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Personal info

Full name
SIERENS, Ernest Joseph
Date of birth
1921
Age
unknown
Place of birth
Mount Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan
Hometown
Mount Clemens, Macomb, Michigan

Military service

Service number
O-665351
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
547th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
12 August 1943
Place of death
Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Ernest J. Sierens (father)
Katherine D. (Carbeneau) Sierens (mother)
Geraldine Sierens (sister)
Erma Sierens (sister)
Virginia R. Sierens (sister)
Alphonse J. Sierens (brother)
Rosalie Peltier (fiancé)

Plane data

Serial number
42-30046
Data
Nickname: Merrie Hell
Type: B-17F
Destination: Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the synthetic oil refinery
MACR: 289

More information

1st Lt Ernest J. Sierens volunteered for the U.S. Army as an aviation cadet in Detroit, Michigan on 3 February 1942.

His grandfather on his father's side was born in Belgium.

The nose of the plane was blown off almost to the back of the turret by flak at an altitude of 29,000 feet. The plane went down in flames.

Only the radio operator, Harry Ketterman, and the Tail Gunner, Louis Brindley, survived and were taken prisoner.

The deceased crew members were buried at the Gelsenkirchen/Bismarck village cemetery on 15 August 1943.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Michel Beckers, Astrid van Erp, www.ancestry.com - WWII Army Enlistment Record / 1940 Census / Family Trees, www.fold3.com - MACR

Photo source: Jac Engels / Michel Beckers/ http://photos.384thbombgroup.com