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Personal info

Full name
KOLB, Raymond Frederick
Date of birth
30 September 1918
Age
26
Place of birth
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
33791082
Rank
Sergeant
Function
Radio Operator
Unit
365th Bombardment Squadron,
305th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
14 October 1944
Place of death
Freight yard of Niehl, north of Cologne, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
D 36 2

Immediate family

Members
Frederick Kolb (father)
Helen M. (Weber) Kolb (mother)
Helen A. Kolb (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
43-38108
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Cologne, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yard
MACR: 9475

More information

Sgt Raymond F. Kolb attended high school for three years and was a foreman.

He enlisted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 July 1943.

The aircraft collided with aircraft 43-38066 in midair. Its propellers chewed through the other airplane. It went down out of controle and broke into small pieces and exploded below the formation.

The entire crew of nine men was killed. They were initially buried at the West Cemetery of Cologne on 15 October 1944.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / 1920/1940 Census / WWII Draft Card, www.fold3.com

Photo source: Peter Schouteten