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name
WHIPPLE, Harold Ross - Date of
birth
8 January 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Marcus Hook, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33589121 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
349th Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
12 June 1944 - Place of
death
North Sea, 9 miles of Dunkerque, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Ross B. Whipple (father)
Beatrice B. (Stephens) Whipple (mother)
Lois B. Whipple (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-37601 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Rosières-en-Santerre, France
Mission: Bombing of the airfield
MACR: 5625
More information
S/Sgt Harold R. Whipple enlisted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 2 March 1943.The crew was on their first mission.
The aircraft was hit by flak over Dunkerque at 08.53 hours at 24,000 feet. The #4 engine caught fire and the right wing broke off near the the #4 engine inducing a spin. Five or six parachutes may have come from this aircraft.
The only surviver, George L. Sherback had no recollection of leaving the plane and believed he must have been blown clear. A German officer told him the plane exploded and the remains of the other crew members went into the sea.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, 100thBomberGroup.com, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census / Veteran Compensation Application File
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, 100thBomberGroup.com