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name
ROSS, Madison Hodges - Date of
birth
11 December 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Kansas -
Hometown
Hewins, Chautauqua County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37233687 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
427th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
4 January 1944 - Place of
death
Nort Sea, west of Heligoland, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Elbert Ross (father)
Sophronia A. (Hodges) Ross (mother)
Evelyn A. Ross (sister)
Edwin E. Ross (brother)
Alma E. Ross (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31526 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Sweet Anna
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port
MACR: 1682
More information
The airplane was heard giving a distress signal after it was hit by enemy fighters and left the formation. The aircraft ditched in the North Sea with the loss of all 10 crew members.Only the remains of S/Sgt Madak were recovered on Ameland Island, The Netherlands on 4 October 1944.
It was the plane's first combat mission.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, 303rdBomberGroup.com, www.ancestry.com - Richard Polk Family Tree
Photo source: Michel Beckers, www.findagrave.com - Loren Bender