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Personal info

Full name
RANDALL, Robert Henry Jr
Date of birth
22 June 1918
Age
25
Place of birth
Monrovia, Los Angeles County, California
Hometown
Washington, District of Columbia

Military service

Service number
11043227
Rank
Technical Sergeant
Function
Radio Operator
Unit
335th Bombardment Squadron,
95th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
30 July 1943
Place of death
North Sea, near Knokke, Belgium

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 42 7

Immediate family

Members
Robert H. Randall (father)

Plane data

Serial number
42-30192
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Kassel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Fieseler aviation industry
MACR: 217

More information

Robert Randall attended college for one year.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Waterville, Maine on 13 July 1942.

The aircraft was hit by flak about 10 minutes inland from Knokke, Belgium at 0807. The oxygen and hydraulic systems were knocked out, and three engines failed. The crew was told to stand by to bail out. Five men bailed out immediately. The pilot realized he could handle the aircraft and countermanded his order. He then made a course for the nearest point on the English coast and landed six miles off Dover, where the remainder of the crew were saved.
Two crew members were killed, three were taken prisoner, and five men, who stayed in the airplane, returned to duty.
Robert H. Randall was among the five men who bailed out. His body washed up at Vlissingen, the Netherlands, later in the day.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.8thafhs.com. www.fold3.com - MACR

Photo source: Jac Engels