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Personal info

Full name
CENAC, Bert Lee
Date of birth
13 August 1922
Age
20
Place of birth
Houma, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Hometown
Terrebonne, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Military service

Service number
18149841
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
337th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
13 June 1943
Place of death
Dörphof, 6 kilometers south of Kappeln, south east of Flensburg, just east of shore line Baltic Sea, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
George Cenac (father)
Irene Cenac (mother)
Fannie B. Cenac (sister)
Jeannette Cenac (sister)
Julia Cenac (sister)
Batisti J. Cenac (brother)
Walt Cenac (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-3107
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Miss Carriage
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing
MACR: 2458 - 3687

More information

S/Sgt Bert L. Cenac enlisted on 11 September 1942 in Terrebonne, Louisiana.

The aircraft was downed by enemy fighters (3 FW-190's) off Kiel, Germany. With the aircraft on fire and out of control, the crew bailed out over the coastal area north-west of Kiel but a strong westerly wind blew them over the Baltic Sea. Three of the crew survived the crash (Lt Robert M. Webster (Pilot), 2nd Lt Thomas G. Decaro (Navigator) and T/Sgt Zephan A. Barrows) and became POW's (eventually T/Sgt Zephan A. Barrows died as POW), while the others landed in the Baltic Sea and were presumed to have drowned.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / U.S. WWII Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea / U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, http://www.usaafdata.com/ - USAAF Personnel Records, www.fold3.com, http://www.8thafhs.com, http://www.andreaszapf.de/blog-chronicles-media/USAAF-Mission-63-Bremen-and-Kiel.pdf, http://www.flensted.eu.com/

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Matthew Kay