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Personal info

Full name
FOLLENDER, Seymour Bernard
Date of birth
20 February 1921
Age
23
Place of birth
Manhattan, New York City, New York
Hometown
Queens, Queens County, New York

Military service

Service number
O-667684
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
759th Bombardment Squadron,
459th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
2 April 1944
Place of death
In the vicinity of Windischgarsten, 80 kilometers South West of Steyr, Austria.

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
O 4 8

Immediate family

Members
Herman G. Follender (father)
Anna Follender (mother)
Jerome Follender (brother)
Natalie M. Follender (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-64374
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Dead Man's Hand
Destination: Steyr, Austria
Mission: Bombing, Ball Bearing factory
MACR: 3889

More information

1st Lt Seymour Follender enlisted on 19 March 1942 at Mitchell Field Hemstead, Long Island, New York.

The plane of 1st Lt Follender and his crewmembers crashed on 2 April 1944 near Windischgarsten, 80 kilometers South West of Steyr, Austria, and 3 other crewmembers, including 1st Lt Follender, were killed in Action.
Statement: Joseph J. Degnan, T/Sgt, Air Corps, Tail Gunner.

I certify that I personally observed Lt Follender's plane as the plane that went down on the Steyr mission. Lt Follender was directly behind my tail. Two ME 109 had just got finished straffing our plane and went directly over his plane. The plane went into a flat spin. After dropping approximately 5000 feet, it looked as if he might pull out. He went back into the spin and stayed that way until he hit the ground. The plane did not catch fire.
First Lieutenant Seymour Follender died in the pilot seat. He was hit in the head by 20mm shells and died instantly. This was visual witnessed by the Co-Pilot Flight Officer Alfred Shepard and the Bombardier Flight Officer Angelo F. Malerba.
A crewmember of 1st Lt Follender who was wounded and survived and became a POW, S/Sgt Gerald A. Duval wrote a book about his experiences including the crash named: "Wings and Barbed Wire".

Source of information: Cor van den Burg, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 1920/1930/1940 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR, Individual Casualty Questionnaire, www.Amazon.com

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Andrea Goldwyn Fox (niece), www.newspapers.com - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Arie-Jan van Hees - PIlot 42-K Waco Texas