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name
SIMPSON, Louis John Jr - Date of
birth
3 April 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Mexico City, Mexico -
Hometown
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-716679 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
366th Bombardment Squadron,
305th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 July 1944 - Place of
death
Peenemunde, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 14 | 53 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Louis J. Simpson (father)
Mary Simpson (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-102555 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Peenemunde, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the experimental establishment V-weapons site
MACR: 15211
More information
2nd Lt Louis J. Simpson Jr. attended college for two years.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in San Antonio, Texas on 20 February 1943.
A bomb from a B-17 in a higher element fell through the nose of A/C 42-102555, hitting the navigator and severing his body into two pieces. The upper half of his body went with the bomb, the lower half being sucked out of the nose by the negative pressure caused by the wind rushing past the open nose.
The aircraft managed to return to base.
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 / 1940 Census, www.fold3.com, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Jac Engels