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name
MERRILL, Myron Stanley - Date of
birth
1921 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
New York -
Hometown
Mahwah, Bergen County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-766326 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
568th Bombardment Squadron,
390th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 September 1944 - Place of
death
Lomianki, Poland
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | 33 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Forrest L. Merrill (father)
Regina M. Merrill (mother)
Mildred Merrill (sister)
LeRoy Merrill (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38175 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: I'll Be Seeing You/Till We Meet Again
Destination: Warsaw
Mission: Dropping of supply containers
MACR: 10205
More information
During the seventh and last shuttle mission of Operation Frantic, 107 B-17s were sent out to drop 12,484 containers of supplies to the Polish resistance forces in Warsaw, Poland. One B-17 was lost. About 1242 hours, the airplane was hit by flak and attacked by fighters and peeled out of formation to the right, with #1 engine afire. Also, the left horizontal stabilizer began to disintegrate. The plane dropped its load. The waist escape hatch came off. The plane went down in controlled glide to 8,000 feet, at which altitude it exploded at about 1246 hours. Two parachutes were reported.After the war, T/Sgt Marcus L. Shook, the Radio Operator who survived, stated:
"The plane crashed at 1250 hours, approximately 50 km northwest of Warsaw. One engine caught fire. I bailed out at 10,000 or 14,000 feet. No one was killed or injured before the plane crashed. A wing blew off in midair."
It was the crew's 15th mission.
In 1978, the townspeople of Lomianki, Poland raised money and erected a memorial to the crew of the "I'll Be Seeing You". Today, the townspeople of Lomianki typically commemorate these brave men on September 18th of each year.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Jean Louis Vijgen, Diane Mateo, Terry Hirsch, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.findagrave.com
Photo source: Jac Engels, Jean Louis Vijgen