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Personal info

Full name
KEEFER, Paul Woodford
Date of birth
21 March 1915
Age
28
Place of birth
Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland
Hometown
Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland

Military service

Service number
6894687
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
549th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
26 July 1943
Place of death
Alte Mellum, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
I 18 16

Immediate family

Members
William B. Keefer (father)
Alice E. (Woesner) Keefer (mother)
Catherine E. Keefer (sister)
Mary V. Keefer (sister)
Frances L. Keefer (sister)
Eula B. (Hawthorne) Keefer (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-30279
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Black Jacker
Destination: Hanover, Germany
Mission: Bombing of rubber factories
MACR: 191C

More information

S/Sgt Keefer served in the Army for three years prior to WWII. He was recalled to service months before the attack on Pearl Harbor and was on duty at airfields in different parts of the country. He arrived in England a short time before the mission during he was killed.

The airplane was attacked by German fighters. It was seen burning before it blew up.

Three crew members were taken prisoner, seven men were killed.

S/Sgt Keefer was initially buried at the cemetery of Brockeswald, Germany on 18 August 1943.

Source of information: André Koch, Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.385thbga.com/b-17/, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / dennisalanfox Family Tree, www.newspapers.com - The Daily Mail

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, www.ancestry.com - rsprecher 1