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name
CHOUINARD, Merton Louis - Date of
birth
26 August 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Hopkinton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-716355 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
567th Bombardment Squadron,
389th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
28 September 1944 - Place of
death
8 km west of Boppard, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| J | 9 | 4 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Louis J. Chouinard (father)
Ruth G. (Lougee) Chouinard (mother)
Lois E. Chouinard (sister)
Donald E. Chouinard (brother)
Arlene H. Chouinard (sister)
Muriel R. Chouinard (sister)
Phyllis Chouinard (sister)
Louis H. Chouinard (brother)
Irving P. Chouinard (brother)
Ellis L. Chouinard (brother)
Clifford B. Chouinard (brother)
Richard Chouinard (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-95071 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Pot Luck
Destination: Kassel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Henschel motor transport plant
MACR: 9381
More information
Merton Chouinard attended Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst.He volunteered for the Army of the United States at fort Devens, Massachusetts on 18 March 1943.
The airplane was hit by flak approximately seven miles east of Koblenz. No. 3 engine caught on fire and spread to No. 4 and eventually enveloped the entire wing. It fell out of formation going into a tight spin and disappeared into the clouds at 14,000-15,000 feet. Te wing was seen to have fallen off from No. 4 engine.
Five crew members survived and were taken prisoner, five were killed.
According to witnesses, Lt Chouinard and another crew member parachuted from the airplane and their remains were found near the cemetery of Boppard. The airplane crashed four kilometers southeast of Bucholtz-Boppard.
Lt Chouinard was initially buried at the civilian cemetery of Boppard on 2 October 1944. They were disinterred by the 6892th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company and initially reburied at Margraten as Unknown X-2370.
He was identified through comparaison of tooth charts, clothing, estimated date of death, place of initial burial and cemetery records.
He was given his final resting place at Margraten on 14 February 1949.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, www.389thbg.net, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees, IDPF
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Joe Murphy, www.ancestry.com - Massachusetts Agricultural College Yearbook 1946