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Personal info

Full name
HALBERT, Truair Earl
Date of birth
31 August 1914
Age
28
Place of birth
Mount Upton, Chenango County, New York
Hometown
Sidney, Delaware County, New York

Military service

Service number
32449276
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Tail Gunner
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
B 35 39

Immediate family

Members
Truair S. Halbert (father)
Hazel M. Halbert (mother)
June L. Halbert (sister)
Richard L. Halbert (brother)
Jerald E. Halbert (brother)
Lawrence F. Halbert (brother)
Frances Halbert (sister)
Doris J. Halbert (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

Truair Halbert attended Sidney High School for three years and was a clerk.

He enlisted on 20 August 1942 in Utica, New York.

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.

The picture was taken in high school in 1932.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / 1930 Census / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men

Photo source: Jac Engels, Sidney High School 1932