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name
RANKIN, Bobbie Russell - Date of
birth
1924 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Arkansas City, Cowley County, Kansas -
Hometown
Springfield, Cowley County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-756022 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
428th Fighter Squadron,
474th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
25 December 1944 - Place of
death
Near Laroche and 1 mile southeast of Grandménil, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 7 | 33 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John N. Rankin (father)
Maude I. Rankin (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-28823 -
Data
Type: P-38J-15
Destination: Belgium
Mission: D/B strafing
MACR: 11900
More information
Statement form 2nd Lt Jack A. Pemberton: “On the second mission the 25th of December 1944, I was flying Red three for Lt Rankin, who was leading Red flight. We located the target and made our bomb run. It was necessary to make two passes on our target and on the second pass I saw red leader, Lt Bobbie R. Rankin, hit the ground and explode. Location of crash was northeast of Laroche and 1 mile southeast of Grandménil, Belgium, at grid of P-545877. The time was 1355.”
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, Carla Mans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com – Headstone and Interment Record / 1940 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet / Scott, Arie-Jan van Hees, Pilot Class Book 43-I, Gardner Field, California