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.newspapers.com - Detroit Free Press, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Hamden High School 1937, www.newspapers.com - Detroit Free Press