Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
WRIGHT, William Gene - Date of
birth
5 February 1919 -
Age
25 -
Place of birth
Johnson County, Indiana -
Hometown
Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-755822 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
508th Bombardment Squadron,
351st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
5 September 1944 - Place of
death
Viernheim, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 39 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Oscar C. Wright (father)
Ruth J. (Downs) Wright (mother)
Bette Wright (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38139 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the synthetic oil plant
MACR: 8452
More information
William G. Wright graduated from Alva Neal High school in 1937. He joined the Regular Army on 26 January 1940.Statement from Sgt John W. Ernst, crew member of another B-17 in the same group: "Lt Wright was flying on our left, and the first thing I noticed was that he suddenly fel out of the formation with his right wing afire. He went into the cloud and when he came out he was in a spin and it looked as though his whole right wing was off. Then I definitely saw two parachutes come out of the plane as it was spinning towards the earth. Then it went into the clouds again and I saw no more."
According to another witness the #4 engine as afire after a direct flak hit over the target. The fire spread to the wing and the plane immediately peeled out of the formation. It kept descending and when the outboard end of the wing fell off, the plane went into a spin.
Two crew members were taken prisoner, seven men were killed.
1/Lt William G. Wright was first buried at the Temporary American Cemetery of St. Avold, France.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com, The Franklin Evening Star (Franklin, Indiana), www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil
Photo source: Jac Engels, The Franklin Evening Star (Franklin, Indiana)