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Personal info

Full name
KLINE, Theodore Alfred
Date of birth
2 January 1919
Age
26
Place of birth
Central City, Linn County, Iowa
Hometown
Ogle County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
O2058830
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Co-Pilot
Unit
601st Bombardment Squadron,
398th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
13 April 1945
Place of death
Near Bad Oldesloe, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
D 17 20

Immediate family

Members
Lawrance Kline (father)
Mary Kline (mother)
Helen Kline (sister)
Sidney Kline (brother)
Cathryn A. (Hildebrand) Kline (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
43-39184
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Neumünster, Germany
Mission: Operational Bombing
MACR: 14176

More information

2nd Lt Theodore A. Kline graduated from Rockford High School in 1936.

He enlisted at Camp Grant, Illinois on 14 December 1942.

A/C 43-39184 was blown out of formation shortly after the target and crash landed. Of the eight men crew, six were able to bail out safely. 2nd Lt Kline was last seen by the pilot, flying the ship, after the injured pilot was persuaded to bail out. Surviving crew member reports indicate that he may have been killed by pitchforks by civilians, after landing the plane.

Source of information: Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.archives.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com – 1940 Census / WWII Draft Card

Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Rockford High School 1936