Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
VALLERE, Harold Thomas - Date of
birth
9 November 1919 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Kingston, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-820634 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
546th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
12 September 1944 - Place of
death
Grünfelde, west of Kyritz, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | 8 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Louis Vallere (father)
Ida C. Vallere (mother)
Dolores Vallere (sister)
Marius Vallere (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97142 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Thor, God of Thunder
Destination: Brux, Czechoslovakia
Mission: Bombing of the synthetic oil refinery
MACR: 8901
More information
Harold T. Vallere graduated from Kingston High School, attended Bloomsburg State Teachers College and graduated from Casey Jones School of Aeronautics.He joined the Regular Army in Luzerne, Pennsylvania on 25 September 1939, after which he served two years in Iceland. He returned to the States for pilot training in the Army Air Corps in Florida, after which he left for overseas duty.
The airplane was hit by German fighters at 1105 in the #3 engine near Wittenburg, Germany. The airplane could not climb back in formation and continuously drifted behind until it was lost out of sight. The right wing fell off at 1109, and the airplane went down afire in a steep glide.
Three crew members were taken prisoner, and six men were killed.
Lt Vallere was initially buried at the cemetery of Drewen, Germany on 13 September 1944.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Record / Veteran Compensation Application File, www.384thbombgroup.com, www.archives.gov, The Wilkes-Barre Record (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
Photo source: Mireille Goedhart, The Wilkes-Barre Record