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Submit- Full
name
SOESBE, James Andrew - Date of
birth
5 October 1922 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Trairie Township, Delaware County, Iowa -
Hometown
Clinton, Clinton County, Iowa
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-716983 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
752nd Bombardment Squadron,
458th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
24 September 1944 - Place of
death
North Sea near the Dutch Coast
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Phillip C. Soesbe (father)
Frances B. (Siegel) Soesbe (mother)
Robert J. Soesbe (brother)
John P. Soesbe (brother)
Mary J. Soesbe (sister)
Elizabeth J. (Paige) Soesbe (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-52348 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Lady Shamrock
Destination: St. Dizier, France
Mission: Fuel delivery
MACR: 9574
More information
2nd Lt James A. Soesbe attended high school for 4 years and was a shipping and receiving clerk. He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve at Camp Grant, Illinois on 26 November 1942.The plane was fired upon and was still over Holland when it blew up and crashed close enough to the Dutch coast for the wreckage to have been found by the Dutch Coast Guard.
Six crew members were killed and their remains were never recovered. Only one crew member, Billie Hudson survived.
Five crew members are remembered on the Walls of the Missing of Margraten: James A. Soesbe, Harold Coburn, George J. Koehn, John R. Tucker and Merlin T. Ash.
Anthony J. Corlito is remembered on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge Cemetery.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.458bg.com, www.ancestry.com - US Veterans Gravesite / 1930 Census / Family Tree
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Darin Scorza, www.458bg.com, Arie-Jan van Hees - Bomb 44-04 Midland Texas