Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
ALDRIDGE, Eugene Finch - Date of
birth
14 May 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio -
Hometown
Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-687521 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
413th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
12 May 1944 - Place of
death
Near Kamberg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| H | 9 | 25 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Percy L. Aldridge (father)
Jemima F. (Otto) Aldridge (mother)
Vivian L. Aldridge (sister)
Donald O. Aldridge (brother)
Richard D. Aldridge (brother)
Raymond P. Aldridge (brother)
Ruth E. Aldridge (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97654 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Brux, Czechoslovakia
Mission: Bombing of Sudetenlandische Treibstoffwerke AG - Hydrogenation Plant
MACR: 4861
More information
1st Lt Eugene F. Aldridge enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 4 March 1942.1st Lt Aldridge was killed on his 23rd mission. The plane was the lead pathfinder of this mission and went down in a tight spiral with the right wing cut off at #4 engine and was on fire.
Only two men survived: the pilot Capt Jim Knupp and the radio operator Manuel Reuben. The plane crashed at 1215 hours in an open pasture near Kamberg.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, www.fold3.com - MACR
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Mr. Richard E. Aldridge, Arie-Jan van Hees, Pilot Class Book 43-G, Goodfellow Field, Texas.