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name
KORFF, Robert William - Date of
birth
4 April 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin -
Hometown
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16047941 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Assistant Engineer -
Unit
339th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
28 July 1943 - Place of
death
North Sea, near the German coast
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 25 | 5 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Ernest J. Korff (father)
Helen B. (Loyda) Korff (mother)
Dorothy Korff (sister)
Rosemary Korff (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-0394 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Oschersleben, Germany
Mission: Operational
MACR: 143
More information
S/Sgt Robert W Korff graduated from of Lincoln High School and attended University of Wisconsin.The aircraft was attacked by German fighter after which the intercom was destroyed. Pilot Lt Clarence Covert ditched it off the German coast and six flyers survived. S/Sgt Korff didn’t bail. He was last seen preparing for ditching, standing in the waist of the plane. He went down with the plane and drowned. Three other crewmembers were also killed.
S/Sgt Robert W. Korff was found washed ashore
near Sønderho on the island of Fanø on 28 August and was laid to rest in Fovrfelt cemetery in Esbjerg on 4 September 1943. He was disinterred and taken to the US Millitary Cemetery Neuville-en-Condron in Belgium in April 1948.
Source of information: Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Family Trees, www.fold3.com - MACR, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Jac Engels, Milwaukee Journal - 2 August 1945