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Personal info

Full name
NELSON, Laverne Wayne "Swede"
Date of birth
7 March 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Cicero, Cook County, Illinois
Hometown
Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
36737327
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer
Unit
836th Bombardment Squadron,
487th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
30 September 1944
Place of death
Bielefeld, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
M 18 15

Immediate family

Members
Julius Stock (father)
Martha L. (Nelson) Stock (mother)
Robert J. Stock (brother)
Peter T. Nelson (grandfather/adopted father)
Bertha E. (Anderson) Nelson (grandmother/adopted mother)
Marilyn Kerns (fiancee)

Plane data

Serial number
43-38037
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Liberty Belle
Destination: Bielefeld, Germany
Mission: Bombing marshalling yards
MACR: 9422

More information

S/Sgt Laverne W. Nelson's mother died shortly after his birth, he was adopted and raised by his mother's parents, Peter and Bertha Nelson. His adopted name was Laverne W. Nelson. He graduated from Crystal Lake Community High School in 1941 and worked at the Crystal Lake News Agency and later the Oak Manufacturing Company.

S/Sgt Nelson enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed Army Air Forces flight engineer and aerial gunnery training.

The aircraft, B-17G 43-38037 'Liberty Belle', collided with B-17G 43-38154 'Heavenly Body' just after bombs away. Two men survived.

Source of information: André Koch, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR 9422, www.findagrave.com - Paul Webber, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, The Herald 

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Laura Phillips / Paul Webber