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name
LIBBEE, Dick Lorenzo "Lib" - Date of
birth
21 August 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Piqua, Miami County, Ohio -
Hometown
Piqua, Miami County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-679899 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
427th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
20 December 1943 - Place of
death
Near Bremen, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 5 | 12 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Clifford Libbee (father)
Stella V. (Oldham) Libbee (mother)
Clark Libbee (brother)
Mary Jane Libbee (sister)
Carole E. (Harshbarger) Libbee (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31233 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port
MACR: 1707
More information
2nd Lt Dick L. Libbee graduated from Piqua High School and was was employed as a shipping and receiving clerk at Montgomery Ward & Company.He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Patterson Field, Ohio on 14 April 1942. He trained at Coleman, Kelly Field, Goodfellow Field, and received his wings and commission at Eagle Pass, Texas on 24 May 1944. Lt Libbee had been overseas less than three months.
A Me-110 came within 50 feet of the airplane and fired two rockets which entered the aircraft between the ball turret and the tail. The ball turret gunner, S/Sgt E.W. Drees, managed to hit the Me-110 in the left wing, breaking it off and sending it down. Bursts from another enemy aircraft entered the ball turret causing two bright flashes. The no 2 and no 3 engines were smoking heavily. S/Sgt Drees still fired after the burst, but no flame was seen. The pilot, Lt Leve, peeled off to the right, fell about 6,000 feet in a straight dive, then leveled off before hitting cloud cover.
Two crew members survived and were taken prisoner, eight were killed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, 303rd Bomb Group, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - The Piqua Call 14 September 1945 / 1930 Census / Piqua High School, www.fold3.com - MACR, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: - www.ancestry.com - Piqua High School Yearbook 1938, www.303rdbg.com, Dayton Daily News 31 December 1943, The Piqua Daily Cal 27 May 1943, Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot Class Book 43-E Coleman Flying School Texas