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Submit- Full
name
GASTON, Richard L "Dick" - Date of
birth
2 July 1921 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Hamlin, Brown County, Kansas -
Hometown
Brown County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37206023 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
550th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
28 July 1943 - Place of
death
Oschersleben, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 19 | 9 |
Immediate family
-
Members
James E. Gaston (father)
Hazel M. (Berkley) Gaston (mother)
Marie Gaston (sister)
Robert B. Gaston (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30179 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname Murder Incorporated
Destination: Oschersleben, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Focke-Wulf aircraft factory
MACR: 189A
More information
S/Sgt Richard L. Gaston graduated from Hiawatha High School in 1940.The airplane was last seen as it entered the bombing run over Oschersleben. No one reported having seen it go down, nor was enemy fighter opposition encountered after this time.
Six crew members were taken prisoner, and four men were killed.
The Germans told a crew member that S/Sgt Gaston’s body was found in the tail of the plane.
Source of information: Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com – MACR, www.ancestry.com – Headstone and Interment Record / Family Trees / 1940 Census, www.8thafhs.com
Photo source: Jac Engels, Hiawatha High School 1940