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Personal info

Full name
AYLWARD, Richard Francis Jr
Date of birth
9 December 1924
Age
19
Place of birth
East Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Hometown
Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Military service

Service number
31308752
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Engineer/Gunner
Unit
585th Bombardment Squadron,
394th Bombardment Group, Medium
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
2 December 1944
Place of death
Near Guisse, France

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
Plot Row Grave
B 5 13

Immediate family

Members
Richard F. Aylward Sr. (father)
Alice R. (Hill) Aylward (mother)
Alice Aylward (sister)
Dorothy Aylward (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-96057
Data
Type: B-26B
Nickname: Kitten
Destination: Saarbrücken, Germany
Mission: Not available
MACR: Not available

More information

S/Sgt Richard F. Aylward Jr. enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 6 April 1943.

He attended high school for 4 years and was a checker before he enlisted.

Statement:
"On December 2 1944, my father Herchel E. Palmer and his crew were on a bombing mission over the area of Saarbrücken, Germany. Bad weather was a factor on the return flight and they were directed to bases in France and Belgium. The plane crashed somewhere in France and all were killed except for S/Sgt George Wolff. He died of injuries of December 10, 1944. My name is Sylvia Work."

S/Sgt Aylward was first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Solers, France.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Massachusetts Birth Index / WWII Draft Card, http://www.ww2buddies.com/BG394.html,

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Andy, Donna Cox Hill, Marcel van Aalzum