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Submit- Full
name
KROENKE, Ralph A - Date of
birth
1917 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin -
Hometown
Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-688708 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
349th Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
5 June 1944 - Place of
death
English Channel, 10 miles off Hardelot, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
John Kroenke (father)
Leona Kroenke (mother)
Emil Kroenke (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-107095 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Shilayee
Destination: Boulogne, France
Mission: Bombing of coastal defenses
MACR: 5384
More information
1st Lt Ralph A. Kroenke graduated from Riverside High School in 1938.He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 25 September 1940.
The plane was hit by a ground rocket between the waist windows and the waist door. It split in two, the most going straight down while the other half sailed slowly for a moment and then tumbled down. When the plane was hit, it was knocked against A/C 43-37591.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.100thbg.com, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov
Photo source: www.100thbg.com, Arie-Jan van Hees, Pilot Class Book 43-I, Bruce Field, Ballinger, Texas, Milwaukee Sentinel - 17 August 1943, Riverside High School 1938