Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
MILLER, Walter Charles Jr - Date of
birth
12 November 1922 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana -
Hometown
South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
15061725 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator -
Unit
336th Bombardment Squadron,
95th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 June 1943 - Place of
death
Baltic Sea, off the coast of Kiel, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 12 | 53 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Walter C. Miller Sr. (father)
Beatric F. (Hilbert) Miller (mother)
Margaret J. Miller (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-29680 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of U-boat yards
MACR: 2751
More information
T/Sgt Walter C. Miller Jr. graduated from Central High School in 1940.He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army on 1 February 1941 at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was overseas since March 1943.
His father also served in the Army Air Corps with the rank of captain and was a veteran of the First World War when he was a pilot with the 27th Aero Squadron in 1917 and 1918. At the time of his son's death, he was serving in England with an intelligence unit.
Statement from Captain David E. Olsson, Assistant Operations Officer:
"B-17F 42-29680, piloted by 1st Lt Joseph L. Nunes on 13 June 1943, was last seen between 54° and 55° N and 08° to 10° E. The aircraft was never seen in trouble or leaving the formation. On this mission, a great deal of enemy opposition was encountered (over 100 enemy aircraft), causing 10 aircraft of this unit to be lost. It is understandable that the crews returned unable to give any information concerning this missing aircraft."
The entire crew of ten men was killed. The remains of seven were never recovered and are remembered on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. One is buried at Ardennes Cemetery, and two are buried in the U.S.A.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com/db/index.php
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.newspapers.com - The South Bend Tribune - 24 June 1942/8 December 1943