Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
GODFREY, Herbert Merrill - Date of
birth
21 February 1919 -
Age
24 -
Place of birth
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-2043687 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
577th Bombardment Squadron,
392nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
4 January 1944 - Place of
death
North Sea, off the coast of Langeness, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 10 | 26 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Kenneth M. Godfrey (father)
Vera T. Godfrey (mother)
Donald Godfrey (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-7482 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Shack Rat
Destination: Kiel, Germany
MACR: 1908
More information
1st Lt Herbert M. Godfrey graduated from Bridgton Academy in 1938.No specific 392nd crew eye-witness account is detailed concerning the loss of this aircrew and plane. A German report, #KU623 of the mission date, 4 January, notes that this particular ship was found crashed in the North Sea at 1300 hours just off the small island of Langeness after having exploded in the air. Five dead crew members were located in this wreckage and the probable cause of the shoot-down was fighter aircraft. No other account exists on further circumstances of the crew's loss.
Lt Godfrey was buried in the Nordmarschers Cemetery on the island of Langeness.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.B24.net, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / WWII Draft Card
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, 392nd Bomb Group, The Boston Globe - 14 February 1946, Bridgton Academy, 1938