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Submit- Full
name
ABATE, Arthur Gerard - Date of
birth
16 October 1924 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
East Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31308746 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
850th Bombardment Squadron,
801st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
5 July 1944 - Place of
death
Lagny-le-Sec, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 42 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Arthur V. Abate (father)
Maria (Cataldo) Abate (mother)
Norma B. Abate (sister)
Gilda J. Abate (sister)
Gerard A. Abate (brother)
Janice M. Abate (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50386 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Boots
Destination: France
Mission: Airdrop of weapons
MACR: 6991
More information
S/Sgt Arthur G. Abate was a welder and flame cutter before he enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 6 April 1943.The aircraft was shot down by an Me-110 night fighter approximately 35 miles south of Paris on the morning of 5 July. It exploded and crashed at 0200hrs at a spot known locally as Les Trois Mares in Lagny-Le-Sec, France.
All eight crew members were killed.
His body was found in a corn field about 200 yards south of the crash site, badly mutilated.
He was buried, together with the right wing gunner in one coffin by the Germans at the cemetery at Creil.
After the war, he was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Solers, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Pascucci Cocchiola Family Tree, www.fold3.com – MACR, www.findagrave.com – War Graves
Photo source: Andy, Michel Beckers / The Carpetbagger Photographic Archives