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Personal info

Full name
KATZ, Harvey Martin "Harv"
Date of birth
29 January 1921
Age
23
Place of birth
Newark, Essex County, New Jersey
Hometown
Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey

Military service

Service number
12093706
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Radio Operator/Gunner
Unit
407th Bombardment Squadron,
92nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Finding of Death
Date of death
25 August 1944
Place of death
Over Greifswald Bay, near Peenemünde, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Joseph Katz (father)
Selma Katz (mother)
Arnold Katz (brother)
Sandra Katz (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-97958
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Peenemünde, Germany
Mission: Bombing
MACR: 8277

More information

S/Sgt Harvey M. Katz graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth in 1938 and was was employed as a wireman at Western Electric Company.
He enlisted in Newark, New Jersey on 22 June 1942.

Statement from 2nd Lt Charles C. Manzi:
"This A/C was hit by flak then went into flat spin and fell to about ten thousand feet pulling out for a few seconds and then into a tight spin and burning. Several members of crew were seen to bail out. Did not notice whether plane hit ground or not due to evasive action taken after bombs away."

Eventually the plane crashed in the Baltic Sea, 2 miles of the German coast. 8 KIA, 1 POW.

Source of information: André Koch, Terry Hirsch, Silvano Theunissen, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR 8277, http://www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: André Koch, Thomas Jefferson High School Yearbook 1938, www.findagrave.com, Class book for pilot class 44-E at the Pacific Air School, Gibbs Field, Fort Stockton, Texas, www.findagrave.com - Jo Carter