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name
ROBESON, Ralph Gustin - Date of
birth
2 December 1920 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Nashua, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire -
Hometown
Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
11087650 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
511th Bombardment Squadron,
351st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
4 October 1943 - Place of
death
Westerschelde, east of Ellewoutsdijk, The Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
George A. Robeson (father)
Mirian A. Robeson (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-5807 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Rikki Tikki Tavi aka Minor Ball
Destination: Frankfurt, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke (VDM) aviation industry
MACR: 910
More information
Ralph Robeson worked in a textile factory.He volunteered for the Army of the United States in Boston, Massachusetts on 19 August 1942.
The aircraft was shot down by flak and enemy aircraft on the return flight and crashed at 12.25 h.
The entire crew of ten men was killed.
Only two bodies were recovered. S/Sgt Towsley's body washed ashore. The exact date and location is not known. The body of S/Sgt Burgess washed ashore at Buitenhaven, Vlissingen on 19 October 1943. He was initially buried at the Northern Cemetery of Vlissingen a day later.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census, www.americanairmuseum.com, WWII Draft Card, www.tynglib.org/ralph-g-robeson-hero-square/
Photo source: Astrid van Erp, www.findagrave.com - Phil Squires / Roel Raaijmakers, www.tynglib.org/ralph-g-robeson-hero-square/