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name
RUSSELL, David C - Date of
birth
25 July 1918 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois -
Hometown
Roscoe, Winnebago County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-804407 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
407th Bombardment Squadron,
92nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
30 January 1944 - Place of
death
Near Ehlershausen or Odershagen, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 7 | 30 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Clifford V. Russell (father)
Hilda E. (Klepper) Lovejoy (mother)
Norman C. Russell (brother)
Shirley M. Russell (sister)
Betty J. Russell (sister)
Geneva L. Russell (sister)
Newell C. Lovejoy (half brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97441 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Braunschweig, Germany
Mission: Bombing
MACR: 2254
More information
2nd Lt David C. Russell graduated from Hononegah High School.He enlisted in the Air Corps in October 1941. He was sent overseas in November 1943.
Statement from S/Sgt Alexander Philips,
42-31494:
"I was tail gunner on B-17G 42-31494, and we were flying Lead Ship, Second Element, Low Squadron, Lead Group. I first noticed the ships when a big burst of flame caught my eye. I saw the two ships, one on top of the other. The bottom ship was in flames. Suddenly the bottom ship exploded. The explosion of the lower ship tore the left wing of the upper ship and as it started to go down, it exploded too. The lower ball turret fell out from the lower ship. No parachutes were seen."
Lt Russell is remembered at Bourbon Cemetery in Bourbon, Crawford County, Missouri with a memorial marker.
Source of information: André Koch, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR 2254, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1940 Census / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.wwiitraining.org, www.findagrave.com, Morning Star - 5 April 1944