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Personal info

Full name
CRAWFORD, John Alexander
Date of birth
3 June 1919
Age
24
Place of birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Hometown
Evanston, Cook County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
O-735950
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Bombardier
Unit
524th Bombardment Squadron,
379th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
30 July 1943
Place of death
Elden, south of Arnhem, the Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
A 11 15

Immediate family

Members
Arthur R. Crawford (father)
Edith (McDonald) Crawford (mother)
Nancy Crawford (sister)
Jeanne Crawford (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-29746
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Excaliber
Destination: Kassel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Bettenhausen Fieseler aviation industry
MACR: 1355

More information

John Crawford attended Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois with the class of 1936.

The aircraft was hit by flak and exploded in mid-air. Four crew members survived and were taken prisoner, six men were killed.

Continuing on the limited information available, the deceased were initially buried by German soldiers on 1 August 1943 in the municipal cemetery of Elden.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, MACR, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record, Illinois Birth Index, 1930 US Census

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Arie-Jan van Hees, www.ancestry.com - Evanston Towship High School Yearbook 1936