Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
RICKSON, Clarence Alfred - Date of
birth
16 June 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Ludlow, Hampden County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Hampden County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31415147 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
773rd Bombardment Squadron,
463rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
15 February 1945 - Place of
death
10 miles SE of Vienna, Austria
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 6 | 43 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Frank X. Rickson (father)
Emily Rickson (mother)
Martin F. Rickson (brother)
Helen B. Rickson (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-8253 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Vienna, Austria
Mission: Supply Depot
MACR: 12491
More information
S/Sgt Clarence A. Rickson was employed by Monsanto Chemical Co.He enlisted in Springfield, Massachusetts on 21 September 1943.
Lt James D. Helf: "As we were on the bomb run, I happened to look up and I noticed another bomb group above us. Just as I noticed them their bombs were away. I watched the bombs fall and I was going to tell the Pilot of my ship to turn left to get out the path of the bombs. It was to late to tell him as the bombs were through our formation. The next thing I noticed was Baker Load in flames. I couldn’t identify the group as the sun was in my eyes. They must have been three to four thousand feet above us. I did not see any chutes come from the ship."
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, 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 / Bethesda Springfield Massachusetts / 1940 Census / WWII Draft Card, www.fold3.com
Photo source: Peter Schouteten