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Personal info

Full name
SUMMERS, Virgil Frank
Date of birth
24 May 1921
Age
22
Place of birth
Osterburg, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
13083889
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
349th Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
6 March 1944
Place of death
Uptloh-Quakenbruck, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
C 6 13

Immediate family

Members
Frank L. Summers (father)
Anna C. (Hay) Summers (mother)
Melvin H. Summers (brother)
Clifford L. Summers (brother)
Cletus M. Summers (brother)
Margaret L. Summers (sister)
Dorothy M. Summers (sister)
Herbert S. Summers (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-31731
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of Friedrichstrasse Railroad Station
MACR: 3019

More information

S/Sgt Virgil F. Summers was a farmer before he volunteered for the Army of the United States in Altoona, Pennsylvania on 13 August 1942.

The airplane was attacked by enemy fighters and went down with engines smoking in slow spirals. Four parachutes were seen.

Nine crew members were killed and were initially buried at the Luthern cemetery of Quakenbruck. One crew member was taken prisoner.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.archives.gov - World War II Army Enlistment Record, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - Veteran Compensation Application File / Family Trees

Photo source: Michel Beckers, The Altoona Mirror Gazette