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name
MEANS, Robert Eugene - Date of
birth
December 1922 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Iowa -
Hometown
Manilla, Crawford County, Iowa
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37656190 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
337th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
21 February 1944 - Place of
death
Near Gross-Munsel, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 40 | 21 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Frank B. Means (father)
Hannah Means (mother)
Margaret Means (sister)
Grace Means (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-39814 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Big Time Operator
Destination: Brunswick, Germany
Mission: Operational
MACR: 2425
More information
Eyewitness statement from a crewmember:"After ‘bail out’, ‘bail out’ came over the interphone, S/Sgt William O. Ford and myself put S/Sgt Frank V. Morale harness his chute on. We had just snapped his chute on when the ship turned over and went into a dive. I started crawling up, towards the waist door with Morales behind me. It was approximately four feet from the door when I turned around and looked at Morales. He tried to yell something but I could not hear him. As I turned my head back towards the door, I saw Means, lying face down. It must have been then that the explosion took place, as I came to, approximately 8,000 feet and seen three chutes under my own. Pieces of the ship were coming down around me afire and the chute had a rip or was severed by cannon fragments."
Source of information: FOHF, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Council Bluffs Nonpareil 10 March 1944
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.findagrave.com