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name
COX, Wade M - Date of
birth
1 May 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Ashtabula County, Ohio -
Hometown
Geneva, Ashtabula County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
15071368 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
612th Bombardment Squadron,
401st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
19 May 1944 - Place of
death
Professor-Peters-Platz
Kiel, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 31 | 24 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Robert Cox (father)
Cecelia Cox (mother)
Howard Cox (brother)
Robert Cox (brother)
Lois Cox (sister)
Franklin Cox (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-38026 -
Data
Nickname: My Day
Type: B-17G
Destination: Berlin, Germany
MACR: 4815
More information
S/Sgt Wade M. Cox was an architect before he joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, on 19 November 1941.The 401st furnished the lead and high box of the 94th Combat Wing. The original target was Berlin, but either heavy cloud cover or failure to rendezvous with fighter escort (the accounts differ) resulted in bombing the secondary target, the port area of Kiel. Bombing was done by PFF (radar), but through breaks in the clouds bomb bursts were observed in the industrial section along the Kiel Canal. No enemy aircraft were sighted. Flak, while meager, was unusually accurate. The plane was hit and exploded in midair, killing 9 crew members. One crew member was taken prisoner.
The remains of the killed crew members were buried at the Garrison Military Cemetery of Kiel on 25 May 1944.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Michel Beckers, Terry Hirsch, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR, Ohio Birth Index, 1930 US Census
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.remember-our-heroes.nl - Andy Swinnen