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Submit- Full
name
LATCHES, George Louis - Date of
birth
16 January 1919 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah -
Hometown
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-2015136 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
401st Bombardment Squadron,
91st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
8 April 1945 - Place of
death
Near Stendahl, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 35 | 19 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Louis G. Latches (father)
Irene Latches (mother)
Meta L. Latches (sister)
Lula Latches (sister)
Vivian Latches (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-102504 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Times-A-Wastin'
Destination: Stendahl, Germany
Mission: Bombardment of the marshalling yard
MACR: 14295
More information
George Latches attended college.He enlisted in Salt Lake City, Utah on 8 October 1942.
Statement of T/Sgt William J. Carlson, a crew member of another airplane in the group: "I first observed aircraft 42-102504 to be in trouble at about 30 seconds to one minute after bombs away. I saw the no. 2 engine smoking badly and there appeared to be flames between the no. 2 engine and the fuselage. The right wing and engines appeared to be untouched. The aircraft then nosed upward, stood on the right wing tip, and side slipped downward in a steep dive. After it had fallen for a couple of hundred feet I saw one man leave the aircraft and his parachute opened immediately. The aircraft continued downward on a steep circling dive to the right."
Seven crew members were killed, two survived and were taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Utah, Military Records
Photo source: FOHF, The Salt Lake Tribune - 11 November 1945