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name
BETTIN, Norman Frank - Date of
birth
16 May 1920 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Montello, Marquette County, Wisconsin -
Hometown
Montello, Marquette County, Wisconsin
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-752097 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
383rd Fighter Squadron,
364th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Distnguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
7 October 1944 - Place of
death
The woods south of the Kröller Müller Museum, the Netherlands
Otterlo, Holland
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 19 | 30 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William R. Bettin (father)
Anita R. (Fritzke) Bettin (mother)
Maynard E. Bettin (brother)
Leona L. Bettin (sister)
June Bettin (sister)
Arleen L. Bettin (sister)
William B. Bettin Jr (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-13958 -
Data
Type: P-51D
Destination: Deelen Airbase, Arnhem, the Netherlands
Mission: Photo Reconaissance
More information
1st Lt Norman J. Bettin attended Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was a graduate of Montello High School.He was a farmer before he enlisted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 19 May 1942. He was commissioned at Williams Field, Arizona, on 25 July 1943.
He volunteered for a photo reconaissance mission in a P-51. Normally he flew a P-38J.
The mission took place on 23 September 1944. The airplane was hit by flak over the airfield and crashed in the woods south of the Kröller Müller Museumwhere local workers found the wreckage and his remains on 7 October 1944.
The official date of death is not correct. It is the day his remains were found. Probably that is the reason for the mistake.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, NARA, www.ancestry.com - Family Tree, www.wwiimemorial.com
Photo source: Especially thanks to Florence (sister in law), Katleen McGwin, www.findagrave.com - Jaap Vermeer, Arie-Jan van Hees, Pilot Class Book 43-G, Sequoia, Visalia, California.