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Personal info

Full name
EVELAND, Berthal Dale
Date of birth
20 August 1922
Age
20
Place of birth
Browntown, Fayette County, Illinois
Hometown
St. Elmo, Fayette County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
36075583
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Gunner
Unit
337th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
13 June 1943
Place of death
Dörphof, 6 kilometers south of Kappeln, south east of Flensburg, just east of shore line Baltic Sea, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Alonzo Daniel Eveland (father)
Elizabeth Mariah (Harris) Eveland (mother)
George Knapp (stepfather)
Violet E. Eveland (sister)
Nellie Z. Eveland (sister)
Hazel F. Eveland (sister)
Norval L. Eveland (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-3107
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Miss Carriage
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing
MACR: 2458 - 3687

More information

The aircraft was downed by enemy fighters (3 FW-190's) off Kiel, Germany. With the aircraft on fire and out of control, the crew bailed out over the coastal area north-west of Kiel but a strong westerly wind blew them over the Baltic Sea. Three of the crew survived the crash (Lt Robert M. Webster (pilot), 2nd Lt Thomas G. Decaro (navigator) and T/Sgt Zephan A. Barrows) and became POW's (eventually T/Sgt Zephan A. Barrows died as POW), while the others landed in the Baltic Sea and were presumed to have drowned.

Source of information: Cor van den Burg, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census, Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea, www.usaafdata.com - USAAF Personnel Records, www.fold3.com, www.8thafhs.com, www.flensted.eu.com, www.andreaszapf.de

Photo source: Danny van der Groen, www.newspapers.com - The Decatur Herald