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name
RUNCHEY, Charles Francis Jr - Date of
birth
1921 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Saginaw County, Michigan -
Hometown
Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16010815 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator/Gunner -
Unit
566th Bombardment Squadron,
389th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
3 February 1945 - Place of
death
600 meters north of Ohlendorf, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 12 | 7 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles F. Runchey Sr. (father)
Winifred (Devaney) Runchey (mother)
Helen M. Runchey (stepmother)
Julia Runchey (sister)
Kyran Runchey (sister)
Kathleen Runchey (sister)
Patricia M. Runchey (sister)
Winifred A. Runchey (sister)
Jacqueline Runchey (halfsister)
G. Patrick Runchey (halfbrother)
Robert J. Runchey (halfbrother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50551 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Delectable Doris
Destination: Magdeburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yard
MACR: 12370
More information
T/Sgt Charles F. Runchey Jr. graduated from Assumption College High School in Ontario, Canada.He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army on 15 August 1940 in Detroit, Michigan. He was sent overseas in July 1944.
The airplane was hit by flak in the pilots compartment and nose. It was abserved to go into a dive, but was pulled out of it. Then it went into a slow roll from which it was pulled out again and then started weaving. Crew members of other bombers in the formation saw nine parachutes leaving the plane before the bombs burst and the ship blew up. Parts of the airplane were crattered in an area of 5000 meters by 500 meters.
T/Sgt Runchey's body wasn't positively identified after the crash. However, one badly burned body was found in the wreckage that was initially buried at the cemetery of Ohlendorf.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.389thbg.net, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, Saginaw (MI) Library, www.findagrave.com - Rick Lawrence at ArmyAirforce.com Forum
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, The Grand Rapids Press - 26 February 1945