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Personal info

Full name
SPIVA, Elza Roy
Date of birth
26 January 1922
Age
21
Place of birth
Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri
Hometown
Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri

Military service

Service number
17076402
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
364th Bombardment Squadron,
305th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
19 May 1943
Place of death
North Sea, approximately 2 miles off the German coast, southwest of Husum

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 32 4

Immediate family

Members
Grover R. Spiva (father)
Vivian Z. (Klinker) Spiva (mother)
Claudia P. Spiva (sister)
Bonnie V. Spiva (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
41-24573
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Krupp Germaniawerft U-boat yards
MACR: 15329

More information

S/Sgt Elza R. Spiva attended high school for two years and worked for Standard Steel.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on 7 August 1942.

The aircraft was shot down by enemy fighters. it ditched in shallow water about two miles off the shore. Four men survived and were taken prisoner, six men were killed.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com – MACR, www.8thafhs.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.ancestry.com – U.S, Headstone and Interment Record s for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / WWII Enlistment Record / Family Trees

Photo source: Jac Engels, www.findagrave.com - MAJ Jimmy Cotton